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Evolution of Pubs

Michael Weston

Its no secret Irish pubs are a dying breed at the moment with closures everyday. My question is this, assuming price was not the issue and live music is not the answer what do you think our local bars need to do to evolve and survive??

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batistuta9

Zebra3 wrote: »

It's not too difficult for a publican to get in a small number of bottles of a new type of beer (let's say wheat beer) and to advertise it in his/her pub explaining the difference on this new fangled product to his/her customers.

Too many people are involved in the pub trade who thought it was simply a licence to print money.

Now they are completely stumped and have no idea what to do next.

This might or probably even could work well in large population centre's but not for your typical rural or small/medium size town pubs - which i think most of the closures are taking place anyway. The majority in these pubs wouldn't be turned over to drinking the new beers and it'd be wasted expenses i feel, maybe that's not a reason for them not to try it but i can't see it working across the board

some of the rural pubs might even be doing OK, but it's where there's pubs in towns every 2/3/4 premises along the street and they haven't got the population for it's probably one of the main problems i think.

batistuta9

toexpress wrote: »

Yes but that comes back to a number of factors, like the cost of buying the drink, the level of rates to be paid, the costs of insurance, security and paying staff.

Live entertainment is also hugely expensive. So you see it is pretty difficult to drop the price when you try to meet all the demands of both the licensing laws and the those of the customer

The op's talking about price as the customer.

If people could afford to buy the drink at these prices then there'd be no problem with the irish pub scene relating to customers, there was no problems for people to pay these prices a few years ago & pubs done quite well didn't they

toexpress

batistuta9 wrote: »

if price wasn't the issue then there'd be no problem

Yes but that comes back to a number of factors, like the cost of buying the drink, the level of rates to be paid, the costs of insurance, security and paying staff.

Live entertainment is also hugely expensive. So you see it is pretty difficult to drop the price when you try to meet all the demands of both the licensing laws and the those of the customer

Defiler Of The Coffin

Michael Weston wrote: »

Its no secret Irish pubs are a dying breed at the moment with closures everyday. My question is this, assuming price was not the issue and live music is not the answer what do you think our local bars need to do to evolve and survive??

A far better selection of beers is needed, I find it disheartening that every little pub you go into has the same muck on offer. I've been drinking Heineken for years now and I'm sick of it. Different pubs should have different beers on offer, a pub could really distinguish itself by having a quality local brew available. This would really need to go hand in hand with a revival of the microbrew industry but for example if one of my locals offered beers from O'Haras or the Dungarvan brewery then it would get my custom, provided the lines were clean and the price was reasonable.

I find it strange that a country that loves its beer doesn't have a popular lager to call its own. I don't count Harp as popular!

Turning down the music and the TVs would help. Price badly needs to come down although that isn't the main reason I don't bother with the pub as much as I used to. A lot of pubs seem to have an identity crisis at the moment, they don't know whether they want to be pubs or clubs.

mikemac1

Putting prices up after a certain time

I'll accept it sometimes
For example there were a few bars around the IFSC in Dublin that put on all drinks three euro before nine pm. Desperate to catch the after work crowd
So fair enough if they raise them again later

But having normal prices and then hiking them at eleven pm and maybe hiking again at midnight, GTFO

Michael Weston

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

Don't randomly close for the night. I tried two pubs in the city centre and they were both closed.

That is very annoying, and serving you until a quarter to one them sending in the gorillas to throw you out at five to one .

jt69er

IrishAm wrote: »

Pubs in Ireland try and be too many things. Sports bar/Disco bar at the weekends/ Fine dining restaurant/ Coffee shops during the day/ Local bar/

They need to focus on what they are good at and stop trying to break into each and every niche market.

Friendly bartender.
Decent selection of beers and to look after their lines.
Simple, reasonably priced food.
Clean toilets.
Sport on when necessary. Turn off Sky Sports News when nobody is watching it.

lines are maintained for them by diageo,heineken,bulmers etc FOC

Toby Take a Bow

Don't randomly close for the night. I tried two pubs in the city centre and they were both closed.

Judgement Day

I can't post a picture here but here's the link: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73225212&postcount=23

Redmond's Pub at Scarawalsh (a couple of miles north of Enniscorthy) - no draught beer, bar counter about 10ft long and nothing on the outside to indicate that it's a pub at all. If there's too many at the bar you're invited into the owner's parlour!

fasttalkerchat

utopianruins wrote: »

€5 for a bottle of beer... €4.20/€4.30 for a pint of the same beer...
or 5 bottles of beer in the offo for the price of 1 in the pub...

