Tavern?

Where has the bar and tavern culture of the pretelevision era gone—the gossip and debate among the regulars, the bar-as-extended-living room, all the news exchanged at the counter? How are such small businesses surviving in an era when locals prefer to stay at home; young people choose to study rather than learn the hospitality trade; and when economic pressures and the predominating culture of fast food are destroying traditional structures? The residents of Krakau try to rediscover this lost tavern culture, asking whether and/or how this situation and cultural impoverishment are impacting village communities—a collective lamentation with the affected parties.