Wetherspoons In Cork

beer enigma

ROY RACE wrote: »

food prices are ridiculous don't see any bargains there plus the beer is ****e

From my experience in England their food isn't bad, I know for a fact that UK burgers are made from UK beef, so would hope irish burgers from Irish beef ( as much as McD's are)

Beer is good, how many have you visited RoyRace ??

They have over 900 pubs in the UK with 26,000 employees, they get cheap prices because of buying power, hence the recent boycott threat to Heineken.

Nonoperational

ROY RACE wrote: »

food prices are ridiculous don't see any bargains there plus the beer is ****e

Jasus what nonsense.

GavRedKing

The car parking space in behind that TSB site in Douglas is huge, would be a decent place to setup too.

firestarter51

Andip wrote: »

From my experience in England their food isn't bad, I know for a fact that UK burgers are made from UK beef, so would hope irish burgers from Irish beef ( as much as McD's are)

Beer is good, how many have you visited RoyRace ??

They have over 900 pubs in the UK with 26,000 employees, they get cheap prices because of buying power, hence the recent boycott threat to Heineken.

i have drank in wetherspoons for years in london
drink is cheap and nothing wrong with it
food is alright, its not going to be fine dining but a plate of food and a pint for that price is ok in my book
i think they will do well in cork

Dbu

I for one wish them well and I think they will do fine in Douglas, location is great and personally I think €5.05 is a rip off for a pint anyway so best of luck to them, I will certainly try them

SpaceTime

It's a significantly different market but, it'll be interesting to see how they adapt and how the local pubs adapt too.

I think there's a good opportunity for the pubs to innovate and become a lot more foodie.

Cool_CM

ROY RACE wrote: »

food prices are ridiculous don't see any bargains there plus the beer is ****e

Erdinger at €2.95?

clerk

I met an Uncle today who lives in the UK and we were talking about Wetherspoons opening in Dublin, he didn't even know about Cork.

He told me that when they opened in the UK that Guinness weren't supplying due to price but over time due to the sheer volume they relented.

It's going to be very interesting, that's for sure.

Low margin, high volume is the model and it works in the UK.

I think it's going to work here too to be honest. The amount of people talking about it around the place is unreal and it hasn't even opened yet.

ongarboy

And I bet you some of the first visitors rushing to Wetherspoons will be those most vocal in their criticism of them opening in Ireland...!!:)

beer enigma

Apart from the new employment they will bring, they are the largest supporter of micro breweries in the UK which could be great news for the many microbreweries in ireland as they try to source locally for beer where they can.

blindsider

You mean that a JD Wetherspoons in Cork would probably stock local Cork beer, and a JDW in e.g. Galway would stock local Galway beer? And this would be replicated around the country?

So, someone coming to Cork for a w/e, would have to try a different, local beer if they went to a JDW?

That sounds just appalling! Surely we want everything to be the same everywhere, with no local variation. Vanilla rules!

As for supporting local businesses - Down with that sort of thing!

JP Liz V1

Did it open in Douglas?

lostinsuperfunk

The best JDW's in the UK are kind of like mid-range hotel bars, pleasant & clean, but bland. The drink is excellent value, particularly the interesting range of beers. Their food is cheap but pretty bad in my opinion so I think SpaceTime is right about room for the locals to innovate here.

I think it'll definitely be a big success in Douglas. When you look around, all of the local bars are similar in style to JDW, albeit with much higher alcohol prices.

I'm not sure if it'll be as successful in the city centre, where I think people want a bit more atmosphere and character from a pub, and might be prepared to pay extra for that.

JDW would make an absolute killing if they opened in Bishopstown, perhaps in the old Viscount. It's similar to Douglas, a large local population with even more limited choice. Not to mention students looking for cheap booze.

clerk

There are planning objections gone in now, that if I could surmise are saying it would bring down the tone of the general area. Which is priceless since one of the locals ( very near to it ) is akin to a disco at the weekend with blaring music all night long. I won't mention the pub by name, but I think any local could figure it out.

http://www.eveningecho.ie/news/cork-news/2015/01/09/jd-wetherspoon-pub/

"Some residents in Douglas have lodged objections to the Weatherspoon development for a variety of reasons saying it would not be beneficial to the long term development of Douglas, that the promotion of cheap alcohol would cause anti-social behaviour, added traffic congestion, the impact of the planned rear beer garden on nearby apartments,
O’Driscoll’s Bar on Church Street also objected to the new Wetherspoons venue saying it is not in keeping with the future vision for Douglas and that the village was already well served by premises offering food and drink."