Unless they sort this nonsence out, I hope they go out of business fairly sharpish!

I could never understand why bottles are dearer than pints in the south. Up north a bottle is about 2.50 and a pint 3.50

SEANoftheDEAD

€5 for a bottle of beer... €4.20/€4.30 for a pint of the same beer...
or 5 bottles of beer in the offo for the price of 1 in the pub...

Unless they sort this nonsence out, I hope they go out of business fairly sharpish!

eth0

Judgement Day wrote: »

I don't know about the evolution of pubs but I suppose it will be like human evolution - the survival of the fittest. I like 'old man' type pubs, always have done and now I am one they suit me even better. TV for rugby (only) and switched off the rest of the time is my idea of heaven - throw in good Guinness, friendly bar staff, nice clientelle, and basic sambos - not much to ask is it. The only thing I would like to see in all surviving pubs is a MASSIVE improvement of toilet facilities.

Nothing like an ould man's pub

Small wooden door to get in about 5" high cause it was built in the Famine when people struggled to get anywhere near that height. There has to be a porch

Dimly lit by carbon filament bulbs or oil lamps. If there are electric lights they must have an oldschool looking lamp shade and plug into a bakelite round-pin socket.

No Budweiser or other any of the common big foreign beers. Unusual stuff is ok, must have a good selection of stout on tap and any half decent local brew, no more than 3.50 a pint.

Unpainted stone walls, all furniture must be dark brown except for the cushions on a few nice comfortable couches in well placed out of the way areas in the pub. Two of these should be on either side of a small stove that people sitting around occasionally throw a few blocks into

No TV except for maybe a small 15" one thats only turned on the odd time. If there is music it should be soft downtempo stuff or slow Irish trad that you can talk over without too much effort.

Live music the odd time but there should still be a room to chill out where you can get away from that too if you're not in the mood.

Walls so thick no iPhone will pick up a signal unless you're standing in the porch.

Nice food, but no indication given that they serve food at all. The only way to find this out is if someone tells you or you see the food being served. Else you get busy fellas coming in for a quick bite ruining the relaxing peaceful atmosphere.

No bouncers, they make for an unpleasant hostile environment. Just if there is a trouble the barman stands there for a few seconds in complete silence and threatens to get the shotgun. Troublemakers leave before he comes back. Everybody then gathers to have a look at yer man's shotgun and a long conversation about shotguns and hunting trips starts.

Michael Weston

Was out earlier and it looked like a decent Thursday night, levels of footfall were nowhere near a normal bank holiday.

Archeron

Bambi wrote: »

Because a table full of gimps all staring at their iphones makes for a great atmosphere

I'm visualizing this literally, with giant jenga and twister to keep the leather clad ones amused when their phone batteries run out.

SteoL

Susie_Q wrote: »

- Don't charge me a euro for a packet of crisps. I'm doing you a favour by consuming a salty snack; it will make me thirstier and want to drink more. Lower your goddamn prices, you thieving knackers!

That is all.

To be fair you would pay a euro (give or take a few cents) for a packet if crisps in a shop so they aren't really ripping us off there IMO.

admiralofthefleet

Stickman2 wrote: »

The staff in alot of pubs in my area in Dublin are c#nts. Obnoxious,unfriendly,unwelcoming c#nts. That is part of the problem I feel

part of the problrm is there is very few real barmen left. most places now recruit the lounge staff who have no idea how to look after a customer

Stickman2

The staff in alot of pubs in my area in Dublin are c#nts. Obnoxious,unfriendly,unwelcoming c#nts. That is part of the problem I feel

old_aussie

Get rid of the drink driving laws so everyone can get pissed and have a good time and not have to worry about driving home drunk.

Dyr

Richard Hillman wrote: »

decent WiFi

board games

Because a table full of gimps all staring at their iphones makes for a great atmosphere

Dr Bob

Pub bands.Kill them.Kill them with fire.
Seriously , there's never been a time I've been sitting with my mates chatting in the local and said
"you know what we need now , someone playing a bad cover of Wonderwall at about a trillion decibels right in our ear so we cant hear a damn thing we're saying"
Or arriving with friends at a packed pub , seeing a perfect empty table and chairs , and then twenty minutes later seeing some spotty numpty wheel his amps in and set up about two inches from your head..
Venue pubs like Whelans or whatever are fine , its just crap in a local....

dan1895

Steven81 wrote: »

And i bet you would go with the one that brings out a few sandwiches or cocktail sausages at half time. This is what is needed to keep the customers in and happy. I remember years ago a pub did this and then stopped, deserted the week after.

