Wetherspoons In Cork

gimmick

Apparently we are getting a Wetherspoons before the year is out.

Anyone have any idea where it might be?

Looking at possible venues, I would say The Maltings complex, Door 51 (closed down apparently), Newport, or would it go Suburban, like out to Douglas/Ballincollig?

Milly33

Who are wetherspoons then i spotted this on the echo alrite..

jimgoose

There was scuttlebutt around a couple of years back that Wetherspoons PLC had bought Preachers?

Milly33 wrote: »

Who are wetherspoons then i spotted this on the echo alrite..

Big U.K. pub chain.

Milly33

I get the big UK pub bit but why are they so popular as such (dont say google) Jes you wouldnt think tis a good place to be opening up new bars Cork City unless they were something fantastico..

The Briar Rose might be an option it is a fairly big pub.. I ponder is this why the closed the venue bar in ballintemple too perhaps the land lady sold out to wetherspoons haha...

jimgoose

Milly33 wrote: »

I get the big UK pub bit but why are they so popular as such (dont say google) Jes you wouldnt think tis a good place to be opening up new bars Cork City unless they were something fantastico..

The Briar Rose might be an option it is a fairly big pub.. I ponder is this why the closed the venue bar in ballintemple too perhaps the land lady sold out to wetherspoons haha...

The main reason for their popularity in the U.K. as far as I can make out is low-ish prices, due to their big-brand buying power (I'd be interested to see what the VFI makes of that! ) and the way that they're all pretty much the same, like McDonalds, so the punters know exactly what they're getting as soon as they see the sign.

Milly33

Ick they sound not so good then, well that many of them anywho. Sure Cork is so small why would you want a chain of these places.. Cheap drink is nice but i doubt as you say they will be able to carry the prices to the great isle's haha they will probably go bust in a few months at the rates here

evilivor

Milly33 wrote: »

I get the big UK pub bit but why are they so popular as such (dont say google) Jes you wouldnt think tis a good place to be opening up new bars Cork City unless they were something fantastico..

They do food - breakfast to dinner - and they claim to offer value and a wide range of beers etc in a family friendly kinda way. I think they have a no music policy too in the Aldi/Lidl mode. Very successful in the UK but not my cup of tea.

They're opening in Blackrock, Dublin and hope to have a three and four pubs quite soon with a view to eventually expanding this up to 30 in the longer term including Cork.

jimgoose

Milly33 wrote: »

Ick they sound not so good then, well that many of them anywho. Sure Cork is so small why would you want a chain of these places.. Cheap drink is nice but i doubt as you say they will be able to carry the prices to the great isle's haha they will probably go bust in a few months at the rates here

Ah, they're all right now. I likes the English-style ale, mind you.

Milly33

cant say i know much bout the auld ale but just hope they dont bombard the place with them

Faith

I have no time for Wetherspoons. In the Beer/Wine/Spirits forum, people keep talking about their great range of beers, but Wetherspoons has NO atmosphere. None. It's generic, it's bland, it has no music, it might at best have some slot machines. I genuinely can't see any reason why anyone would chose to drink at a Wetherspoons rather than buy booze at the off-licence and drink at home. You'll have a better atmosphere and more entertainment at home!

Milly33

Uhh a house party you suggest!! After reading this they dont sound anything great I wouldnt be rushing to head into one unless they were offering free bottles on mass

rebelden

[QUOTE=gimmick;86601498 Door 51 (closed down apparently), Newport, or would it go Suburban, like out to Douglas/Ballincollig?[/QUOTE]


Door 51 gone. Was business that bad?

minidazzler

jimgoose wrote: »

There was scuttlebutt around a couple of years back that Wetherspoons PLC had bought Preachers?

Preachers is owned by Reardens and FAR too small for a Wetherspoons.

I think they'll go Suburban. It'll have to be a place big enough for a "kitchen" consisting mostly of Microwaves. If they go to Mahon it would be Lakelands. Given it's already a sh1thole with no atmosphere. It almost certainly won't be in town.

They won't go to Douglas because even though they'd be cheaper, they wouldn't want to compete with pub food like the East Village.

JohnK

Faith wrote: »

... It's generic, it's bland, it has no music, it might at best have some slot machines. I genuinely can't see any reason why anyone would chose to drink at a Wetherspoons rather than buy booze at the off-licence and drink at home. You'll have a better atmosphere and more entertainment at home!

To be honest I'd actually welcome the lack of music. I'm sick of going into pubs with friends only to spend the night shouting at each other rather than being able to have a proper conversation.

twigsirl

Competition is good and to be welcomed, I presume too they'll be taking on the breweries like Heineken and Diageo more than anything? Bring it on I say!

If they are talking about only opening 30 in total nationwide, I can't see more than a handful coming to Cork. I would reckon too they'll stay city centre, can't see them going to Douglas, Carrigaline or Ballincollig? The whole Crow's Nest complex at the top of the Straight Road might be a spot for them considering all the student places around there? Or the Redz complex round the back of the Court House?

And maybe showing me age a little but agree with JohnK too!

minidazzler

twigsirl wrote: »

Competition is good and to be welcomed, I presume too they'll be taking on the breweries like Heineken and Diageo more than anything? Bring it on I say!

If they are talking about only opening 30 in total nationwide, I can't see more than a handful coming to Cork. I would reckon too they'll stay city centre, can't see them going to Douglas, Carrigaline or Ballincollig? The whole Crow's Nest complex at the top of the Straight Road might be a spot for them considering all the student places around there? Or the Redz complex round the back of the Court House?

