American chains in Ireland (or lack thereof)

The Pheasant2

Why have the big American bar & grill/casual dining chains e.g Applebees, Chili's, Arby's, Hooter's etc. not tapped into the Irish market?

I must say I like American food when it's done well but the only places in Ireland that offer decent American food are totally over-priced. (Think Captain America's, TGI Fridays, Eddie Rocket's)

Anybody have any idea why some of the aforementioned chains or others have chosen not to locate on the Emerald Isle?

darkpagandeath

To expensive and not everyone likes Fast Food Here

miss no stars

They have to actually pay their staff here? Cost of living in general here? Lack of real demand?

DrumSteve

Most of them own subsidiaries over this side of the water.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

The Pheasant2 wrote: »

Why have the big American bar & grill/casual dining chains e.g Applebees, Chili's, Arby's, Hooter's etc. not tapped into the Irish market?

I must say I like American food when it's done well but the only places in Ireland that offer decent American food are totally over-priced. (Think Captain America's, TGI Fridays, Eddie Rocket's)

Anybody have any idea why some of the aforementioned chains or others have chosen not to locate on the Emerald Isle?

Answered our own question: remember Planet Hollywood? No? Well, there's a reason

MadYaker

Id love to see Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme over here. All the fast food ones are mostly rubbish though. Or Baskin and Robbins mmmmmm.

JupiterKid

There's no real demand for them and this niche is filled up by
the likes of Eddie Rockets/GBK/TGI Friday etc.

NegativeCreep

All we need is an iHop and I'll be sorted for life.

The Pheasant2

miss no stars wrote: »

Lack of real demand?

I would wager that if a Hooter's opened in Dundrum shopping centre or a decent location in town it'd make a shed-load! Look at Nando's (Not American, but a similar type chain) - the Nando's in Dundrum is constantly packed, even on weekdays.

I feel there's a serious gap in the market here for trendy chains with good BBQ/American food but with large enough economies of scale to keep
prices reasonable and therefore bring in the teenagers/students who are looking to have a decent meal with their mates and perhaps a few beers too.

Links234

do we really need them?

Lyaiera

Because Ireland is an inconsequential hole.

SV

If they were priced like they are in America then yeah, they'd be amazing.
unfortunately they're overpriced and muck.

spank_inferno

The lack of casual dining in ireland is something I miss about the states.

I miss:
Texas Roadhouse
Applebees
Bakers Square / village inn
Hooters. (best chicken wings).

Celly Smunt

I demand a Tim Hortons!




And a dairy queen.But not as much..

I'd like a Dennys. I'll have blueberry pancakes, eggs over easy, bacon, fresh berries, and maple syrup. Thanks

darkpagandeath

Last time i was in Tgi they charged like 30 euro for mediocre steak that i could have got from Tesco and cooked at home .. for about 5 euro

The Pheasant2

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Last time i was in Tgi they charged like 30 euro for mediocre steak that i could have got from Tesco and cooked at home .. for about 5 euro

Exactly! What we need is an Applebees!

Or a Maggiano's Little Italy mother of god.....drooling....

spank_inferno

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I'd like a Dennys. I'll have blueberry pancakes, eggs over easy, bacon, fresh berries, and maple syrup. Thanks

True... A Dennys would do nicely.

No one will call for an Arbys.... Poor Arbys!

canadianwoman

Celly Smunt wrote: »

I demand a Tim Hortons!




And a dairy queen.But not as much..

Good choices.

I did notice on street view that you guys have Subway over there. That and a Timmies is all I need.

Seaneh

Meh, american chains work in america becuase they are cheap and quick, over here they wouldnt be cheap.

The food is, mostly, **** in most of them.


I couldn't see Chilli's or Outback being popular here at all.

miss no stars

A chillis and pink berry would be nice, but the reality is that the cost of doing business is high here so that would be passed on. I doubt the bottomless chips n dips would be quite so bottomless as in the USA.

darkpagandeath

miss no stars wrote: »

A chillis and pink berry would be nice, but the reality is that the cost of doing business is high here so that would be passed on. I doubt the bottomless chips n dips would be quite so bottomless as in the USA.

Yeah imagine coffee Being free here :P and not €3 for instant

Celly Smunt

And how on earth could i forget 7/11's big gulps!

canadianwoman

Celly Smunt wrote: »

And how on earth could i forget 7/11's big gulps!

Delicious frozen..... with a corn dog.

shruikan2553

TGI is overpriced crap in the US too so by the sounds of it its quite similar here. A decent doughnut place would be nice.

