Blanchardstown Centre - history of tenants

daymobrew

With the frequent changing of shops in the Blanch Centre I thought that it would be interesting to make a list of the tenants that were in each unit.

If I copied the list of the current shops from the Blanch Centre site, are there people out there with good memories about previous shops?

I'd consider creating a small web site with the information.

iMADEtheBBC

There as a comic book shop for a while. I seem to remember it was where the Watch Shop is now. There was an Ann Summers for a while until the protest. I think it was where River Island is now.

You should do a floor plan but don't forget there were about three different building projects since it opened.

arigold365

I loved the record store next to the Games Workshop in the yellow entrance, they also sold New Rock boots

iMADEtheBBC

What was it? A Golden Discs? I can't remember. I think the Virgin and HMV shops pretty much put it out of business.

arigold365

I think it was called Championship Vinyl, the owner Rob was a sound guy and used to let us just hang out

Think he set up his own record label after the shop shut down

daymobrew

iMADEtheBBC wrote: »

You should do a floor plan but don't forget there were about three different building projects since it opened.

My biggest concern would be where units were split or joined e.g. Argos split into Nandos and TBD.

arigold365

I too would worry about that Daymobrew, not sure we're quite ready for that

Whats you're favourite D15 retail area anecdote Daymo? You must have some good ones

iMADEtheBBC

daymobrew wrote: »

My biggest concern would be where units were split or joined e.g. Argos split into Nandos and TBD.

There'll be plans down at the centre. You could probably get them via email.

daymobrew

iMADEtheBBC wrote: »

There'll be plans down at the centre. You could probably get them via email.

I was more thinking about organising the data - I was thinking about a WordPress site (I use WordPress for all the sites I do these days) and how to set it up for splits.
I might use a category for the section (red/green/yellow/west end etc) and tags for the unit number. Custom Post Types for the unit information, with the business name as the page title, a start and end date etc. But I digress into nerdy details here.

iMADEtheBBC

Sounds cool. Post it here when it's up.
I remember when the center opened. Trying to think of all the shops that were there.

jeffk

A great idea , i always said id love to see what came and went .

Gaspode

Not sure whether to excited or saddened by this thread! (Sorry OP)

daymobrew

Gaspode wrote: »

Not sure whether to excited or saddened by this thread! (Sorry OP)

I know what you mean. A high number of former tenants will reflect the high rents in the centre. I don't envy that burden that tenants have to carry.

JoePie

I've been going to that shopping centre since day one and I definitely do not remember a record store or comic book shop. That's not to say that thet were never there.

Spent a large part of my youth in Games Workshop. Sad to see it go. Met some of my best friends in there, who I'm still friends with to this day. I knew a lot of the staff as well, outside of GW (relations of friends and from around the area and such), up until around 2006 when I fell out of the hobby.

There;s the obvious anyway. Roches Stores, Virgin, The 101 different shops where Grafton Barbers is now, and of course La Croissanterie. Damn fine food.

January

Principles where Miss Selfridges is now (I think) and Accesorize used to be in the unit beside Dunnes Stores upstairs.

ongarboy

This type of thread really brings out the trivia nerd in me!!!:D

Let's start with a few:
prior/current

Roches Stores/Supervalu/Debenhams
Virgin/Schuh
Sheepskin Shop/Carphone Warehouse
Adams/Pumpkin Patch
Next/H&M
Fosters/D2/Republic
Timberland/Mexx
Butchers/Starbucks
Pizza Hut/KFC
Bewleys/Roasters/Kays
Boots downstairs/McCabes
McCabes/Specsavers
Esprit/JD Sports
Topman/Boots
Benetton/Topshop

I'm sure there are more I could remember but that's what I can recall for now.

amdublin

I don't remember the comic shop or record shop either! (not to say they werent there!)

I love the aerial photos in the hallway of the upstairs loos, from 1995 onwards showing the green field site and all the development onwards - initial building and all the extensions.

Anyone know these pics?

JupiterKid

Wasn't there also a bargain bookshop on the lower floor (red mall) behind the travelators? Can't remember its name but it appears to be no more.

mojesius

There was a ladies fashion boutique called 'golden spiderweb' either where the body shop is now or else just beside it.

