Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

maximoose · 19-06-2019 11:04AM

the explorer wrote: »

Was the service reasonably quick for food? I might pop in for lunch if I could be in and out in 30-40 mins.

Yep, I was served in about 10 minutes

Had the buttermilk chicken burger - standard spoons fare tbh, you know it'll never be amazing but a solid 6/10 :pac:

the explorer · 19-06-2019 02:16PM

Popped in at 1pm, said they were only serving food to people with invitations but gave me a free pint. They might give out food at quieter times. Quite a large establishment when you see both floors.

Dellboy54 · 19-06-2019 03:11PM

theteal wrote: »

Just out of interest, does the phone app work in Ireland?

It's proved very convenient on the three occasions I've been in a JDW in the last 12 months - especially in the airport when on my own!

Defo.....Really handy.

Geuze · 20-06-2019 04:00PM

Geuze wrote: »

Yes, I know what you mean, but I'm only in Dublin maybe once a year, so I will be there on Sat if it's open.

If it's not open on Sat evening / night, due to the Fire Cert issue, then I must make a list of pubs nearby as an alternative.

I like pubs like the following:

(1) Glimmerman, Stoneybatter
(2) Kavanagh's, Aughrim street
(3) The Lark Inn, Meath street

I welcome any suggestions.

What is the Confession Box like?

Briody's, Marlborough street?

The Windjammer?

I recall Cleary's on Amiens street being good.

BeerNut · 20-06-2019 04:11PM

The Flowing Tide would be worth a look, so. Also Brannigan's on Cathedral Street.

L1011 · 20-06-2019 04:17PM

Geuze wrote: »

If it's not open on Sat evening / night, due to the Fire Cert issue, then I must make a list of pubs nearby as an alternative.

I like pubs like the following:

(1) Glimmerman, Stoneybatter
(2) Kavanagh's, Aughrim street
(3) The Lark Inn, Meath street

I welcome any suggestions.

What is the Confession Box like?

Briody's, Marlborough street?

The Windjammer?

I recall Cleary's on Amiens street being good.

Would pick Briody's from that list. Confession Box is tiny and increasingly tacky - huge display of merchandise behind the bar. Windjammer is a bit far away.

Also +1 to both BeerNut's suggestions

Muahahaha · 20-06-2019 08:27PM

Jaysis €3.75 for a gin and tonic in Dublin city centre, those prices havent been since since around the early 2000's. The women are going to go mad

Geuze · 21-06-2019 10:46AM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Jaysis €3.75 for a gin and tonic in Dublin city centre, those prices havent been since since around the early 2000's. The women are going to go mad

And just 2.00 more to make any spirit a double!!

theteal · 21-06-2019 10:51AM

Geuze wrote: »

And just 2.00 more to make any spirit a double!!

It's normally just a £1 over here to double but I've always kinda written that off as they're only 25ml shots (coz the English can't be trusted!).

€2 to double an Irish size shot is really good. Hopefully the place isn't overrun by scrotes. . .

Blut2 · 21-06-2019 01:08PM

If its anything like the other branches I'd wager it'll have an extremely heavy security presence. I've never seen so many bouncers in pubs before - its more like a nightclub level. Probably for the best given the cheap prices mind you.

Delighted to see their first central city location open with still such low prices though. Hopefully work is progressing nicely on the Camden Street site too.

Dellboy54 · 21-06-2019 01:18PM

How can they charge those prices when your local is almost twice the that? Not complaining mind.....;)

theteal · 21-06-2019 01:19PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

How can they charge those prices when your local is almost twice the that? Not complaining mind.....;)

They purchase in massive bulk, I suppose. They've a shed load of pubs.

Geuze · 21-06-2019 01:21PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

How can they charge those prices when your local is almost twice the that? Not complaining mind.....;)

A combination of getting discounts on bulk purchases, plus accepting a lower gross margin.

Some chains of pubs in Ireland earn an 80% gross margin on beer.

At least with Spoons they pass the bulk purchase discount onto the customer.

The Irish chains don't.

mfceiling · 21-06-2019 01:22PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

How can they charge those prices when your local is almost twice the that? Not complaining mind.....;)

Are they part of the vintners?

Do you have to be a member to trade as a pub?

Geuze · 21-06-2019 01:22PM

Is it actually officially fully open today??

Geuze · 21-06-2019 01:23PM

mfceiling wrote: »

Are they part of the vintners?

Do you have to be a member to trade as a pub?

I'd say no is the answer to Q1!!

No is the answer to Q2.

odyssey06 · 21-06-2019 01:25PM

theteal wrote: »

They purchase in massive bulk, I suppose. They've a shed load of pubs.

That, and the business model is about bringing in paying customers all through the day.
Not just booze. Breakfasts, lunches, coffee and something sweet.

Their prices are competitive with off licences, so they are not targeting pub customers but with people who might otherwise drink at home, or eat a home.

They seem to actually want customers, rather than treat them as an annoyance and hindrance.

Dellboy54 · 21-06-2019 01:27PM

theteal wrote: »

They purchase in massive bulk, I suppose. They've a shed load of pubs.

So are they importing part of that bulk to Ireland? Is there not taxes on that the same way for Irish pubs?

Dellboy54 · 21-06-2019 01:28PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

That, and the business model is about bringing in paying customers all through the day.
Not just booze. Breakfasts, lunches, coffee and something sweet.

