New Shops/Businesses in Bray

loyatemu

"just in time for Summer" - Sally will be hoping we haven't just had the summer.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120691937#Comment_120691937

Well Summer only started this month and even so one good week would not be enough for a successful ice scream shop.

It’s good that this whole complex is on track now and come Christmas time should be fully complete.

murpho999

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/bray-news/stella-cinema-and-health-shop-bound-for-bray-central/a903350127.html

Another article about Bray Central in this week's Bray People.

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120682175#Comment_120682175

It looks identical to all of the other Butler’s Chocolate Cafes.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120695663#Comment_120695663

Don't all branded shops look like all the other branded shops ? That's what people want. For now. Anyway, Butler's chocolates and coffee are nice. There are a few more coffee shops on the Bray main street now. I am amazed there is a market for so many.

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120695699#Comment_120695699

Yes they do all look the same, I was just responding to the post that stated it “looks nice”.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120695663#Comment_120695663

Yes , as it’s a chain but it’s in Bray and it’s the only one in Bray which makes it unique. I like their coffee and their coffee and chocolates so I’m happy.

Anyhow what did you expect it to look like?

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120696715#Comment_120696715

I expect it to look nice in the same way that all of the others in the chain do 😆

It’s really great to see another coffee shop in Bray, they we’re running low 😀😀

Flaneur OBrien

Poor Leonidas. Their chocolates are far superior to Butlers. I hope this isn’t a deathknell for them.

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120662468#Comment_120662468

That building is part of a staff "accommodation" block for a well known local property empire

zoobizoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120697143#Comment_120697143

I'd never even think about them for Chocolates or Coffee. The place has looked the same for the last 15 (?) Years. I think they may have recently removed the graffiti tag that was on their shutter for the last 10.

They may need to up their game.

SuperBowserWorld

Hate to say this but Bray town council needs to power wash the main street pavement. It's filthy. Maybe they are trying to preserve water. Definitely chewing gum and after pub output. No water to clean the street, but plenty to make alcoholic drinks. That's Ireland folks 😒

Shaneo87ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120693521#Comment_120693521

No mention of Bert’s Bowl which I find interesting… apart from both penneys and sports direct which are the big anchor stores down the back, and Stella and Bert’s which are up too, there are still quite a number of ground floor spaces surrounding sallys unoccupied right? Surely there will be more than just Hollands and B’s. Also the kiosks are all empty too

zoobizoo

There are still 2 units available according to the Savills sign I think.

Kiosks are tricky. The ones at the now centre are not big enough for much other than coffee..... or not sure what else, and they won't have another coffee place there.

Stillorgan shopping centre always has 1 empty kiosk; those kiosks are big and house an Art Gallery, Vaping Shop and phone fixer.

zoobizoo

Just walked by the Centre earlier... those Kiosks are tiny. I can't see any business being viable in one.

murpho999

In relation to Butlers. Was in it on Friday for first time and I was shocked by it.

I like Butler's coffee and chocolates and also how their stores look but in my opinion this shop is badly laid out.

The position of the counter forces people to walk down to the right to pick up their coffees, and then they have to walk back the same way to get out or get to a table.

People have to walk the same narrow gap to get to the toilet too.

The problem is that the space is very narrow and flanked by tables and when I was there, everybody was bumping into people or other chairs. Totally impractical and one of the worst shop layouts I've ever seen.

It's as if nobody really looked at the practicalities of the place and the counter should be in the front left where the cabinet is with boxes of chocolates now.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120733086#Comment_120733086

Yeah the architect who designed the layout did it really badly

Shaneo87ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120733086#Comment_120733086

I couldn't agree more... totally impractical

Flaneur OBrien

Sad days. The writing was on the wall as soon as we heard Butler's were moving in. Leonidas chocolate was far superior than Butlers, but butler’s cafe’s were definitely more “professional” than Leonidas cafes.

Shaneo87ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120736649#Comment_120736649

This is sad to see but to be honest - they didn't help themselves by having the seating area closed off - and I don't think that was even Covid related.

murpho999

Don't see how Butlers can be blamed Leonidas closure. Not there long enough.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120738397#Comment_120738397

They’re not being “blamed” 🙄 but the town is not big enough for two chocolatiers.

Leonidas saw what was coming and left.

loyatemu

Bolt eBike scheme has launched according to BOF. 100 bikes, no "stations" as such, you use the app to locate a bike and then leave them wherever (you have to take a photo to show they've been locked correctly and aren't causing an obstruction). There's a map in the app that show where you can use them, BOF comments suggest that they'll automatically switch off if you take to into a "forbidden" area like onto the Prom. €0.18 per minute for usage.

Peckham

20230619_194926.jpg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120739301#Comment_120739301

Was looking at these on the seafront and have registered on the app to take one for a spin at some point.

Was unsure about parking them. So, you can leave them anywhere at all? For example, can I cycle one from seafront to my house and leave it on the pavement outside my house? Or is that an obstruction because I'm blocking the pavement?

Alun

I'm a bit confused about the comment above about there being no "stations". There's two at least near me, one on the Killarney road and one on Herbert Road opposite the Green Tree. If you can leave them anywhere why bother building the stations? They're not as fancy as the one on the photo though, just a concrete rectangle and a couple of posts.

zoobizoo

"If you can leave them anywhere why bother building the stations?"

Presume that they'll be delivered back to the stations by company employee so people can go to station to pick them up?

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120742992#Comment_120742992

OK, didn't realise there were stations - the ones in town operated by Bleeper and Moby are totally station-less, but you do have to leave them at a proper bike rack (though I've often seen them locked to lampposts and even in private car-parks). If there are stations then they're more like Dublin Bikes I guess. It's not clear from the app and Bolt's website only mentions scooters, not bikes (I believe Scooters are on the way for Dublin once the legislation is passed, which is imminent)

Creamy Goodness

Usually (in other countries not sure if this is specifically bolt) the bikes are collected when they run out of battery. They're collected, charged and then dropped back to the stations.

loyatemu

looking at the app again, I can see there are fixed parking locations, so I was wrong about it being stationless. Makes it a lot less flexible though, and there's no parking at the Dart station.

Creamy Goodness

It's ultimately the best of both worlds, You want to guarantee a fully charged bike, you go to a station, if you want a bike to do 1-5 km, you pick the closest one when you open the app and ditch it where you finish your journey.

Think at the moment they're starting small so there's some teething issues (like no station at the dart as has been pointed out) but I'm sure if there's demand they'll expand the service/locations.