TGIs in Blackrock closed

themont85

Seems to be anyway, signs down ect. The Italian place seems to be still open. What's moving in there?

helimachoptor

What????????????
was up there a couple of weeks ago and tbh the service/food was the best i've had in over a year.

themont85

helimachoptor wrote: »

What????????????
was up there a couple of weeks ago and tbh the service/food was the best i've had in over a year.

Pretty sure they've been doing badly since it opened. Lot's of stupid renovations, no way they're making money back on that. To think the place was once hopping only a few years ago when it was the Playwright.

alexlyons

themont85 wrote: »

To think the place was once hopping only a few years ago when it was the Playwright.

ye the playwright did a mean sunday lunch!

saw TGI's in the thread title and thought, sure I might go to blackrock tonight.. obviously not!

themont85

alexlyons wrote: »

ye the playwright did a mean sunday lunch!

saw TGI's in the thread title and thought, sure I might go to blackrock tonight.. obviously not!

When the Morans bought it in the 90s it was the record price for a pub in Ireland and when they sold it, it was another record price. It was making over 300k a year in the year 2000 according to here.

TGIs ran it into the ground it seems.

helimachoptor

When it opened first it was always packed, but i'd say in the last 18 months it has really died a death.
I went up with the OH a few times and it was so bad that she ended up sending a complaint email and we got a free dinner which was better.

The Playwright was a fantastic pub, always thought they were mad to get rid of it.

The Sparrow

Glad it has failed tbh. They ruined a very good pub with a rubbish chain restaurant.

helimachoptor

Im sorry for the job losses tbh. There's another tgi's in dundrum so not much more of a trek.

Shikei

I work in the Italian, haven't heard anything yet but I presume we'll be closing too because our business was worse than TGI's. Really sad and stressful, I've worked there for five years and a lot of people were there even longer I know a lot of people on Boards are of the opinion that the pub should have stayed open, but really I don't think any business on that scale would have lasted through the recession. Both restaurants were really busy when I started there, and in the last few years they've just been getting quieter and quieter, I'd say a lot of our business went to Dundrum.

SerialComplaint

helimachoptor wrote: »

There's another tgi's in dundrum so not much more of a trek.

We passed by the Mill Pond in Dundrum on Saturday evening and there were no lights on in TGIs at around 7pm - seemed to be closed.

Shikei

Apparently Dante's Pizza is staying open for now, TGI's has had a fleet of vans outside it all day so it's probably gutted by now, don't know what they're planning to do with it.

HavingCrack

Shikei wrote: »

I work in the Italian, haven't heard anything yet but I presume we'll be closing too because our business was worse than TGI's. Really sad and stressful, I've worked there for five years and a lot of people were there even longer I know a lot of people on Boards are of the opinion that the pub should have stayed open, but really I don't think any business on that scale would have lasted through the recession. Both restaurants were really busy when I started there, and in the last few years they've just been getting quieter and quieter, I'd say a lot of our business went to Dundrum.

Ah I hope you stay open, I love your pizza and bruschetta .

Exclamation Marc

I loved the place maybe 4 or 5 years ago when they had savage meal deals.

In particular they had a 2 course for €15 deal where the food was amazing and the choice was of all the really nice dishes, the premium burgers etc

Fast-forward 3 months after they brought in the deal and they had the same meal deal but took all the nice choices off the menu and replaced them with the bargain basement crap. It was so disappointing.

I never like to see a business fail but their prices were ridiculous for todays climate, they were doomed.

jenizzle

I live beside there and I never even noticed! The Playwright used to be hoppin' alright, but TGIs always seemed empty every night.

cavemeister

Dante's is now closed. Planning permission up for a supermarket. Most likely Lidl or Aldi

HavingCrack

cavemeister wrote: »

Dante's is now closed. Planning permission up for a supermarket. Most likely Lidl or Aldi

Pity: Really nice bunch working there

Supermarket :eek::eek:

I can't see it getting planning permission, it would be completely out of character for the area and there would not be enough car parking.

Exclamation Marc

cavemeister wrote: »

Dante's is now closed. Planning permission up for a supermarket. Most likely Lidl or Aldi

I heard there was a Tesco Express going in there...

Tabnabs

HavingCrack wrote: »

Pity: Really nice bunch working there

Supermarket :eek::eek:

I can't see it getting planning permission, it would be completely out of character for the area and there would not be enough car parking.

The fact that there is a small shopping complex with a wide mixture of businesses practically in he same block would probably make it easy to convert and run successfully.

jonnysimples

From a very reliable source it's an Aldi that have applied for the planning permission.

I have to say i'm a bit dissapointed, would have much preferred a one off food-store or something similar (maybe a Donnybrook Fair).

Bluefoam

Apparently its gonna be a Tescos Pharmacy :mad: (pitty that boards doesn't have a puking emoticon...)

jonnysimples

The planning application notes that alcohol sales will be part of the change of useso that would seem to rule out a pharmacy.

Ron DMC

The planning application in full for anyone interested:

helimachoptor

Would anyone think it could be successful again as a pub?
I'd like to think so but the sheer size of it would mean you'd probably have to get a lot of people in over the weekends/sporting events to make it work.

Would prefer not to see it turn into a chain store though.