And maybe showing me age a little but agree with JohnK too!

Redz was bought out by Ernest Cantillion, or at least the Freehold was, not sure of the details...... apparently there's 300,000 of work just to bring it to H&S Standards, not including fitting the place out though.

SpaceTime

They could also take something like the old Grand Parade Hotel / Goat Broke Loose or some other venue like that that's completely idle at present.
They wouldn't necessarily have to buy an existing pub, just get a licence.

who_me

I know things like this are fairly subjective, but in my experience they're fairly awful venues. The Ryanair of pubs (some people would love them for that reason! :P ).

I probably would have been fairly worried about them undercutting existing established pubs in the area, but after being charged nearly 11 euros for two pints in Cork last night I say: bring on the competition!!

Schorpio

It depends on the location of the Wetherspoons in my experience. I live in the UK have been in many of 'em! Wetherspoons in places like Edinburgh (posher places!) are fantastic, but others are cheap in appearance, and can attract a sort of scummy clientele.

I can see Cork being a good one, especially on a weekend. A good crowd generates plenty on atmosphere - and I'm all for the no music.

.red.

Ive eaten and drank in one plenty of times in liverpool. Its cheep and cheerfull, nothing fancy.
I remember getting a mixed grill and a pint of magners for £8.99. That was a large sausage, lamb chop, gamon steak, pork chop, mushroom a small bit of sirloin and a handfull of chips. All for about €10. The steak wssnt the best but the rest was fine, just lobbed on a plate instead of a chef spending 2 minutes arranging it in some poxy way.
If one came to cork it would do well if it kept prices low and served cheap but good, no frills food.

KCAccidental

anything that challenges the VFI hold on the industry is good in my book. Will hopefully bring on a drop in the price of a pint in town.

Faith

JohnK wrote: »

To be honest I'd actually welcome the lack of music. I'm sick of going into pubs with friends only to spend the night shouting at each other rather than being able to have a proper conversation.

While I agree completely about loud music being awful and extremely off-putting, a complete lack of music is almost as bad. I've been in a couple of Wetherspoons' in the UK and it felt like drinking in a waiting room or something.

Given the typical size of a Wetherspoons, it's not like small cozy bars where there's plenty of ambient noise from other people talking. It's typically a large space full of tables, like a restaurant. We were in Mutton Lane last night where there was only low background music, and there was still great atmosphere because of the size of the pub and the other people there. Wetherspoons would be more like Amicus on Paul Street, say, and brightly lit at all times of the day and night.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love if it turned out to be a place with great atmosphere and affordable booze. I'm just not pinning any hopes on it.

SpaceTime

I think they'll have to adapt to the market. A music-less bar in Ireland is unlikely to work and people will start to feel uncomfortable, where as traditionally bars in England didn't really have much music so it's not really a shock to the system for some English people.

It'll be interesting to see what they do over here, as I think they are quite capable of adapting to a market. They certainly don't just have one format in the UK, depending on the area they can take quite different approaches.

I think though it's going to mean that the existing Cork pubs will have to up their game. I still think there's a lot more scope for good food. It's the food capital of Ireland in terms of artisan food and amazing products and I don't think the pubs in the city make nearly enough use of their space in the afternoons / mornings / evenings as food venues.

beer enigma

I'm quite a fan of them to be honest.

I'm currently living in London and use them frequently. They are good value and have brought down the price of a pint considerably. I admit there's no music, but that can be a good thing. If I want music, I just go to a different bar and I don't see that being any different in Cork.

The quality of food is pretty good & they're great for a food/beer deal - homemade burger, chips salad and a pint for just over a fiver (stg). They do tend to be quite big so interested to see where they will go in Cork, very much fits the old Woodfordes style of pub & generally floorboards and rustic style. They've opened quite a few in London in old bank buildings as they tend to go for the unusual so could even be a converted warehouse or something that has lived another life rather than an existing pub.

Oh and the loos are nearly always spotless !!!

Nonoperational

The attitude to this is way OTT, and there's a lot of comments from people who have never been to Wetherspoons in their lives. They have a huge range of pubs in the UK, not just dreary stereotyped dumps. Some of them are very decent and you can go in and get a main course and a pint for £6-7. It could be a disaster here, but I'd certainly be looking forward to seeing what they offer anyway. Lot of places in Cork now charging €5 for a lager, if they came in at €3.50 it would be interesting.

SpaceTime

I'd still strongly suspect they'll be on Grand Parade. There's a load of potential venues around there that could be renovated and reopened.

There's also a possibility of something on one of the quays.

JohnK

Be interesting to see where they'd go alright but I'd be surprised to see them open before next summer. Saying that, if they wanted to come to Douglas there was some work done recently to the old TSB, across the road from Barrys, which would probably be big enough for them.

gimmick

KCAccidental wrote: »

anything that challenges the VFI hold on the industry is good in my book. Will hopefully bring on a drop in the price of a pint in town.

This is the long and short of it for me.

I doubt it would become anyones local, but if someone comes in and breaks up the cartel that is the vitners, it can only be a good thing.

greensausage

I no there is no music but do they at least have tvs for football rugby etc?

SteelyDanJalapeno

Was in Camden Wetherspoons, Good quality burger and chips and a pint of Cider for £5, It's an ideal place for a quick bite to eat and some cheap drinks of an evening with a group, welcomed in my opinion.

Faith

greensausage wrote: »

I no there is no music but do they at least have tvs for football rugby etc?

Any I've been in have TVs but no sound. Maybe they put the sound on for big events, I'm not sure.