What happened to the Pub??

BeerNut

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

The fact that you have to extinguish one licence in order to obtain a new one is a barrier to entry to the market.

Only if you can't afford to pay a licensee the going rate for her licence. It's an acceptable business overhead.

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

It is for the government to regulate the terms of use of licences, not to artificially distort the number of licences available.

The government does not see any difference in these two things. The number of licences has not been distorted, remember, since 1902.

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

IMO, if you comply with terms of use set by the government and don't cause any trouble, if you want a new licence you should be able to get one for a nominal fee.

Just remember to tell that to every prospective electoral candidate who calls to your door.

HavingCrack

Update

A new pub called McGowans has opened in Stillorgan about 2 years now where Bolands on the Hill used to be. Live Music 4 nights a week, a dj, Pes and Fifa nights, great selection of beers, lovely interior, open mic nights AND all pints for €3.50 and all cocktails for €5. Suprise , suprise-the place is now doing a roaring trade by all accounts.

This is what pubs should be aiming for .

TheGillo

I was in Dublin city centre yesterday, Friday, with an overseas visitor, I wanted to show them round, I rarely go into town now to drink because of the rip off prices.

I went to O'Neills on Suffolk st., because a long time back a colleague told me they do a good value carvery, not any more, poor food, poor service, poor value, but no surprise there.The real shocker for me was the price of the drink,
Pint of Guinness 4.65 euro, pint of lager 5.15 euro, bottle of coors light 5.15 euro.

Later in the day, the Druids Chair, Killiney, 4.35 euro a pint of guinness, and later still, The Lincoln Inn, Clare st., a pint of guinness 4.00 euro.
I won't be back to O'Neills, but I will go back to the Lincoln Inn.

Saruman

I can't comment on the food at O'Neills but in fairness, a difference of 30c between there and somewhere in Killiney is to be expected considering the location of O'Neills. I would imagine that place costs a fortune to run.

What O'Neills does have over other pubs is the range of beer and the fact it is a very cool place full of little cubby holes. For this reason, O'Neills never seems to be struggling for business.

Oh I am curious about one thing, when you say poor service what do you mean? It is a carvery so the only service is from the person dishing food on to your plate.
Or do you mean service from the bar staff? Just curious as I have only been in there once in recent memory and all I had was a pint of Galway Hooker before I had to rush off to get my bus home.
It was slow service at the bar but in fairness it was Friday night and the place was packed so that is to be expected.

TheGillo

Saruman,

I don’t agree with you Saruman, The Druids Head is located in probably one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the whole country, the nearest competition is Ballybrack village or Dalkey village, basically they have a monopoly on their clientele but still sell a pint cheaper than a factory pub like O’Neills.
But I think 4.35euro (the price in Killiney) is too expensive never mind the rip off 4.65euro in O’Neills on Suffolk st.
I also disagree with you about what O’Neills “have”, but that’s more to do with personal tastes so I can’t argue with you on that, but I didn’t think O’Neills was a cool place, more like a rip off joint, ripping off locals and tourists alike, staffed by what looked to me to be students who weren’t too bothered about things like customer service.As for the space itself, a nice bar area, but the rest of it was like your standard celtic tiger drinking factory, pack em in and charge them loads.

But you never mentioned the 65cent difference in price for a pint between the Lincoln Inn on Clare st. and O’Neills on Suffolk st., a 10 min walk apart.

For further information pubs in Stonybatter and Manor st. are charging less than 4 euro for a pint of Guinness.

TheGillo

Possibly didnt answer your question on what was meant by poor service.

Although the place wasnt very busy, it took a long time to get served at the carvery, not due to numbers of customers but due to the playacting of staff behind the counter who seemed more interested in having a laugh among themselves than serving the paying customer.I work in retail myself so as far as Im concerned the customer needs to be treated like a king.
A customer sitting beside me left all his beef on the plate, and when the staff member was clearing away his dishes, he told him that his beef was as tough as leather, the staff member then asked was his meal ok!! so the customer repeated his comment, the staff member said oh and that was it, the customer just shook his head and left in disgust.

In my opinion this is not good customer service.

LimeFruitGum

O'Neill's is an Oirish tourist pub with a brilliant city centre location. Like they could really give a toss about maintaining client loyalty.

Strangely, I have quite a few friends who think O'Neills and Messers are deadly; they're from the country and I think the size and boom-boom of these pubs is part of the attraction of their night out in Dublin. I can't stand those bars myself, they have too many cubbyholes, so it is really hard to find people, expensive drink and really loud **** music.

But if I may give my 2c to the OP... everyone has been talking about beer and minerals, but let's not forget the spirits drinkers.

I like vodka mixers (vodka with tonic, or coke, or lime cordial), but I can't afford them here in Dublin. Down the country, I think those drinks are a little more affordable, but of course it depends on the bar. It is great that OP doesn't charge for splashes. I usually just get a glass of wine in pubs,unless I can a vodka mixer for the same price or less.

I don't frequent my local pubs for a couple of reasons:

I'm not from the area in which I live, so I don't know anyone well enough to go drinking with around here. I usually go out with my workmates in the area I work in or I'll meet my friends in Dublin city centre.

The nearest pub to me is an 'old man' type of place and I don't feel welcome in there at all. The next nearest pub is very family-orientated and they do fantastic food, but I don't really want to be in a pub with kids running and screaming around the place. Having said that, that could be one market to target? Parents will buy crisps, chocolate and fizzies for the kids, on top of their own drinks. I'd love to meet people, but my local pubs' clientele are not attracting people in my age group (early 30s).

Basically, I just can't afford to go out on a regular basis to develop a rapport, so to speak, with a bar. If I'm out with work, I will probably have soft drinks or coffee (which reminds me - a lot of pubs serve appalling watery coffee) and I'll head off after two hours.

Jo King

I drink very little at home. I drink mostly in pubs. Most pubs in the area where I live have lost a lot of trade.
Despite being an urban area, most people don't want to walk to a pub. When people do walk facilities are poor. There is never anywhere to put coats.
The standard of bar tender has got worse. At one time the unions did not allow part timers and limited the number of trainees.
Pubs no longer cash cheques and keep messages for people. A function of the banks tightening up and the mobile phone.
The majority of people want to pack into a pub. A few pubs are thus packed, mostly in city centres, and the rest are doing very little.
The layout in many pubs is bad. It made no difference when they were full but makes all the difference when they are almost empty. A large pub near me recently carried out an expensive and extensive renovation. Personally I find it impossible to sit comfortably in the place.
Another pub in the area has toilets upstairs. Clever when it was busy. Madness when there is no one in the place which is most nights of the week.
I know a few former publicans. Some lost money in the business. Some made a lot.

maninasia

A lot of pubs became barns, if they had any charm to begin with they lost it right there. Pubs need to diversify and focus on different markets, young people, music, families, food, sports etc. To some extent they do already but many tried to become multi-million operations , they sunk so much money into the places and got so big they all need to chase the big bucks, their business model is broken.

If they were smaller they could have got a niche or kept some of their 'charm' or authenticity , a lot is related to the Celtic Tiger.

I'm sure many pubs would be better off becoming cafe bar type places and there are probably too many in the business what with emigration and changing habits and high costs.

But all in all, Irish pubs are still far better than almost anywhere else you'll go, that's more down to the people in them though!