New Business openings and closures around you?

I doubt people who eat food in Wetherspoons would be the same type person who goes to Ouzos.

qb123

Ouzos had a great area out the back with heaters, comfortable seats, TV that was very under utilised. I'd guess (a) most people didn't know it was there and (b) most punters going for a meal there wouldn't bother with the bar aspect at the rear. The new venture is probably aiming for better use of the entire space and will hopefully keep most of the old clientele and add some new ones.

Awaaf

qb123 wrote: »

Ouzos had a great area out the back with heaters, comfortable seats, TV that was very under utilised. I'd guess (a) most people didn't know it was there and (b) most punters going for a meal there wouldn't bother with the bar aspect at the rear. The new venture is probably aiming for better use of the entire space and will hopefully keep most of the old clientele and add some new ones.

I had heard about the bar and always meant to try it but never remembered whenever I was in Blackrock.

aoh

Problem with Ouzos was/is that if you don't like seafood or steak, there's very little choice. Have gone / been brought there on occassion and struggled to find a dish (allergic to one, don't like the other)!

aoh wrote: »

Problem with Ouzos was/is that if you don't like seafood or steak, there's very little choice. Have gone / been brought there on occassion and struggled to find a dish (allergic to one, don't like the other)!

I think that’s more of a problem for yourself. I wouldn’t say that a fish restaurant that also sells steak is a limited choice.

I don’t eat piazza I wouldn’t say it’s dominos problem

Larbre34

ted1 wrote: »

I think that’s more of a problem for yourself. I wouldn’t say that a fish restaurant that also sells steak is a limited choice.

I don’t eat piazza I wouldn’t say it’s dominos problem

St. Mark's Square will be mighty relieved.

rubadub

ted1 wrote: »

I don’t eat piazza I wouldn’t say it’s dominos problem

I would certainly describe it as "a problem domino's was/is" in the same way as that poster quite obviously meant. On numerous occasions I have been amongst groups would would decide not to order from dominos or other pizza places for the exact same reasons, lack of choice.

I think many places would be far more profitable if they branched out just a tad.

ted1 wrote: »

I think that’s more of a problem for yourself. I wouldn’t say that a fish restaurant that also sells steak is a limited choice.

It is a very limited choice and the fact that they are revamping their food offerings would seem to bear this out. I would very rarely eat steak in restaurants and I never eat fish so Ouzos held no interest for me. I'm in Blackrock once or twice a week and its pretty clear that the customers were not exactly queueing out the door.

It was a failed formula, time to try something different.

qb123

I don't think offering only seafood and steak is an issue in and of itself. Ouzos in Dalkey does very well; Fish Shack (owned by same people) always has the punters in. I also would tend not to look favourably on restaurants that try to cater to all people or have a long variety of options as it tends to have an impact on quality. What maybe matters more for Blackrock at the moment is developing a complementary ecosystem of restaurants so that it becomes a destination, somewhat like Dalkey but on a smaller scale.

EricPraline

qb123 wrote: »

I don't think offering only seafood and steak is an issue in and of itself. Ouzos in Dalkey does very well; Fish Shack (owned by same people) always has the punters in. I also would tend not to look favourably on restaurants that try to cater to all people or have a long variety of options as it tends to have an impact on quality. What maybe matters more for Blackrock at the moment is developing a complementary ecosystem of restaurants so that it becomes a destination, somewhat like Dalkey but on a smaller scale.

This is a good point - this has actually worked rather well for Monkstown.

However, there were probably other factors. The property that Ouzo's occupied wasn't ideal, cramped with no atmosphere. On top of this, their prices were not exactly competitive (€25 sirloin? €28 ribeye?). While it would be nice to stay local, there are cheaper, better in the city centre or in other suburbs on the Dart line.

Over-priced food seems to be a recurring theme in Blackrock (not counting Wetherspoons). Not clear if this is partially due to the rents being charged by landlords.

qb123 wrote: »

What maybe matters more for Blackrock at the moment is developing a complementary ecosystem of restaurants so that it becomes a destination, somewhat like Dalkey but on a smaller scale.

+1 can't argue with that but based on current trends, it's heading towards becoming the burger, chicken and steak capital of the county.

With Dali's converting to Rage and now Ouzos going in the same direction, it's a culinary regression to the mean!

The thing about Ouzos is that sometimes you need a complete overhaul just to move with the times. I've never eaten there now but by looking the look of the restaurant it looks outdated by about 5-10 years and is not in keeping with the current trends in restaurants it looks like the kind of place that would have been popular in The Celtic Tiger era but not now.

Another similar example would have been Barracuda in Bray which seemed popular during the Celtic Tiger but with the current trends in food it wouldn't really be that popular as it has now changed to a Gastropub and a Tapas Place.

Blut2

coylemj wrote: »

+1 can't argue with that but based on current trends, it's heading towards becoming the burger, chicken and steak capital of the county.

With Dali's converting to Rage and now Ouzos going in the same direction, it's a culinary regression to the mean!

Aside from the multiple award winning restaurants recently opened in Blackrock you mean? Dunne & Crescenzi, El Cellerel, Heron & Grey etc. Most suburban Blackrock-sized towns would kill to have a Michelin star restaurant in their midst. Categorizing Rage as a "burger" place is also highly reductive, its got a far more inventive menu than Dalis had with almost identical ambiance.

