Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

Dont be at yourself · 09-09-2013 05:11PM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

We've got about a dozen in work now, and the Bar Manager is chatting to some Donegal brewery this week about getting more.

I hope that's Kinnegar!

Seaneh · 09-09-2013 05:13PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

I hope that's Kinnegar!

Doubt it, he makes about 5 liters of beer a month.

Dont be at yourself · 09-09-2013 05:14PM

Seaneh wrote: »

Doubt it, he makes about 5 liters of beer a month.

Building a new brewery though, aren't they?

Seaneh · 09-09-2013 05:16PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Building a new brewery though, aren't they?

Hopefully, that stuff takes time though.

BeerNut · 09-09-2013 05:19PM

The new brewery is finished.

EyeSight · 09-09-2013 05:24PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Can't believe the negativity towards Dublin pubs, to be honest. Absolutely, there's a lot that they do wrong, and can be accused of gouging their customers with steep prices and trying to stifle off-license sales, but there's nothing like holing up in a decent pub for a night.

I've lived abroad, visited lots of countries, and nowhere I've found can match the atmosphere of a Dublin pub. Too brightly lit, barmen and floorstaff who treat their work as a job and not a vocation, tables laid out in oceans of space like a restaurant, staid decor.

I want my pub to be dimly lit. I want it to have chairs that don't match, tables that wobble. Those notes and photos of regulars pinned to the wall behind the bar? Lovely. The ham-and-cheese toastie served on a paper plate with your pint? Delicious.

It's also ridiculous to blame pubs for Irish people's love affair with Diageo products. You'd want to take a look at Diageo themselves. If anything, the pubs have been quick to respond to the explosion in craft beer, with virtually every pub now at least stocking bottles of craft, some with a tap, and some even getting contract brews done.

i think you're talking about a specific pub there...
I have been to many pubs in all countries and there are great ones everywhere(with regulars and food) if you can find them

Chelon · 09-09-2013 05:45PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

I wouldn't expect Wetherspoons to be any different; they sell ales and bitters in England because that's local taste. They'll be giving their customers what they want, and in Dublin, that'll mean ice-cold fizzy lager and Guinness.

Not sure if I agree - I've been in some JDs in rough parts of the UK, where 99% of the clientele are necking the ice cold lager or cider. Guess what - you can still expect a beautiful pint of cask ale in these places.

God knows how they do it - but their policy seems to be "If it's a Wetherspoons it'll have good cask ale".

Let's hope they keep it that way when they invade these shores.

drumswan · 09-09-2013 05:47PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Can't believe the negativity towards Dublin pubs, to be honest. Absolutely, there's a lot that they do wrong, and can be accused of gouging their customers with steep prices and trying to stifle off-license sales, but there's nothing like holing up in a decent pub for a night.

Wetherspoons wont be competing against pubs in Wexford Street. You cannot buy a pint of draught craft beer (nor bottled I think) in a pub in Tallaght for example, thats what, 100,000 people?

Chelon · 09-09-2013 05:48PM

Tazz T wrote: »

Blackrock is only the beginning. He has also acquired the 40 Foot in pub in Dun Laoghaire.

Finally I see their loction strategy - fantastic ales straight off the boat and in the pub within minutes

Thinking about it, their beers are such high quality in general that this could almost be true....

rubadub · 09-09-2013 06:38PM

cloudatlas wrote: »

I can't understand why people think it's going to be as cheap as it is in the U.K.

I can't understand how you thought people did either! Can you quote anybody in this thread who was actually saying/suggesting they expected them to have the same prices in the UK?

People were expecting them to be cheaper than most locals.

cloudatlas wrote: »

supplying a mediocre product en masse.

I was in one in wales and the bottles of staropramen tasted the same as the ones in the pub across the road, actually I got a nicer glass and the cheaper price might make it all the tastier;). That's the difference between mcdonalds or starbucks, these are more like a supermarket selling you some of the exact same things you usually buy, but much cheaper.

If you are referring to the food being mediocre then its the same as mcdonalds & starbucks, people know what to expect, so go there, a safe bet. When they open If I was given the choice of €8 worth of steak in any pub in blackrock I would chance wetherspoons to have the best value, i.e. taking both size & quality into account. Same with mcdonalds, in blackrock I would take the €1 burger over the central cafe chippers €1 worth, a takeaway burger is €2.50 there so I would get less than half one. In mcdonalds I get a decent seat and a paper to read too.

listermint wrote: »

Any UK company thats low priced that has moved here see the money that edgits here will pay.

