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why are there no J D Wetherspoon pubs in ROI?

dd972

You'd think with the boozing culture we have they'd have colonised our town and cities some time ago, plus costwise they'd annihilate the opposition paying through the nose for their Guinness and Heineken.

Only heard bit and bobs of rumour as to why there's no Spoon pubs here ranging from the fact that it's in the Eurozone and it doesn't fit in with their business plan and the Victuallers Association here are keeping them out by some means or other, anybody heard anything more substantial?

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12 march 1930

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Karl Stein

osarusan wrote: »

How ironic it would be if in Ireland, with its famed and unique pub atmosphere/culture (c), it turned out that people were happy to spend the entire night in one, just because the prices were cheaper.

As ironic as non-Irish people spending all night in a foreign Irish bar to get some of that good ol' grumpy barman hospitality us native Irish are comfortable with? :pac:

Fratton Fred

Allyall wrote: »

I don't know why i have this image, it's a mixture of posts i suppose, but i am imagining a massive open space area, with minimal furniture, kinda cold, and no music. People mostly standing around with fixed tables/shelves to put your drinks on..

Converted Supermarkets/Cinema shells/Warehouses/Post Offices.. They don't sound too appealing. Unless it was to have a few cheap drinks before you went 'out'.

Honestly, they aren't. Pretty much every JD's is different. They convert some old cinemas Anne stuff, but they are then no different to a modern pub. The vast majority of the ones . Have been to are pubs they have bought, refurbished in the style they were originally in and added the chain touches, such as real ales and cheap food.

Seaneh

Charlie Rock wrote: »

Compared to an average Irish carvery lunch and pint of lager what are WS's dinners and beers like?

Beers are a LOT Better than your average Irish boozer, food is no worse really. Steak is actually decent quality, sides are pretty meh though.

Beefy78

awec wrote: »

As has been said in the thread a few times - other pubs know that the vast majority of people will not spend the entire night in Wetherspoons - one or two pints is generally it. People are generally happy to pay the extra to go to a better bar.

I'm not sure I agree with this. Loads of pubs in the UK now do Wetherspoons-style 'double-ups for a pound' as well as similar meal deals. I think a lot of that is down to the reach and pricing power of Wetherspoons.

You might still get pubs here charging €5.50 for a pint despite having a huge pub over the road charging €4 for the same drink but I think it'll force other pubs to change other parts of their pricing structure - particularly in regards to food and to spirits.

Plus most town or city centre 'Spoons pubs are rammed until closing time at weekends so saying that no one hangs around beyond a couple of drinks simply is not true.

reprazant

Seaneh wrote: »

Beers are a LOT Better than your average Irish boozer, food is no worse really. Steak is actually decent quality, sides are pretty meh though.

Not really. They have a better selection on beers but that does not mean that they are a LOT better. They sell carling and fosters ffs.

Davidth88

were there any Woolworths in Ireland ?

I remember round my way they took over all the old WoolWorths back in the late 80s/early 90's when they closed a lot of their high street shops.

We used to joke that they were a little like Woolworths in their atmosphere .

By and large they are ok, they usually have at least one decent beer on tap and the food is very reasonable , their breakfasts in particular are good value.

I hope they give the LVA ( or whatever the cartel is called ) a good kick up the behind and they realise that charging 5 quid for a normal beer is a ripoff , and don't get me started on the price of soft drinks !!

The down side , they are all managed ( as opposed to owner operated ) so the staff have little or no say on the food etc , this means that a JDW in Dublin will be very similar and serve similar stuff to a JDW in Cork/Mayo.

Seaneh

reprazant wrote: »

Not really. They have a better selection on beers but that does not mean that they are a LOT better. They sell carling and fosters ffs.

They also sell real ales from regional craft brewers and a LOT of very good international beers.

They serve much better beer, over all, than the vast majority of bars in ireland.

Fosters and carling are no worse than heiniken and Carlsberg.

Beefy78

Seaneh wrote: »

Fosters and carling are no worse than heiniken and Carlsberg.

They usually sell all four anyway so at least you've got the choice. Plus Bud, Corrs, Tuborg, Peroni, Kronenbourg, Stella, etc.

Basically if you like your commercial mass produced lagers then you're fine. If you like your ales and IPAs then you're fine. If you like a wide range of international bottled beers at a lot less than they cost at a Porterhouse then you're fine.

reprazant

Well, imo Fosters and carling are worse than bud. Heiniken and Carlsberg may not be that much better but they are. Most pubs here have many different types of beer in their fridge and at least one craft, sometimes two on draft.

I think people are being unrealistic if they think they are going to ship loads of kegs of regional english ale over to two pubs. I really don't think what is on offer will be that much different than most pubs here. Maybe I'll be wrong. I also don't think that they will be that much cheaper. They may go the route of the one under Tara st.

anncoates

Strange to see people making snobbish remarks about clientèle when a British chain wants to enter the Irish market yet don't care that the main player over here is a multinational that ensures that you have to pay upwards of a fiver for a pint of slop in most pubs in Dublin.

