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Scholars - update

440Hz

So the latest on the grapevine is that nobody seems to be stepping up and showing an interest in buying the license for our beloved Scholars. So the newest proposal is that it may be converted into the shop... they would keep an Phluais as a licensed premises so you could have a pint with your roll kinda jobby but the rest of the bar would be the shop... what would happen the shop then??

crap idea me thinks tbh... college needs 2 pubs end of. (reiterating that the sports bar doesnt count)

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Peteee

Yep, crap idea.

Needs two pubs end o story.

2 pubs, not pub/shop bastard offsprings

rmacm

Agreed the college needs 2 pubs. The stables tends to get rather unreasonably full around certain times. i.e. Christmas Days and Ragg week. Scholars had big crowds at these times aswell but at least there was some space and you could enjoy a drink without having an epic struggle getting to the bar everytime you wanted a drink.

Cheers
Rory

gaf1983

Saw an ad in the Leader yesterday that the Groody Bar is opening mid-November, but Groody is still miles away and if anything will only keep people living down there from coming up to the Stables. Agreed that the college needs two bars.

shepthedog

So the lease for the Scholars is for sale?? Does anyone know the full story behind why it shut down? Surely it cant have been doing that badly.

If stables is one of the most successful pubs in Ireland it wouldnt be too hard to recreate that accross the courtyard..
Anyone have any idea of the price of the lease?

natter

shepthedog wrote:

If stables is one of the most successful pubs in Ireland it wouldnt be too hard to recreate that accross the courtyard..
QUOTE]

Did anyone else read in this weeks An Focal that Stables operated at a loss last year!!! It was in one of the Sabatical Officers piece. How the hell can that be possible, it has to be one of the busiest pubs in the country, can the management be that bad that they can't make a profit?

grumpytrousers

Heh - I was in UL from 93-99 and without wanting to out myself, found myself once or twice within sniffing distance of the Stables accounts. Even back then, they either made a meagre profit or a small loss. Christ alone knows how they manage, but MF, the manager and his evil sidekick with the moustache (is he still there, btw?!) would assure anybody who'd listen that 'costs are absolutely huge'. This was before the minimum wage, as well.

I'm surprised, tbh, that the scholars is not faring so well. Back when the whole student centre was being planned, the idea was that the second bar would be aimed at the more 'mature' student. Not that there'd be a door policy, but that if you wanted to go and spill (or have spilt on you) Pernod and black by a first year eurostud, the Scholars was not the place. A good session with your mates, on the other hand...that was a different story.

Course, by the time it came down to who'd operate it, the 'intended vibe' was always going to be dictated by whoever ran it....you'd think it strange that the only two boozers in the country that either are
a) running at such a loss that the owners can't be bothered holding on
b) running at a loss since inception
are both within a few hundred yards of each other in UL. With a huge potential market...

shepthedog

I find it truly incredible that the Stables could not be making astronomical profits, its busy 24/7, I dont know of any other pub/restaurant that would have anywhere nears its trade..

I would love the know the costs that are apparently hindering it, rent cant be that high can it? Does SU take a cut out of it?? Surely this info must be pretty easy to attain..

@grumpy, can u shed any light on how it operated at such meagre profits? I for one cant see the problems..

keevita

hmm...*strokes imaginary beard* there are some good points there. i do feel scholars was a little more mature. compare the crowd that drank in scholars to the drunken muck savages in county jerseys which would be the favoured attire of the stables...in scholars there was better music (a good mix, dance, alt, rock, todayfm in the mornings...), a comedy night, a private area for gigs, good food...why then was it doing so badly when it did in fact have better facilities than the stables? but...this point has been tossed about many times on this board. can boardsters really solve this problem?

tune in next week...

um7y1h83ge06nx

This will probably p*ss off a lot of people here, but my friends and I always saw the Scholars as being too boring, too reserved. I admit the music was really good, and it was arguably better than the Stables during Christmas Daze, but there was no real atmosphere about the place.

As far as profit and loss goes, the accounts in a lot of places in UL are unusual. While nothing illegal is done, the "bottom line" does not show the real story, a lot of profit is absorbed back in, and/or some is put aside for deferred payments in the future. A relative of mine was a manager in an establishment in UL, and thought some of the accounting was rather slick, giving the impression that the establishment wasn't making as much money as it was. It is again important to say nothing illegal occurred, just some sly accounting.

keevita

you cant p*ss people off for giving your opinion, this is boards.ie,the happiest place on earth TM. what i mean to say is if you cant give ur honest opinion here, where can u give it? interesting about the accounting thing. anybody know anymore about this? obv tho, scholars werent just pretending to be doing badly, because they closed.

cooperguy

If the Stables is actually operating at a loss then the managment should be fired RIGHT NOW there is no excuse for it. It has a huge customer base and it does very good business.

And we definatly need a second bar on campus, it makes no sense that nobody is going for the lease for scholars. You could make a fortune with that place with only a small bit of effort. Id go for it myself if I had the money!!!

shepthedog

Anyone able to supply us with solid info about why its closed, any issues with the lease? Is it true the stables and scholars are operated by same guy?

keevita

no, paddocks and stables are connected in some way, but scholars was part of dolans before

grumpytrousers

shepthedog wrote:

Anyone able to supply us with solid info about why its closed, any issues with the lease? Is it true the stables and scholars are operated by same guy?

Absolutely not. But it was nearly the opposite. I remember hearing from the head honcho of the stables that he was not interested in running the Scholars. "It's all about competition - we came along and offered sausages beans chips and a pint of milk for £X and the Campbells catering had to up their game. In a similar way, a competing bar will do good for us"

You'll not be surprised to know that by the time the tendering process rolled around that the Stables were
a) competing for the tender
b) pretty much guaranteed of getting it.

