Arabica in Knocknacarra ?

westgolf

its closed for the last few days, anyone know why ?

westgolf

harryd2

Gone under.. my friend works in an arabica in town, and was told such by the boss there

Sponge Bob

all of Arabica or Knocknacarra ??

harryd2

just knocknacarrra

Dr McManus

This is a sign of the times.
We will be seeing more small businesses like coffee shops closing down.
They did well in the Celtic Tiger boom years; but like many Arabica over expanded.
In a recession people cut back on luxury items like coffee and chocolate.
Cinemas always prosper though, as people seek to escape from reality by watching a film.
Sheridan's in Knocknacara do nice coffees, so all is not lost.

beagle001

First entered an arabica abou 2years ago and I could not believe how much they charged for a coffee or food.
The one in Salthill and Liosban carry the lot of them and I find service in some of them is not great.

Xiney

Dr McManus wrote: »

Cinemas always prosper though, as people seek to escape from reality by watching a film.

Cinemas have prospered in past recessions - we have the internet (and satellite tv) now.

_Whimsical_

There was an article in the
NY Times a few months ago that said that the sales of sweets,drink at home alcohol and gambling were the only things not to have suffered this recession.
That was probably US specific but we probably aren't that different.Wonder if many betting shops have gone under here.

I hope that lots of Galways cafes won't go under. I don't mean Arabica specifically but I think those little places give the city some charm and make it a
nice place to visit & live in. Life could get quite bland around here without them.

Dr McManus

Xiney wrote: »

Cinemas have prospered in past recessions - we have the internet (and satellite tv) now.

Statistics show that in the current recession globally; attendance is increasing.
This disproves your theory that cinema attendance is affected by internet and satellite TV. Internet and satellite TV have affected DVD sales (due to piracy) in the way that itunes have lost revenue stream from free download sites.
More people are attending cinemas in the current recession, than in previous recessions. Fact.

Dr McManus

Dr McManus wrote: »

Statistics show that in the current recession globally; attendance is increasing.
This disproves your theory that cinema attendance is affected by internet and satellite TV. Internet and satellite TV have affected DVD sales (due to piracy) in the way that itunes have lost revenue stream from free download sites.
More people are attending cinemas in the current recession, than in previous recessions. Fact.

Unfortunately this isn't a fact. There was a loss shown in the earlier part of this year. A cinema will do well only if there are good movies out there.

Dr McManus

Deleted User wrote: »

Unfortunately this isn't a fact. There was a loss shown in the earlier part of this year. A cinema will do well only if there are good movies out there.

You are wrong.
This is fact.
Here is the proof:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1201930/Cinema-industry-defies-recession-blockbuster-year.html

Dr McManus

Dr McManus wrote: »

You are wrong.
This is fact.
Here is the proof:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1201930/Cinema-industry-defies-recession-blockbuster-year.html

Since you want to prove so argumentative I feel I must point out the date of that article. 24th July 2009. You will notice that in my post I said that there was a loss at the earlier point of this year. Couple months ago, distributors were telling cinemas bosses to tighten their belts.

Dr McManus

Deleted User wrote: »

Since you want to prove so argumentative I feel I must point out the date of that article. 24th July 2009. You will notice that in my post I said that there was a loss at the earlier point of this year. Couple months ago, distributors were telling cinemas bosses to tighten their belts.

You are wrong.
This is fact.
Here is the proof for 2010:
http://www.cinemauk.org.uk/mediacentre/_106/

Dr McManus

Dr McManus wrote: »

You are wrong.
This is fact.
Here is the proof for 2010:
http://www.cinemauk.org.uk/mediacentre/_106/

Again - it said in August. My point is that the cinema itself isn't recession proof. There are so many factors you have to account for such as weather and what movies are actually available.

Actually - this is a pointless argument and completely off topic. This thread was asking about an Arabica in Knocknacara and the question got answered. If you want to take this further, fee free to drop me a PM.

Mrs OBumble

Dr McManus wrote: »

We will be seeing more small businesses like coffee shops closing down.
They did well in the Celtic Tiger boom years; but like many Arabica over expanded.
In a recession people cut back on luxury items like coffee and chocolate.