Did 'the jean scene' downstairs get turned into a diesel or Levi shop or something like that?

I spent my teenage years in Kay's kitchen

Morag

Supervalue in the lower floor section of Roches stores.

miamee

Remember All Rooms downstairs, I think where Aldo is now?

The Waltzing Consumer

I can't believe no one mentioned Borders yet, the only shop I was really annoyed when it closed.

I also remember the Tattoo and Piercing shop beside Vigin, so it would be where Schuh is.

January

JupiterKid wrote: »

Wasn't there also a bargain bookshop on the lower floor (red mall) behind the travelators? Can't remember its name but it appears to be no more.

Books unlimited.

The diesel shop was where inglot is now but not sure if there was anything else there before that

Arciphel

I remember all rooms, it's where Name It is now I think? I remember when we moved into our first house I think everything came from All Rooms. What a great shop.

I remember when HMV used to be there :-(

amdublin

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

I can't believe no one mentioned Borders yet, the only shop I was really annoyed when it closed.

I also remember the Tattoo and Piercing shop beside Vigin, so it would be where Schuh is.

There was a tattoo parlour in the towncentre

I don't remember that!

ongarboy

January wrote: »

Books unlimited.

The diesel shop was where inglot is now but not sure if there was anything else there before that

Inglot was called Counter Propoganda for a while too (got some great teeshirts there that I still wear years later!)

Omackeral

ongarboy wrote: »

Inglot was called Counter Propoganda for a while too (got some great teeshirts there that I still wear years later!)

Lovely threads in that store. I bought a T-Shirt in there back in 2005 for about 45-50 Euro. I am an awful person, caused the recession with that purchase.

What about Oddbins Off License over in Westend Retail? A decent shop with great choice. Also meant you didnt need to go into the centre proper.

Omackeral

Oh another I'm remembering is Sports Division. It used to occupy the JJB Sports unit over on the PC World Side. Reason I recall this is that Roy Keane did an autograph session over there in 1997. Used to love the smell of all the bike wheels in the upstairs part.

I was a weird child.

Morag

The crazy soap shop on the upper level where the crystal shop is now.

January

amdublin wrote: »

There was a tattoo parlour in the towncentre

I don't remember that!

Yeah they did piercings (I'm not too sure about tattoos?) and sold jewelry and incense and stuff like that...

The unit between Mannings and the watch shop is always changing too.

Omackeral

Jeez another massive one we're forgetting (recent too) is Tommy's becoming Mr. Price...

triple-M

would you class westend retail park as part of the blanch centre? also atlantic/woodies, esb store/harvey norman,

Omackeral

I know it's not officially a part of it but, for me, Westend Retail Park is part of the overall Blanch Centre Experience (Trademark).

What was there before the Oriental food place at the yellow entrance? Wait... that's possibly coming across as racist....

Morag

Omackeral wrote: »

What was there before the Oriental Asian food place at the yellow entrance? Wait... that's possibly coming across as racist....

FYP

Zapp Brannigan

La Croissanterie was there before Ginseng came in I think.

miamee

Anyone remember when the red mall first opened? The excitement! I can't for the life of me remember where the original door was or where the shops used to end. I think there were one or two after Roches Stores (where I used to work) before the door but I could be wrong?

January

miamee wrote: »

Anyone remember when the red mall first opened? The excitement! I can't for the life of me remember where the original door was or where the shops used to end. I think there were one or two after Roches Stores (where I used to work) before the door but I could be wrong?

Ended where the news agents is I think

daymobrew

triple-M wrote: »

would you class westend retail park as part of the blanch centre? also atlantic/woodies, esb store/harvey norman,

Woodies etc are in "Retail Park 2" with DFS, Currys etc in "Retail Park 1"

Westend is owned by different people but I bet most people consider it part of Blanchardstown Centre.

ThisRegard

JoePie wrote: »

The 101 different shops where Grafton Barbers is now, and of course La Croissanterie. Damn fine food.

That's not a Grafton Barbers is it ? And La Croissanterie always reminded me of the smell of puke, both the Blanchardstown store and the Ilac.