There was, needless to say, war about it. In any event, Mick Dolan landed the gig. His own Warehouse had just had a very successful year, he seemed to run a tight ship and he certainly had a fresher attitude to serving up what the punters wanted than others in that particular parish!

Re the accounting practises - I wholeheartedly agree. There are doctoral theses in Finance awaiting the person who can figure them out. The old Financial Controller of UL was one of the most affable operators I'd ever seen in action...but stick a creditors ledger in his hand, and jesus - he was something else. The accounting equivalent of one of those chaps who goes into a revolving door ahead of you and still comes out after you. And you wonder how...

I don't know how 'bad' a pub has to do before it's 'not ecomonically viable' I suppose if a joint is a standalone outfit where it's all the owner has, he'll be more willing to ride out the bad times. If, however, it's part of an 'empire' (however small) then once the percentages of one establishment are bringing down the overall group profit, then it makes more sense to take the money out of the loss/small-profit maker and put it somewhere else.

Rozie

The Stables really does have a bit of a rough, culchie feeling to it. I also hate the way it's positioned "in the middle" of the SU courtyard, it feels kind of weird.

The Scholars was, I hate to say it, a bit more classy. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but we're not all GAA nuts and some of us prefer the kind of atmosphere the Scholars had.

BossArky

I used to work in the Stables collecting glasses and emptying ash-trays for a semester in third year. Wasn't a bad job really - except collecting the pint glasses from the toilet bowls that people sh@t in, or mopping up the vomit from all over the jacks, or picking up the broken glasses that were all over the place, or avoiding getting battered by some drunken twats everynight cos they bumped into you.... agh the memoroies :rolleyes:

This was around the time that the Scholars opened up - there was a definite flow of the higher thinking folk towards the Scholars, leaving behind a bunch of brawling bare chested Neanderthals in the Stables.

From what I remember the bar staff in the Scholars were paid more than in the Stables too. I presume the reason that the Stables looses so much money is that they have to replace half the furniture and drinking vessels weekly.

Peteee

ffs, Stables loosing money too.

Thats impossible. Was packed last night.

testicle

The licence for the Scholars is owned by the union. It was leased out to Mick Dolan up until last year. It was taken back from Dolans by the SU because it was not making enough money. The contract for the Scholars only included the drink sold, and Dolans got the profit from food. A new tender will be issued for the Scholars, which will include food. This is being done in the next few weeks. There is nothing stopping Mick Dolan tendering again.

keevita

let us hope...

um7y1h83ge06nx

BossArky wrote:

This was around the time that the Scholars opened up - there was a definite flow of the higher thinking folk towards the Scholars, leaving behind a bunch of brawling bare chested Neanderthals in the Stables.

There are definite stereotypes in the minds of students regarding the customers of the Stables and Scholars. Scholars fans seeing Stables customers as "culchies" and "Neanderthals" who are "rough" and "rowdy", and Stables fans seeing Scholars customers as "snobs" who like to talk a load of "bullsh*t"

I'm not singling anyone out for criticism with the above quotes, but what happened to the good old phrase "spread the love"? If the Scholars re-opens, maybe it should try and be brave, and try and go for something totally different to what has went before in U.L., an area for socialising that everyone might enjoy? How to do that is the big challenge.

For all we know, the Scholars closing may be a good thing, what replaces it may be better than either the Stables or Scholars. Only time will tell I guess.

440Hz

Kyree Putrid Scene wrote:

For all we know, the Scholars closing may be a good thing, what replaces it may be better than either the Stables or Scholars. Only time will tell I guess.

Perhaps, however if what replaces it is a SHOP then we will all die of boredom!

um7y1h83ge06nx

440Hz wrote:

Perhaps, however if what replaces it is a SHOP then we will all die of boredom!

True, true! At least no-one will starve.

440Hz

Kyree Putrid Scene wrote:

True, true! At least no-one will starve.

Just means more space to queue up for a roll!

gaf1983

Rumour has it that what was the main part of the scholars will be turned into the SU Shop, but it will also house a more expansive deli area and seats for people to have lunch, while An Phluais will open as a small bar that will still be able to be rented out either as a function room or for societies to use for meetings but when those events aren't there it'll be a small bar. Which is good.

testicle

Rumours Schrumours.

Believe nothing you hear as a rumour.

440Hz

gaf1983 wrote:

Rumour has it that what was the main part of the scholars will be turned into the SU Shop, but it will also house a more expansive deli area and seats for people to have lunch, while An Phluais will open as a small bar that will still be able to be rented out either as a function room or for societies to use for meetings but when those events aren't there it'll be a small bar. Which is good.

Thats exactly what I said at the start of this thread. Anyway, it has been confirmed now. Shopfitters are in this week.

cooperguy

440Hz wrote:

Thats exactly what I said at the start of this thread. Anyway, it has been confirmed now. Shopfitters are in this week.

Thats sh*t. the pub will be way too small, whats goin to happen for rag week. We'll have to have that sit down protest with cans in the courtyard then like someone suggested!

kaimera

NOooOOoOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOO

:mad:

balls.

Peteee

gaf1983 wrote:

Rumour has it that what was the main part of the scholars will be turned into the SU Shop, but it will also house a more expansive deli area and seats for people to have lunch, while An Phluais will open as a small bar that will still be able to be rented out either as a function room or for societies to use for meetings but when those events aren't there it'll be a small bar. Which is good.

*sigh*

idiots, we need bigger bars and smaller shops!

kaimera

smaller shops?

idiot(s).

we'll be 'more' like sardines in a damn tin than we already are in the current SU shop at times.