Tabnabs

Here's the planning application http://planning.dlrcoco.ie/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=D11A/0602&backURL=%3Ca%20href=wphappcriteria.display?paSearchKey=906436%3ESearch%20Criteria%3C/a%3E%20%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%27wphappsearchres.displayResultsURL?ResultID=969938%26StartIndex=1%26SortOrder=rgndat:desc%26DispResultsAs=WPHAPPSEARCHRES%26BackURL=%3Ca%20href=wphappcriteria.display?paSearchKey=906436%3ESearch%20Criteria%3C/a%3E%27%3ESearch%20Results%3C/a%3E

But most interestingly the drawings
http://dms.dlrcoco.ie/Exe/ZyNET.exe/4100CNCW.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=planning&Index=Planning%20Ext|Planning%20Int|PlanXML|Planning%20External%20B|Planning%20External%20C|Planning%20External%20D|Planning%20Archive%201|Planning%20Archive%202|Planning%20Archive%203&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=Ref_No^%22D11A%2F0602%22&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=Ref_No&IntQFieldOp=1&ExtQFieldOp=1&XmlQuery=&File=F%3A\ZYDATA\DATA\PLANEXT\TXT\5665\TXT\00000000\4100CNCW.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h|-&MaximumDocuments=15&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g16/r75g16/x150y150g16/i500&Display=hpfrw&DefSeekPage=f&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=-1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=f

We've had Tesco and Aldi mentioned as likely tenants. From looking at the drawings my money is on Tesco. Why? I've never seen a customer service desk in Aldi...

maxer68

It can't be lidl or aldi as their specific planning use is "discount supermarket". Planning here is just for "shop" which encompasses convience style retailing.

3 options - M&S Simply food, Tesco Express or possibly Donnybrook Fair (though probably too close to stillorgan for this to be a frontrunner)

Owners of the site are the butler bros. - no shortage of money there, even in todays market. (leisureplex, cinemas etc.)

zagmund

Yeah, I heard about this "discount supermarket" use specified for Aldi & Lidl units. I find it strange, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it. What makes them "discount" and Supervalu or Tesco not ? At this stage all the supermarkets offer ongoing discounts. I wonder what the criteria for being a "discount supermarket" are ?

Was this maybe some sort of lobbying on the part of the new shops or the incumbents to somehow distinguish them from existing retailers ?

z

tomdublin

zagmund wrote: »

Yeah, I heard about this "discount supermarket" use specified for Aldi & Lidl units. I find it strange, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it. What makes them "discount" and Supervalu or Tesco not ? At this stage all the supermarkets offer ongoing discounts. I wonder what the criteria for being a "discount supermarket" are ?

Was this maybe some sort of lobbying on the part of the new shops or the incumbents to somehow distinguish them from existing retailers ?

z

What makes them "discount" is that they offer significantly better value than many of the pathetic ripoff merchants native to this island.

Mance Rayder

OMG Thats Loike totes a tragidy loike.

zagmund

tomdublin wrote: »

What makes them "discount" is that they offer significantly better value than many of the pathetic ripoff merchants native to this island.

But that's not a discount. That's lower prices or better value.

z

ted1

It looks more like a supervalu ir eurpspar. Do they actually have s tenant lined up are there just developing the site and hoping someone will lease it.

HavingCrack

It's a fairly badly designed site for anything really. Even when it was the Playwright the split levels were a very poor use of space. The interior needs a complete gutting before any new business can use it.

Blut2

Would be a shame to have such a nice building used for a Tesco to be fair, all snobbery aside. A Tesco would also destroy the local shop across the road (used to be Centra?), take a lot of the Texaco garage's business and the Spar down the road towards the church.

Atomic Pineapple

The Chinese take away beside it is lovely though! Never struck me as a great place for a TGI's!

Jess16

I don't understand how placing a supermarket of any kind in Newtownpark Avenue is remotely viable, considering there's an M&S and Superquinn just down the road in Blackrock Village and a huge Dunnes Stores up the road in Cornelscourt

Exclamation Marc

There's a "TO LET" notice on the building now. It's on the windows but looks like the windows where Dante's was.

caelum

Planning permission denied for Tesco express, gonna stay empty for a while I guess

dublinman1990

cavemeister wrote: »

Dante's is now closed. Planning permission up for a supermarket. Most likely Lidl or Aldi

A supermarket where? It is in Newtownpark Avenue or another supermarket in Dundrum?

I live about five minutes from there when it was the Playwright and the food there was fantastic. I am that very surprised it had taken up so much money back in the day.

I don't think another Lidl would come into Newtownpark Avenue. There is already been two open between Deansgrange & Pottery Road in Dun Laoghaire. I would not be pleased to see in Aldi within my locality as the site IMO could be too small.

The nearest Aldi stores from Newtownpark Avenue I think are in Sandyford & Nutgrove.

The site is going have to determined by what sorts of items will be sold in that shop, if there is going to be one.

We had a pro golf store just beside O'Briens and A-Wash. That golf store was gone around six months ago. That shop is now replaced with one that sells supplies for DIY.

matt-dublin

Tescos is likely to be going in there.

helimachoptor

I'd really be against a Tesco Express tbh.. but in saying that i really dont know what would work.
such a shame to see the Playwright turned into a shop, had my 21st there .. and got naked on the stage fond memories :D

matt-dublin

Ah i thinkg it would be good, don't forget its only a convenience shop with extra booze and veg!

theyll probably keep and adapt the original building and stick a tesco logo on it.

dublinman1990

I forgot to mention that there is a third Lidl opened recently in Stillorgan adjacent to the new UCI Cinema including the stores at Deansgrange and Pottery Road.

So then that is a fourth possible Lidl out the window then.