I definitely don't remember an Anne Summers though.

miamee

ThisRegard wrote: »

That's not a Grafton Barbers is it ? And La Croissanterie always reminded me of the smell of puke, both the Blanchardstown store and the Ilac.

I definitely don't remember an Anne Summers though.

There is a Grafton Barbers in the Yellow mall alright. I don't remember an Ann Summers either, though there may have been talk of one opening. I'm not sure it ever did though. But considering the amount of shops above that I have forgotten, I could be totally wrong!

Zaph

miamee wrote: »

There is a Grafton Barbers in the Yellow mall alright.

The barbers in the Yellow Mall is Dawson Barbers.

miamee

Zaph wrote: »

The barbers in the Yellow Mall is Dawson Barbers.

Ha, sorry about that...! I don't go to the barbers very often

daymobrew

http://www.blanchcentrehistory.com/

I uploaded posts for all of the current tenants, including those at WestEnd. Each post has placeholder text - I wasn't going to type out 186 wordy descriptions at this point - I automated a lot of the work (thank you perl and a CVS Importer plugin).
The site needs to be customised to display the data (and I have not entered opened/closed dates for the units).

You can see the shops by location (yellow entrance, retail park 1, westend etc).

Shane O' Malley

3G Mobile used to be where the Banana Tree is now (Next to DID)

Eircom Store was there before 3G Mobile

TheIrishGrover

JoePie wrote: »

I've been going to that shopping centre since day one and I definitely do not remember a record store or comic book shop. That's not to say that thet were never there.......

don't remember a comic shop (Although I miss Borders, it had a great graphic novel section.

As for the record shop? He's on about the film "High Fidelity" There was no record shop there. (Other than HMV and Virgin/Zavvi of course)

daymobrew

Shane O' Malley wrote: »

3G Mobile used to be where the Banana Tree is now (Next to DID)

Eircom Store was there before 3G Mobile

Thanks for submitting comments on the web site. My plan is to replace the comment form with a contact form to submit updates (should be minimal workflow difference for site visitors).

ongarboy

miamee wrote: »

Anyone remember when the red mall first opened? The excitement! I can't for the life of me remember where the original door was or where the shops used to end. I think there were one or two after Roches Stores (where I used to work) before the door but I could be wrong?

Yes, I think it ended where Pandora/Imaginarium is now.

I think the Bon Espresso newsagents was in one of those outlets and had a cafe on the side. (it has since moved across the mall but without the cafe).

I remember there was a shop opposite (kind of near where Starbucks is now) called Motorway which did car accessories (it then moved out to Westend).

Finally, where the juice bar is next to Inglot, wasn't that another cafe which had a small seating area out in the centre of the mall? Wouldn't be able to recall the name though,.

Omackeral

ongarboy wrote: »

Finally, where the juice bar is next to Inglot, wasn't that another cafe which had a small seating area out in the centre of the mall? Wouldn't be able to recall the name though,.

Leonidas..

ChunkyLover_53

Don't remember an Ann Summers but there was definitely a La Senza think it was where the Bagel Shop beside Debenhams is now.

I think Top Shop was Principles once.

Odeon Cinemas was UCI Cinemas...even if you google UCI Blanch it comes up as Odeon.
Useless Trivia Fact: UCI was officially opened by Pierce Brosnan

KFC at the Blue Entrance was Pizza Hut.

The Perfume Shop was somewhere between Easons & Adams on the top floor.

The Buddah Bar was were The Banana Tree used to be, The Banana Tree is now beside Maplins.

New Look in Westend Retail was Borders. Also used to be a Laura Ashley & Classic Furniture in West End Retail.

DFS was Currys before Currys moved to PC World

Build-a-Bear factory was Kays Kitchen

iMADEtheBBC

ChunkyLover_53 wrote: »

Don't remember an Ann Summers but there was definitely a La Senza think it was where the Bagel Shop beside Debenhams is now.

The AS shop lasted a week, maybe two. Some god botherers decided Dublin 15 wasn't ready. Anyone remember the protests?

There was a Mailboxes Etc where Tierneys Gift Shop is now.

Shifty

I think I remember Lifestyle Sports was unit 101 & Variety World was unit 102 (Green entrance), there was also a Bank of Ireland (ATM area) along there I think?