The regulars
The regulars  
Podcast: The Food Chain
Published On: Wed Aug 19 2026
Description: Do you have a local cafe, restaurant or bar that you go to all the time? Maybe the staff recognise you or know you by name, perhaps you even get special treatment. In this programme Rumella Dasgupta finds out why people like to return to the same place, and the commercial value to a business of having regular customers. You can contact the programme by emailing thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk. Produced by Izzy Greenfield. (Image: a man sat at a bar chatting to a barman who is wearing an apron and cleaning a glass. Credit: Getty Images)