So the message to those of ye who are getting enough work is make sure you go out and drink lots of coffee, so that the cafe's are still there when the rest of us can afford it!

AFAIK (could be wrong), most Arabica shops are run as as a franchise. So hopefully the loss of one doesn't mean the rest are in immediate trouble. Provided the franchise-bosses can keep things at their end going, of course.

JustMary

JustMary wrote: »

So the message to those of ye who are getting enough work is make sure you go out and drink lots of coffee, so that the cafe's are still there when the rest of us can afford it!

AFAIK (could be wrong), most Arabica shops are run as as a franchise. So hopefully the loss of one doesn't mean the rest are in immediate trouble. Provided the franchise-bosses can keep things at their end going, of course.

It always seems to me that Arabica's charge way too much for average coffee, so if they do shut down, as much as I wish they didn't, it would be their own fault.

stunt_penguin

I was thinking that since it's a franchise it might not have gone under per-se, but that profits had dropped below a certain level and that the franchise owners decided to put their efforts elsewhere.

extraice

harryd2 wrote: »

Gone under.. my friend works in an arabica in town, and was told such by the boss there

think you friend is wrong there

the owner off the shop told me she was payying staff and wasnt payying her so she closed down , all outher shop are fine but also fine it harder with time

now have to go to salthill on sundays any more , god that place is upwalls

harryd2

extraice wrote: »

think you friend is wrong there
the owner off the shop told me she was payying staff and wasnt payying her so she closed down , all outher shop are fine but also fine it harder with time

how wrong?

bobbytables

Dr McManus wrote: »

Sheridan's in Knocknacara do nice coffees, so all is not lost.

I agree completely and initially never expected it either. I have grabbed a coffee there loads of times over the past year or two (it's convenient) and it's always been first class. Some of the best coffee in town IMO. It's Java Republic, and it's just good coffee.

I am sad that Arabica had to close down in Knocknacarra from a business perspective, but to be honest I decided to give them one last try a few weeks ago and I was sorry that I didn't go up the street to Sheridans instead. If a coffee shop can't perfect their cornerstone product, they can forget about selling anything else (food, etc).

fonzy72

Can I just say people here seem to forget the basics about this- 5/6 people lost their jobs suddenly and unexpextedidly.The owner is probably out of pocket, the people who liked the coffee shop miss it (and those of you who don't miss it- fair enough)and knocknacarra is down another business.Yes you can say what you want about anything- that's why boards.ie exist but I must say this. Those people that just lost their jobs do not appreciate this thread- they that know this thread exists are quite hurt enough without people bitching and gossiping. Imagine if you were in their boots.

Xiney

It is sad that people lost their jobs.

However, the feedback may be instrumental on saving the jobs of the other arabica branch workers: perhaps if they improve the quality and price of their coffee and improve the service (all points raised by others in this thread so far, I myself having never been in the knocknacarra arabica), the others won't have to close down.

fonzy72

It's been a rough two weeks for those close to the situation, people should bear that in mind and thanks for your reply

?Cee?view

To be fair, the service in Knocknacarra Arabica was what distinguished it from the other branches.

Salthill has atrocious service and surly staff. Knocknacarra had great staff and seemed to have a few who were there for a good while. One girl in particular who seemed to be a manager (dark hair) was particularly professional.

To be honest, I think it suffered from being physically a bit too small. For instance, many in the area have kids and they'll go to Salthill which is big enough to be known to be very kid friendly, even if the staff aren't very people friendly. In Knocknacarra, it was just so small that it felt like you were always tripping over people to the extent that you'd never chance it with a group of adults not to mind a group of kids.

If the staff of Knocknacarra are reading this, know that you've at least one happy customer here who always appreciated your professionalism and courtesy. You should show the other branches how it's done!

Mrs OBumble

fonzy72 wrote: »

Those people that just lost their jobs do not appreciate this thread- they that know this thread exists are quite hurt enough without people bitching and gossiping.

Would they feel better if no one even noticed that the shop was gone?

dilallio

It's open again - delighted to see it.
Haven't been inside so don't know if it's the same staff running it.