Priceless stuff. :-)

hufpc8w3adnk65

Can't see any of those objections holding up in court!

blindsider

lostinsuperfunk wrote: »

The best JDW's in the UK are kind of like mid-range hotel bars, pleasant & clean, but bland. The drink is excellent value, particularly the interesting range of beers. Their food is cheap but pretty bad in my opinion so I think SpaceTime is right about room for the locals to innovate here.

I think it'll definitely be a big success in Douglas. When you look around, all of the local bars are similar in style to JDW, albeit with much higher alcohol prices.

I'm not sure if it'll be as successful in the city centre, where I think people want a bit more atmosphere and character from a pub, and might be prepared to pay extra for that.

JDW would make an absolute killing if they opened in Bishopstown, perhaps in the old Viscount. It's similar to Douglas, a large local population with even more limited choice. Not to mention students looking for cheap booze.

You may well be right about B'town in general being suitable, but not The Viscount - Bishopstown CU have plans for that:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/property/review-of-the-market-177485.html

...end of 8th paragraph.

the beer revolu

I've heard they've taken a lease next door to Ramen in Dennehy's Cross.

kcb

The more bars selling food and drink at a reasonable price the better surely.

Similar to the Idaho/Starbucks whinge, it's funny to hear Sober Lane (Ernest C) blowing on about Wetherspoons and asking for people to support local business etc.

If Irish pubs were not ripping people off for years (with a huge help from the government of course) then the likes of Wetherspoons opening would not even be on the radar.

CHealy

kcb wrote: »

The more bars selling food and drink at a reasonable price the better surely.

Similar to the Idaho/Starbucks whinge, it's funny to hear Sober Lane (Ernest C) blowing on about Wetherspoons and asking for people to support local business etc.

If Irish pubs were not ripping people off for years (with a huge help from the government of course) then the likes of Wetherspoons opening would not even be on the radar.

Nail on the head there.

I saw Sober Lanes post on FB/Twitter and I couldn't believe they had the gaul to question the opening of these places. I was in Sober Lane over Xmas and I paid €5.20 for a Heineken, and not only that, but the place is void of any atmosphere. It was my first time in there in a few years and won't be going again. I cannot wait for Weatherspoons to open, not only is it going to give people jobs and fill up an empty slot in the city center, but its going to rattle the like of Ernest to cop themselves on.

hufpc8w3adnk65

For those of us who choose not too use facebook and Twitter can someone stick up a few of the posts in here?

run_Forrest_run

kcb wrote: »

The more bars selling food and drink at a reasonable price the better surely.

Similar to the Idaho/Starbucks whinge, it's funny to hear Sober Lane (Ernest C) blowing on about Wetherspoons and asking for people to support local business etc.

If Irish pubs were not ripping people off for years (with a huge help from the government of course) then the likes of Wetherspoons opening would not even be on the radar.

I read that article on the Examiner website and I really got an insular tone about it. If you weren't 'local' then he didn't want your business around..give me a break.

rob316

CHealy wrote: »

Nail on the head there.

I saw Sober Lanes post on FB/Twitter and I couldn't believe they had the gaul to question the opening of these places. I was in Sober Lane over Xmas and I paid €5.20 for a Heineken, and not only that, but the place is void of any atmosphere. It was my first time in there in a few years and won't be going again. I cannot wait for Weatherspoons to open, not only is it going to give people jobs and fill up an empty slot in the city center, but its going to rattle the like of Ernest to cop themselves on.

All smart answers back too from him, I hope one opens on every street to break up this cartel between Benny, Ernest and Monty.


I wouldn't mind but the pints are absolute **** inside in Sober Lane, flat and lifeless.
Ernest talking about the struggle of cork business, that fella wouldn't know the meaning of struggle his millionaire daddy bankrolls his operation ffs.

I was in the deanrock bar in Togher on Saturday night, €2.85 for a pint of miller or fosters, the fosters was one of the nicest pints I'd had in years and I wouldn't touch Fosters usually.

CHealy

MrMac84 wrote: »

For those of us who choose not too use facebook and Twitter can someone stick up a few of the posts in here?