Their prices are competitive with off licences, so they are not targeting pub customers but with people who might otherwise drink at home, or eat a home.

They seem to actually want customers, rather than treat them as an annoyance and hindrance.

Why cant Irish pubs adopt this method?

Geuze · 21-06-2019 01:30PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

So are they importing part of that bulk to Ireland? Is there not taxes on that the same way for Irish pubs?

Excise is the same.

It's the wholesale price that JDW pay less for.

Some brewers won't offer the discounts, e.g. Diageo in Ireland.

That's whay they don't sell Guinness here, yet they do in GB.

As GB is a more competitive marketplace, Diageo UK are forced to offer the discounts in the UK.

Geuze · 21-06-2019 01:32PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

Why cant Irish pubs adopt this method?

Greed?

Cartel??

Irish pubs want to earn high margins AND high volume.

JDW want high volumes, and are willing to take a lower margin.

One Irish chain does negotiate and get large discounts from the breweries, but does not cut prices.

Why would they?

There is no price competition.

Geuze · 21-06-2019 01:34PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

So are they importing part of that bulk to Ireland? Is there not taxes on that the same way for Irish pubs?

Example.

JDW do a deal with a UK brewer for 900+ pubs, and get big discounts.

JDW then export some of those kegs, free of UK duty, into Ireland, pay Irl duty, and sell here at a lower price.

Dellboy54 · 21-06-2019 01:37PM

Geuze wrote: »

Excise is the same.

It's the wholesale price that JDW pay less for.

Some brewers won't offer the discounts, e.g. Diageo in Ireland.

That's whay they don't sell Guinness here, yet they do in GB.

As GB is a more competitive marketplace, Diageo UK are forced to offer the discounts in the UK.

So JDW and other Irish pubs pay the same excise but its the wholesalers/brewerys thats the difference? If so, is the option to import as JDW does not available to pubs in Ireland?

odyssey06 · 21-06-2019 01:48PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

Why cant Irish pubs adopt this method?

Difficult for a single pub to get the supply chain economies of scale.
The business model needs a certain size premises to be able to cater for food.
For some owners, too much hard work, in the sense of management of the premises all day & getting staff to cover same.
So as a model it's not suitable for all premises especially smaller pubs with single owner.

The larger existing premises in prime locations seem to be doing well enough without that method.

Also, I can't rule out a certain mental block on the part of some pub owners to do something different.

So as a model it favours a large chain that wants to compete. And it would not have evolved domestically. It needed to evolve in the more competitive UK market and then arrive here fully formed.

BeerNut · 21-06-2019 01:53PM

Geuze wrote: »

Is it actually officially fully open today??

It is not.

odyssey06 wrote: »

So as a model it favours a large chain that wants to compete. And it would not have evolved domestically. It needed to evolve in the more competitive UK market and then arrive here fully formed.

With regard to how it operates, I always think it makes sense to think of Wetherspoon as more like a supermarket than a pub. It has more in common with your local Tesco than your local local.

odyssey06 · 21-06-2019 01:59PM

BeerNut wrote: »

With regard to how it operates, I always think it makes sense to think of Wetherspoon as more like a supermarket than a pub. It has more in common with your local Tesco than your local local.

Well yes good point. Although I would take it a level further and say that they are operating not just with Tesco in mind, but also with O'Briens offies, Costa Coffee, Burger King, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays etc

Dellboy54 · 21-06-2019 02:22PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

Difficult for a single pub to get the supply chain economies of scale.
The business model needs a certain size premises to be able to cater for food.
For some owners, too much hard work, in the sense of management of the premises all day & getting staff to cover same.
So as a model it's not suitable for all premises especially smaller pubs with single owner.

The larger existing premises in prime locations seem to be doing well enough without that method.

Also, I can't rule out a certain mental block on the part of some pub owners to do something different.

So as a model it favours a large chain that wants to compete. And it would not have evolved domestically. It needed to evolve in the more competitive UK market and then arrive here fully formed.

Perhaps that mental block should be unblocked. Pub owners near abbey street will see there customer numbers drop. As have other areas with Wetherspoons....Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Cork......etc. Who would blame customers going for a €2/€3 pint rather than a €5/€6 pint.

theteal · 21-06-2019 02:26PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

Perhaps that mental block should be unblocked. Pub owners near abbey street will see there customer numbers drop. As have other areas with Wetherspoons....Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Cork......etc. Who would blame customers going for a €2/€3 pint rather than a €5/€6 pint.

It won't be just pubs. Food outlets nearby will need to be on their game. I know the grub isn't fantastic (heck, good is probably a stretch!) but it's cheap and fills a hole.

BeerNut · 21-06-2019 02:27PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

Pub owners near abbey street will see there customer numbers drop. As have other areas with Wetherspoons....Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Cork......etc.

Have you a link for this? I'd be surprised about Cork in particular.

Geuze · 21-06-2019 02:27PM

Dellboy54 wrote: »

So JDW and other Irish pubs pay the same excise but its the wholesalers/brewerys thats the difference? If so, is the option to import as JDW does not available to pubs in Ireland?

All beer sold in Ireland faces the same excise rates.

It doesn't matter where, how, or by whom it's sold.

Pubs are entirely free to import from anywhere in the EU, thanks to the Single Market.

However, one single pub doesn't have the admin team like JDW have to deal with customs/excise, etc.

Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

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