I can hardly see pubs in locations like Blackrock becoming scobie hangouts just because they offer cheaper drink. The opposite will probably be true: they'll attract plenty of normal clientèle that want to drink something different at reasonable prices.

Tar.Aldarion

reprazant wrote: »

Well, imo Fosters and carling are worse than bud. Heiniken and Carlsberg may not be that much better but they are. Most pubs here have many different types of beer in their fridge and at least one craft, sometimes two on draft.

I think people are being unrealistic if they think they are going to ship loads of kegs of regional english ale over to two pubs. I really don't think what is on offer will be that much different than most pubs here. Maybe I'll be wrong. I also don't think that they will be that much cheaper. They may go the route of the one under Tara st.

I imagine they would use Irish ale? English people I know are delighted they are coming for their selection of drinks.

Strumms wrote: »

The great thing about the majority of Irish pubs is that they have character, an individuality. Some are better then others but Id seriously hate to see us go the way of chain pubs. They all look the same, inside and out. Zero character, no atmosphere, crappy music, same (****) menu, same ****ty beer.. the beer in Weatherspoons in the UK is **** btw... and I cant speak much for the staff(ing).. anytime i've been where its been anyway busy and i've always been in a Q for an eternity and they don't seem to hire based on how useful you might be or if you know the meaning of the words efficient or hurry the **** up for that matter.

Already any high street in this damn country is like a plastic identikit flat pack soulless replica of UK dullness... Boots, Burger King / McD, Subway, Star****s, JD Sports blah blah... lets go the whole hog and welcome Weatherspoons, a **** bar that will put good bars out of business who might just not be able to compete due to price. If I want just to get hammered on a budget id stay at home and drink cans.. if I want to go to a good bar for a nice vibe.. good clientele etc. (weatherspoons is a **** scum magnet) price would be a consideration but not an overriding factor... I would never consider Weatherspoon and Id consider it a sad day were they to open here.

Choose between saving 50 cent on a pint ? or choose going to a decent bar.

Most irish pubs blare shiit music and have football on tv, wetherspoons doesn't, and they generally look nice. I don't see this character you speak of apart from in a few. I'd say wetherspoons actually look nicer, and have a better atmosphese than most where people sit around not hearing each other and watching ****e on tv, do that at home. And their drink selection is very good imo. You don't realise a lot of pubs here are a chain, and JDs is less like a chain than many of them, with each having it's own flair. SOme are good and some are bad, I've only been to a few but I've loved some of them. I'd be more concerned abotut here being a fecking mcdonalds in temple bar tbh

gobnaitolunacy

Charlie Rock wrote: »

Compared to an average Irish carvery lunch and pint of lager what are WS's dinners and beers like?

Decent curry and a Guinness. (WS in Scarborough)

Fine for a mid-day meal, pleasant staff, everything brought to table and checked on regularly to see if we were OK. Nice and clean.

Now I probably wouldn't spend the whole night there, grand to start a night out from, but neither would I spend a night in many of the (oh so great) Irish pubs...if 'atmosphere' consists of deafening music, 24hr Sky Sports, feral toilets and a carpet that your shoes stick to you can keep it.

chopper6

Davidth88 wrote: »

were there any Woolworths in Ireland ?

I remember round my way they took over all the old WoolWorths back in the late 80s/early 90's when they closed a lot of their high street shops.

.

There used to be one in Grafton St which closed in the mid-80's.

Where HMV is now....and for useless information,the McDonalds across the road was a restaurant called the Pavillion

reprazant

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

I imagine they would use Irish ale? English people I know are delighted they are coming for their selection of drinks.

In that case, then they are just going to be another craft beer pub? Maybe it is just in Dublin, but it is not as if there is not quite a number of them as it is. The one in Blackrock must be pissed off in that case.

The guy from Porterhouse was on the radio yesterday and he was of the opinion that they have changed their model, moving away from the cheap drinks market, but that may be just in London.

anncoates

chopper6 wrote: »

There used to be one in Grafton St which closed in the mid-80's.

Think there might have been one in Dún Laoghaire as well.

Tar.Aldarion

reprazant wrote: »

In that case, then they are just going to be another craft beer pub? Maybe it is just in Dublin, but it is not as if there is not quite a number of them as it is. The one in Blackrock must be pissed off in that case.

The guy from Porterhouse was on the radio yesterday and he was of the opinion that they have changed their model, moving away from the cheap drinks market, but that may be just in London.

They do go to others, however as it's only a very recent thing in Ireland there is very poor selection of pubs and certainly more expensive. There are some great ones like L Mulligan Grocers and kavanaghs. They are looking forward to the choice and love the fact that unlike a lot of irish pubs it doesnt blare tv and music at you.

murpho999

Where this illusion come from that Irish pubs serve great beer?