Another pub every week would back 100 euros on a certain scoreline were they would be getting odds of 20-25/1 ie Man City to beat Newcastle 2.1 with Aguero 1st goalscorer and if this came in there would be free drink for all those in pub til money ran out, Always got a crowd in.

Ryans in parkgate st used to put out free finger food at half time when showing rugby. dont know if they still do as I don't live aroub]nd there anymore

Diabhal Beag

More smoking areas with bars please

Steven81

dan1895 wrote: »

Fair enough but some bars loose custom because there is too much sport on in them. There needs to be variety with pubs. If I lived in an area with say four pubs and all of them had twenty screens showing football all day it wouldn't be much difference between each. Luckily I have the choice of going to certain bars to watch sport, others for good beer and conversation and others for music.

And i bet you would go with the one that brings out a few sandwiches or cocktail sausages at half time. This is what is needed to keep the customers in and happy. I remember years ago a pub did this and then stopped, deserted the week after.

Another pub every week would back 100 euros on a certain scoreline were they would be getting odds of 20-25/1 ie Man City to beat Newcastle 2.1 with Aguero 1st goalscorer and if this came in there would be free drink for all those in pub til money ran out, Always got a crowd in.

mikemac1

When I was a barman the toilets were checked hourly and they were kept damn clean

Maybe some owners think this is beneath them, maybe they don't go near them and have a cleaner do it once a day in the mornings

If you want to judge attention to detail of staff then you judge the toilets
And some of them are a disgrace.

If you get the Sunday World there is a team called Pub Spy who visit towns all over Ireland and review the pubs there, this is often a big issue for them

Pubs are quiet, no excuse for them not being clean
And tradesmen are plentiful, if you need stuff repaired then hire one

Judgement Day

I don't know about the evolution of pubs but I suppose it will be like human evolution - the survival of the fittest. I like 'old man' type pubs, always have done and now I am one they suit me even better. TV for rugby (only) and switched off the rest of the time is my idea of heaven - throw in good Guinness, friendly bar staff, nice clientelle, and basic sambos - not much to ask is it. The only thing I would like to see in all surviving pubs is a MASSIVE improvement of toilet facilities.

dan1895

Fair enough but some bars loose custom because there is too much sport on in them. There needs to be variety with pubs. If I lived in an area with say four pubs and all of them had twenty screens showing football all day it wouldn't be much difference between each. Luckily I have the choice of going to certain bars to watch sport, others for good beer and conversation and others for music.

Richard Hillman

dan1895 wrote: »

Richard Hillman wrote: »

More TVs and a wider range of sports or at least different football leagues.

In a sports bar yes yes yes. In a regular pub no no no.

Most pubs lead source of income comes from sporting occasions now a days. We are talking about the evolution of the pub. They need TV and sports to survive. Using me as an example, there is a local pub in my area that i won't drink in because there are not enough tvs and they are in rubbish positions. Over the years theyve must have lost thousands of euro of custom because the other local boozers do have a decent sporting arrangement. When I go to a boozer, I want sport and booze.

dan1895

Richard Hillman wrote: »

More TVs and a wider range of sports or at least different football leagues.

In a sports bar yes yes yes. In a regular pub no no no.

Richard Hillman

More TVs and a wider range of sports or at least different football leagues.

bring your own food or at least after the kitchen is closed

less pub bands, music.

decent WiFi

board games

desertcircus

dan1895 wrote: »

I hear the likes of mulligans and against the grain are doing quite well for themselves and their prices arent cheap, they just sell a better quality product.

This is pretty much exactly it. Against The Grain doesn't even sell Guinness, Carlsberg or Heineken, and they've expanded to the stage where they have three pubs in Dublin after starting off in a spot that was poison to any pub that set up there.

The price of the aforesaid beers in off-licences have done for most pubs - why pay €25 for five pints of Heineken when you can pay €24 for an entire crate in the off-licence? The beer you get in a craft-beer pub will cost about three times as much as the mass-produced stuff in the off-licence, so there isn't the same incentive to drink at home.