Temptamperu

I think we should have tacobell as i like tacos.

clairefontaine

It's impossible to find decent coriander in Ireland. Or as we call it cilantro.

Mexican would fail.

Lando Griffin

I am amazed nobody here has mentioned The Cheesecake Factory or is it too upmarket for Ireland?

DoozerT6

Bring back Dunkin Donuts!! Back in the day when they had the shop on Grafton St you could get a sandwich (on THICK bread!), a doughnut, and a coffee for something like 3 pounds.

canadianwoman

What you guys need over there is a Mary Brown's Fried Chicken outlet. There is one near where I live and the chicken is much better then you would get from KFC.

131spanner

We've got Subway... It's something.

Five Guys burgers would get my business too. Om nom nom.

JupiterKid

Dunkin' Donuts were in Ireland in the 90s but they pulled out.

We've had KFC for over 40 years and McDonalds for over 35 years now.
The economies of scale that make casual dining places work in the USA wouldn't apply here.

TGI Friday is overpriced muck. For the real deal it has to be Captain Americas.

I for one would love if we had an iHOP but they've never shown any inclination to expand outside of North America. Pity...

Lyaiera

Deleted User wrote: »

Five Guys burgers would get my business too. Om nom nom.

I think a few have opened in the UK. I know quite a few Muricans who rave about the place. (Their fries if I recall correctly.)

Seaneh wrote: »

Meh, american chains work in america becuase they are cheap and quick, over here they wouldnt be cheap.

If we could do cheap we could do tapast. I'd kill for proper tapas/pintxos. Booze and a nibble is the best kind of culture.

Lyaiera

Lyaiera wrote: »

I think a few have opened in the UK. I know quite a few Muricans who rave about the place. (Their fries if I recall correctly.)

The one in London is terrible. Really bad and overpriced.

Toby Purring Ax

Toby Purring Ax wrote: »

The one in London is terrible. Really bad and overpriced.

That's a pity. The ones I've had in the states have been fantastic, and super cheap.

April O Neill

clairefontaine wrote: »

It's impossible to find decent coriander in Ireland. Or as we call it cilantro.

It is?

helimachoptor

Spent last night in a bar in Seattle called cowgirls, Jebus I'd be in there every night if they had one in Ireland

JupiterKid

clairefontaine wrote: »

Mexican would fail.

Erm...burrito eateries are booming here at the moment. It seems like a new one is popping up each week. When are Boojum going to open a south city outlet?

pablomakaveli

I'd love to see Krispy Kreme doughnuts sold in Ireland. They're here in the UK and are sold in some Tesco's as well as their own shops so hopefully they might make a jump over to Ireland sometime in the future.

KeithM89

I'd murder a loved one for an In N Out burger to open nearby.

The Pheasant2

We should all write letters to the requested chains begging them to open up operation here - they couldn't ignore that many letters!

clairefontaine

JupiterKid wrote: »

Erm...burrito eateries are booming here at the moment. It seems like a new one is popping up each week. When are Boojum going to open a south city outlet?

I've had Mexican in Ireland. No cilantro. Fail.

cson

JupiterKid wrote: »

TGI Friday is overpriced muck. For the real deal it has to be Captain Americas.

You call TGI's overpriced and then mention Captain Americas as an alternative...

SV

cson wrote: »

You call TGI's overpriced and then mention Captain Americas as an alternative...

Captain Americas IS expensive but the portion sizes, jesus.

kowloon

I hear the chicken in Los Pollos Hermanos is good.

spank_inferno

Anyone know "Culvers".

In my home Wisconsin they butter their burger buns for heart-clogging taste-gasm.

clairefontaine

FDA has snuck in let in chickens in from China.

Very hard to get info on sources of meat in US restaurants as well as methods used for killing.

spank_inferno

clairefontaine wrote: »

Very hard to get info on sources of meat in US restaurants as well as methods used for killing.

No different than in ireland.

Here restaurants put their county name before a meat to imply a certain quality.... it isnt a certainty.

The Pheasant2

And why are there no waffle houses here?! Chocolate chip waffles and maple syrup - who's gonna say no to that?

Guy:Incognito

darkpagandeath wrote: »

To expensive and not everyone likes Fast Food Here

Yes, because alsolutely everyone love fast food in America. Its a wonder McDonalds are able to survive here at all.

The truth is probably closer to the fact that Ireland has a smaller population than some American cities but spread out much wider so why bother with the investment?