Guinness is a good beer but often maintained badly, hard to get a good pint.

Budweiser and Heineken etc is mass produced crap.

Good to see some craft beers make headway but they are pricey.

Brew Dock for example is nearly €6 a pint.

If Wetherspoons bring in more choice and compete then it can be good.
Just hope they don't bring in fruit machines, jukeboxes and pool tables.

reprazant

Honestly, what pubs are you going to that blast music at you?

The only ones I know that do that are rubbishy ones in the city centre. There is an equal amount of good ones that don't.

Beefy78

reprazant wrote: »

Honestly, what pubs are you going to that blast music at you?

The only ones I know that do that are rubbishy ones in the city centre. There is an equal amount of good ones that don't.

True, but you shouldn't need music to create an atmosphere. As someone else said a few pages back, the din and buzz of conversation is its own atmosphere.

saintsaltynuts

All this talk about all these craft beer pubs is well and good.Paying well over a fiver for a pint in Against The Grain is not.I for one welcome our new Pub Overlords.

reprazant

Beefy78 wrote: »

True, but you shouldn't need music to create an atmosphere. As someone else said a few pages back, the din and buzz of conversation is its own atmosphere.

Oh I know that. I prefer pubs with no tv and no music or at least low music that is very much in the background.

People just seem to be talking in extremes here on both Irish pubs and WS. Bizarre stuff.

irish_goat

murpho999 wrote: »

Where this illusion come from that Irish pubs serve great beer?

Guinness is a good beer but often maintained badly, hard to get a good pint.

Probably from the same place where the illusion that Guinness is a good beer came from?

Allyall

murpho999 wrote: »

Where this illusion come from that Irish pubs serve great beer?

Well it's kind of obvious that they do.

If they didn't then the Irish people wouldn't pay over €5 for a pint. Irish people don't take that sort of shít.

Seaneh

reprazant wrote: »

I think people are being unrealistic if they think they are going to ship loads of kegs of regional english ale over to two pubs. I really don't think what is on offer will be that much different than most pubs here. Maybe I'll be wrong. I also don't think that they will be that much cheaper. They may go the route of the one under Tara st.

They already ship them to the north,and sell ale from northern Irish craft brewers. And they will be opening up to 30 pubs on the next few years.

chopper6

Allyall wrote: »

.

If they didn't then the Irish people wouldn't pay over €5 for a pint. .

Irish people can and do pay way more than a fiver a pint...if beer was a tenner a pint people would still pay it.

Allyall wrote: »

.
Irish people don't take that sort of shít.

Yes they do...they put up with bad beer,bad food,bad service,rude staff,attendents in the toilets mooching money and a host of other things that almost nobody else would tolerate.

If you dont believe rish people "take ****" just look at the way we've been treated by the last couple of governments...and we happily pay a tenner a pack for cigarettes.

Allyall

chopper6 wrote: »

Irish people can and do pay way more than a fiver a pint...if beer was a tenner a pint people would still pay it.

Yes they do...they put up with bad beer,bad food,bad service,rude staff,attendents in the toilets mooching money and a host of other things that almost nobody else would tolerate.

If you dont believe rish people "take ****" just look at the way we've been treated by the last couple of governments...and we happily pay a tenner a pack for cigarettes.

Tink yew misd de sarkasmm..

Cuddlesworth

saintsaltynuts wrote: »

All this talk about all these craft beer pubs is well and good.Paying well over a fiver for a pint in Against The Grain is not.I for one welcome our new Pub Overlords.

I'd say the margin on that pint in Against the Grain is a fraction of a normal pub. Economies of scale at play.

stimpson

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I'd say the margin on that pint in Against the Grain is a fraction of a normal pub. Economies of scale at play.

The duty on Craft Beer is lower than on macrobrews.

The one thing Brian Cowen got right as Finance Minister.

Seaneh

stimpson wrote: »

The duty on Craft Beer is lower than on macrobrews.

The one thing Brian Cowen got right as Finance Minister.

While true, the production costs are a LOT higher per litre.

Also, most of the beers ATG/Porter house/Bull & Castle sell are not Irish, so on top of duty excise is paid, driving the price even higher.

murpho999

irish_goat wrote: »

Probably from the same place where the illusion that Guinness is a good beer came from?

Strongly disagree.

A Guinness that is fresh, and poured correctly through a clean beerline and has a creamy white head is absolutely delicious. Problem is that 90% of places don't serve that.

Allyall wrote: »

Well it's kind of obvious that they do.

If they didn't then the Irish people wouldn't pay over €5 for a pint. Irish people don't take that sort of shít.

They would and do if that's all they know. Look at the beers served in Germany for example compared to mainstream stuff here. Quality difference is huge and it's actually cheaper in Germany.