This was the Facebook post. Some of the replies were so childish and unprofessional from them, it was embarrassing actually. They are clearly wobbling at the knee's about a bit of competition.

namloc1980

The prospect of competition is really worrying the likes of Sober Lane with their €5.20 pints of Heineken! I stopped going to town a few years back due to the ripoff prices and ear splitting music they call "atmosphere". Wetherspoons will encourage me in for a look if nothing else.

whisky_galore

CHealy wrote: »

Nail on the head there.

I saw Sober Lanes post on FB/Twitter and I couldn't believe they had the gaul to question the opening of these places. I was in Sober Lane over Xmas and I paid €5.20 for a Heineken, and not only that, but the place is void of any atmosphere. It was my first time in there in a few years and won't be going again. I cannot wait for Weatherspoons to open, not only is it going to give people jobs and fill up an empty slot in the city center, but its going to rattle the like of Ernest to cop themselves on.

5.20 for a beer hand crafted by Trappist Albanian dwarves in a cave in Antarctica, fair enough...but for a pint of Heinie? Fcuk off for yourself!

hoodwinked

i have to say i am surprised to see sober lane taking so many hits on here, there are many more bars in town that charge €5+ for a pint. but not that many that actually give you something for nothing like sober lane do, comparing a city center price of a pint to a suburb price of a pint is a non runner anyway, different rent/services costs means obviously the city center one will always be more expensive.

many a tuesday night my friend and i would head in to do their table quiz, drink water for the night (couldn't afford much else at the time) and not once did ernest or the staff in there complain, if anything he'd chat away with us about stuff, got to know us, and made us (essentially two nobodies that he wasn't making any money off of) into regulars.

you can be sure Wetherspoons won't be exchanging exam timetables for free pints, or worrying about other small businesses when/if they flood.

and compared to other pubs selling pints for €5+ how many of them will do a coin toss and match your order, i saw a guy get a tray full of jager bombs in the coin toss once, i think we all know most publicans would just say things like "terms and conditions apply" to avoid expensive drinks being included but Sober lane don't. they may be gimmicks, but it's more than you'll get elsewhere in the city.

CHealy

hoodwinked wrote: »

i have to say i am surprised to see sober lane taking so many hits on here, there are many more bars in town that charge €5+ for a pint. but not that many that actually give you something for nothing like sober lane do, comparing a city center price of a pint to a suburb price of a pint is a non runner anyway, different rent/services costs means obviously the city center one will always be more expensive.

many a tuesday night my friend and i would head in to do their table quiz, drink water for the night (couldn't afford much else at the time) and not once did ernest or the staff in there complain, if anything he'd chat away with us about stuff, got to know us, and made us (essentially two nobodies that he wasn't making any money off of) into regulars.

you can be sure Wetherspoons won't be exchanging exam timetables for free pints, or worrying about other small businesses when/if they flood.

and compared to other pubs selling pints for €5+ how many of them will do a coin toss and match your order, i saw a guy get a tray full of jager bombs in the coin toss once, i think we all know most publicans would just say things like "terms and conditions apply" to avoid expensive drinks being included but Sober lane don't. they may be gimmicks, but it's more than you'll get elsewhere in the city.

Easy there Ernest, you're going to give yourself a hernia.

pwurple

Era, the guy isn't a PR expert... I think possibly some advice on how that was worded could have helped. Or possibly someone telling them it didn't even need to be said in the first place.

I know what he meant, and honestly I think the Sober Lane complex is a great spot, due to some serious hard work all round in there. Fair play to them and what they have achieved. If people abandon the real pubs completely for the wetherspoons cardboard cutout version, then the pub HAS done something wrong.

Wetherspoons and starbucks don't damage takings for existing pubs/cafes in other places, I don't think they will here either. They will fill up some boarded up empty places, which I am delighted about. More life and activity in the city will drive more footfall, and that will be good for everyone.

They may take some student trade very short term, but even students want a bit of atmosphere. Most likely it will be tourists, looking for something vaguely familiar.



Good pubs provide a whole lot more than just the pint you pay for.

pwurple

rob316 wrote: »

All smart answers back too from him, I hope one opens on every street to break up this cartel between Benny, Ernest and Monty.

Good to see the begrudgers out in force as usual. God forbid anyone works hard and improves their business.

namloc1980

pwurple wrote: »

Good to see the begrudgers out in force as usual. God forbid anyone works hard and improves their business.

Should they be untouchable to criticism / competition?