Any example of these UK companies? i.e. ones who are genuinely recognized as being a decent % cheaper than their other UK competitors? not just ones who say they are cheap in marketing, which is loads (e.g. I certainly would not include the likes of tesco).

The last one that springs to mind is Dealz, who are owned by poundland in the UK. I saw about the same price differential on many items as here as in the UK (many things are higher too). They are able to source big branded products from the UK supply chain, like coke, who must be fuming to see their products being sold well below their RRP in this region.

And if they can use their UK supply chain, we will see sub €3 pints of Guinness.

This would be very interesting, the Aviva threatened to do it, they are a little different being a stadium. I don't think they would have to go below €3 though.

oblivious · 09-09-2013 06:54PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

You don't see 20 taps and cask ales because the average punter doesn't want them. O'Haras, Galway Hooker, 8 Degrees and Dungarvan are all fairly common and you can be sure that any decent pub will stock at least one of them.

I wouldn't expect Wetherspoons to be any different; they sell ales and bitters in England because that's local at they want, and in Dublin, that'll meanlikely cold fizzy lager and Guinness.

The cottage group would argue you can. Expanding group of pubs in dublin city centre that provides an out let for alot of irsh craft beer as well as international one

But thats was not my point, one or two bottle beers is not embracing it. There is tap space that could be switched over to offer a small selection, it just take a bit of imagination, a bit of willingness on the management to push them. But that is up to the publicans, spoons is comming and the likenof cottages group, bull and castle, porterhouse and independent craft beer bars are all expanding. Both most likely will target either end of the spend, probably not great new for your average city center pub

rainbow kirby · 09-09-2013 06:59PM

Anything to shake up the cosy cartel that exists back home!

I'm in the one on Holloway Road quite a bit - steak night and lifting heavy at my gym about 200m from the JDW pub there tend to coincide, and a steak dinner for 7 quid is hard to resist.

oblivious · 10-09-2013 07:13AM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

We've got about a dozen in work now, and the Bar Manager is chatting to some Donegal brewery this week about getting more.

Granted, we don't shift anywhere near as many as Diageo products, but it's getting better.

But €3.50 a bottle it ain't.

Great to see, would a rotating tap of craft producers be something they would go for?

Sofiztikated · 10-09-2013 09:36AM

oblivious wrote: »

Great to see, would a rotating tap of craft producers be something they would go for?

We've got Donegal Blonde on tap at the moment.

Not sure if there's enough of a demand yet to call to rotate, but were looking into it.

EricPraline · 10-09-2013 12:58PM

Tazz T wrote: »

Tim Wetherspoon is a very astute businessman. He built the entire business from a single pub to 890 pubs today. Given the state of the Irish pub industry, he is not going to come in here unless he can really shake up the market. I will be amazed if he can't do a €3 pint.

Blackrock is only the beginning. He has also acquired the 40 Foot in pub in Dun Laoghaire.

Interesting choice of locations. Tbh the current Tonic and 40 Foot are soulless and over-priced, so anything is likely to be an improvement. The local publicans of Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire are likely to be less impressed.

Bits_n_Bobs · 10-09-2013 01:38PM

Whatever about DL a decade ago Blackrock had excellent pubs and Friday nights were jammers- I suspect it's absolutely ripe for a good shake up. Pretty sure the same could be said of DL. Looking forward to their arrival

uch · 10-09-2013 03:11PM

Look forward to them coming, might shake up a few of the overpriced kips around the borough

slayerking · 10-09-2013 09:01PM

Is there any reason why they're not picking a more central location, or is it a case of testing the waters first and gradually taking over the country!?

ted1 · 10-09-2013 09:34PM

slayerking wrote: »

Is there any reason why they're not picking a more central location, or is it a case of testing the waters first and gradually taking over the country!?

They got the ferry over and these are the first two pubs they meet with a for sale sign.

BeerNut · 10-09-2013 09:35PM

slayerking wrote: »

Is there any reason why they're not picking a more central location, or is it a case of testing the waters first and gradually taking over the country!?

