johnnyskeleton wrote: » Possibly. There are no doubt people who have latched onto the craft beer banter because its trendy without necessarily liking the beers. In fact, the backlash against Wetherspoons is evidence of the dislike of large companies.
Seaneh wrote: » Carlsburg, Heiniken are like the mcdonalds of beer. They are low production cost, high profit, low quality, mass marketed ****e that people only buy because they recognise he brand name.
Allyall wrote: » In many small towns in Ireland, the pubs have serious price fixing going on.
MYOB wrote: » Dwindling number of pubs are actually in the VFI these days. 33 listed in all of Donegal on their website for instance. Don't think it provides them with any advantages at all anymore.
LordSutch wrote: » Surely we sould welcome the likes of JDs with open arms precisely because they will be breaking the stranglehold of another large company, namely Diageo. I look forward to a selection of local Irish & English Cask Ales on tap (along side the usual selection of lagers) & bottled beers . . . The Irish pub industry (stale) needs a long overdue kick up the backside for the good of the consumers pocket & palate, and JDs are the very chain to do it. Expect sunday roast+ a pint of Ale for a tenner!
Seaneh wrote: » Jeepers, only 3 in Athlone. Hadn't realised they'd dropped so much, 5-6 years ago pretty much every bar in town was a member.
ScumLord wrote: » I've never seen a £2 breakfast, unless it's basically just a sausage samwidge. I've had the breakfast in witherspoons and it's certainly not the worst. I had a read of their own magazine at the time. They claim they buy direct from farms, with the size of them I'd believe it. Witherspoons have buying power and that would allow them to offer meals quite cheaply. I'm not saying it's great food but for the price of a mcdonalds meal you can get something pretty decent and fairly healthy in witherspoons.
dd972 wrote: » Imagine what a Wetherspoons on Eden Quay or Talbot St would be like! I'm sure such a company does their homework on catchment areas and clientele though.
fryup wrote: » i see no reason why wetherspoons can't open in ireland?? there's plenty of paddy pubs in the UK so can we not return the favour/gesture??
Mr Simpson wrote: » They're planning on opening 30 of them
Allyall wrote: » If you like Irish pubs, there'll still be plenty of them, but unfortunately this may close a fair few of them down. On the other hand many of them deserve to be closed down, with their €5.65 pints of píss. 30 seems a bit much, but time will tell. I like my trad pubs, especially in the winter, heading down the Country, and on a cold wet night, going to the local, in the bar, near the fire, and a trad band are playing. Can't beat it. I heard these lot don't even play music? :eek: Is that true?
MYOB wrote: » They generally don't have any sound output at all - music or TV.
Allyall wrote: » Is that because of licensing fee's? They have to pay the Record companies? Is that law over here also? I don't mind having no TV as it's a bit annoying when people are watching it, but no music would/will be very weird. I'll have to look at my friends on their iPhones in silence?
Mr Simpson wrote: » I actually wouldnt mind a lack of music. Nothing worse than going to the local and not being able to have a conversation
Allyall wrote: » Is that because of licensing fee's? They have to pay the Record companies? Is that law over here also?
LordSutch wrote: » Actually the 'din' is quite amazing in a JDs full of people speaking and interacting. My local was in a converted Cinema in Walton on Thames/Surrey which was cheap as chips - nice. Summertime and all the guest Ales lined up on the pumps, Wow )
MYOB wrote: » It'll be 5-6 in Dublin, 2-3 in the other cities and maybe one or two in big towns (Sligo, Drogheda etc). That's 30 easily. They aren't coming after small town pubs because they need somewhere with massive turnover for the profit margin to make any sense. They generally don't have any sound output at all - music or TV.
harney wrote: » My current local
fryup wrote: » how about poker machines with their flashy neon lights?? essex wideboys and their hairdresser girlfriends called sharon & wendy?? and casual football hooliganism?? can't be a genuine Wetherspoons without those:cool:
Allyall wrote: » So what exactly is Weatherspoons? It may have been said, but it's an awful lot to read back over. From my understanding, it's a cheap pub with cheap pub grub. But do they also support local (micro)breweries, and change it around a lot? Or do they just sell their own brand ale/beer, with a few of the 'regular' ones?
MYOB wrote: » Their pubs are generally in very nice buildings, and full of very non-nice people.
Allyall wrote: » although i have to admit i wouldn't be mad about another massive company opening up over here and taking control of another sector.
MYOB wrote: » 30 pubs couldn't be considered controlling. Louis Fitzgerald must have 20 at this stage (my local included) and its barely noticed.
keeponhurling wrote: » They do stuff like beer of the month, where is some local craft beer. I'm a bit torn on the idea. On one hand they would clean up, undercut all the ripoff pubs here, and we could go for a few beers without being screwed. On the other hand, I like the way that in Ireland all the pubs are different, have their own owners, and have their own niche or dynamic. Wetherspoons would give us cheaper beer, but maybe less variety. In the UK almost everything is a chain