Blackrock has more, and better, restaurant choice than any other village than Dalkey. And even thats a close call these days.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying better than Dalkey’s.

Ragazzis, 1909, Devilles, Ozus, Jaipur, guinea pig are all top level and then you have Bennettos, queens , Kathmandu, thai house , magpie, wanderlust.

EricPraline

Blut2 wrote: »

Aside from the multiple award winning restaurants recently opened in Blackrock you mean? Dunne & Crescenzi, El Cellerel, Heron & Grey etc. Most suburban Blackrock-sized towns would kill to have a Michelin star restaurant in their midst. Categorizing Rage as a "burger" place is also highly reductive, its got a far more inventive menu than Dalis had with almost identical ambiance.

Blackrock has more, and better, restaurant choice than any other village than Dalkey. And even thats a close call these days.

As much as I like Blackrock, that's quite an exaggeration. Heron & Grey is an outlier. Put it aside and the choice available is mediocre. If Dunne & Crescenzi and Rage are the best of the remaining offerings, that's faint praise. There is currently far better choice in Monkstown, Howth, Malahide, Ranelagh, Clontarf and so on. Which is a real shame, considering Blacrock village's potential. Hopefully the renovation of Frascati might have a knock-on effect on the rest of the village.

EricPraline wrote: »

As much as I like Blackrock, that's quite an exaggeration. Heron & Grey is an outlier.

+1 the 'halo effect' on the area resulting from Heron & Grey's Michelin star was a stretch of a fertile imagination.

The newsagents on the ground floor of Blackrock SC has closed. I can't say how long though as it's a while since I've been there and I only noticed it today. Not many independent newsagents remaining.

Tabnabs

New kids clothes shop has opened in the basement of the Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre.

Cyrus

having moved from blackrock to dalkey i have to say i have yet to come around to dalkey as a town (god forbid one is caught referring to it as a village :P)

restaurants and bars are great and superior to blackrock (if a proper night out if your thing) but there are very few kid friendly coffee / lunch places (ala Vanilla pod and even starbucks / insomnia / java) and the rest of the amenities pale compared to blackrock imo

Cyrus wrote: »

having moved from blackrock to dalkey i have to say i have yet to come around to dalkey as a town (god forbid one is caught referring to it as a village :P)

Unless one is lodging an objection to some upstart business proposing to open there and which is not owned by a local Nimby. In which case it's ok to liberally pepper the text of your objection with words like 'heritage' and 'village'.

Rather than looking at the multinational chains , if you look at the local cafes I’m sure that you’ll find them just as welcoming to kids as the multinational tax dodging competitors.

Mugs , idlewild, tropica, Country bake , select stores , queens etc

Cyrus

ted1 wrote: »

Rather than looking at the multinational chains , if you look at the local cafes I’m sure that you’ll find them just as welcoming to kids as the multinational tax dodging competitors.

Mugs , idlewild, tropica, Country bake , select stores , queens etc

i named one multinational, the rest were irish companies.

i have been in all of the above, and they are fine, but most of them arent equipped for people coming in with buggys or have enough space to cater for that kind of thing.

Plenty of room in Killiney Castle for buggies. That’s where we go if we’ve a group. We had about 15 kids between us on NYE when we meet up for lunch.

Cyrus

ted1 wrote: »

Plenty of room in Killiney Castle for buggies. That’s where we go if we’ve a group. We had about 15 kids between us on NYE when we meet up for lunch.

Yep go there a lot to be fair great spot

dublinman1990

I saw a bit of scaffolding surrounded with metal gates in the car park at the back of Blackrock Shopping Centre yesterday.

Is this redevelopment plan for the centre going to start very soon?

Does anyone know what they're doing around the cinema, Lidl and AIB complex in Stillorgan. There's a lot building there including a crane and lots of scaffolding.

caviardreams

dublinman1990 wrote: »

I saw a bit of scaffolding surrounded with metal gates in the car park at the back of Blackrock Shopping Centre yesterday.

Is this redevelopment plan for the centre going to start very soon?

I think the work is mainly putting in a roof rather than expansion of shops etc.

I see the Tesco hardware branch in Stillorgan SC is closing this weekend - obviously relocating/downsizing to the new food one. Hopefully somebody will go in that unit soon - it's a decent size.

caviardreams wrote: »

I think the work is mainly putting in a roof rather than expansion of shops etc.

I see the Tesco hardware branch in Stillorgan SC is closing this weekend - obviously relocating/downsizing to the new food one. Hopefully somebody will go in that unit soon - it's a decent size.

Is the off licence going aswell, if so maybe the two units could be merged into one. It might be a good location for an Aldi in Stillorgan.

xper

dublinman1990 wrote: »

I saw a bit of scaffolding surrounded with metal gates in the car park at the back of Blackrock Shopping Centre yesterday.

Is this redevelopment plan for the centre going to start very soon?

Well they are well stuck in to dismantling the adjacent office block's interior. While that is subject to a separate planning application, you would imagine the shopping centre works will be part of the overall project.