Price is going to be a big factor. I'd say there will be a lot of suburban Wetherspoons before they convert the former Clery's into The Haberdasher's Arms

rubadub · 11-09-2013 03:09PM

ted1 wrote: »

They got the ferry over

Actually that's a good point, the 40ft is right at the ferry port. It'd be like having a supermacs in holyhead port, some visitors would go there as they know what to expect, many do not want to try different things.

I reckon lots of UK visitors would be attracted to it simply to see what their setup is like over here.

Tube · 11-09-2013 07:20PM

slayerking wrote: »

Is there any reason why they're not picking a more central location, or is it a case of testing the waters first and gradually taking over the country!?

I've been looking at pub prices for over 2 years, and they could have gotten a city centre premises for less than they did in Blackrock. I reckon they went for Blackrock as there is less competition.

Davidth88 · 12-09-2013 08:36AM

Hi

as my earlier post said , I was under the impression they looked before and were basically blocked by the cosy cartel.

They did buy a building in D7 ( Capel St ) I assume near where Jamie opened his restaurant but never opened and sold it at 1 million loss.

Bet there were a few people having meetings with planning people to ensure this didn't happen

Wetherspoon almost opened in Dublin about a decade ago when it acquired the freehold on a furniture warehouse in Capel Street for more than €2 million. It got cold feet due to the high costs of doing business in Ireland at the time and was reported to have sold on the premises at a loss.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/retail-and-services/british-pub-chain-wetherspoon-set-to-acquire-dublin-bar-1.1511162?

BaZmO* · 12-09-2013 08:38AM

Davidth88 wrote: »

Hi

as my earlier post said , I was under the impression they looked before and were basically blocked by the cosy cartel.

They did buy a building in D7 ( Capel St ) I assume near where Jamie opened his restaurant but never opened and sold it at 1 million loss.

Bet there were a few people having meetings with planning people to ensure this didn't happen

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/retail-and-services/british-pub-chain-wetherspoon-set-to-acquire-dublin-bar-1.1511162?

The chef you're thinking about is Gary Rhodes.

Davidth88 · 12-09-2013 08:39AM

BaZmO* wrote: »

The chef you're thinking about is Gary Rhodes.

Of course it was !!! Stand corrected ( both are equally annoying

)

Bigcheeze · 12-09-2013 09:23AM

By going for Blackrock it helps to establish a good brand in Ireland from day one. I'm sure they have spent many millions in the UK trying to shake off some of the negative perceptions of their brand.

If they bought somewhere along the quays in Dublin, I think we know the clientele they'd attract. They'd have to install a crutch stand outside the pub.

SolitaireX · 12-09-2013 09:31AM

I went to the one in Nottingham before and had no problem with it, it wasn't the greatest bar in the world but it certainly wasn't the worst by a long shot. I think people should be looking forward to them arriving if there's even the remote possibility they'll force Irish pubs to start competing for business.

Losty Dublin · 12-09-2013 09:37AM

rubadub wrote: »

Actually that's a good point, the 40ft is right at the ferry port. It'd be like having a supermacs in holyhead port, some visitors would go there as they know what to expect, many do not want to try different things.

I reckon lots of UK visitors would be attracted to it simply to see what their setup is like over here.

Dun Laoghaire ferryport gets very little footfall these days and it will get nothing once the HSS is retired in the autumn.

Tabnabs · 12-09-2013 09:54AM

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Dun Laoghaire ferryport gets very little footfall these days and it will get nothing once the HSS is retired in the autumn.

Laid up until xmas since last Tuesday. It's only got a couple of years of seasonal activity in DL anyway.

Maybe all the rich old American's off the cruise ships will warm to Wethy's?

joeguevara · 12-09-2013 10:04AM

Scotts in Dun Laoghaire charge €3.30 for a pint all day every day. Never really that busy. Maybe a decent crowd on a Friday. ROugh enough pup with mainly old codgers drinking. Nando's has just opened opposite the 40ft. Maybe kick start things in DUn Laoghaire because at the moment it is pretty dead.

Main street has many unoccupied units. Marks and Spencers just closed down but talk of an aldi opening up near Gilbert and Wrights.

Pubs are dead at night apart from Gilberts and Walters. Pier Inn is good for food and trying to bring in people at weekend nights. Need a better choice of music as the bands they get in at the moment are quite depressing.

Hope it works out. Would be nice to have an alternative to go to in dun laoghaire.

Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

Comments