Tweedy Group - The Aftermath

Adyx

nkay1985 wrote: »

So Ruby's and Muldoons are sold but what's included in Ruby's? Just the nightclub or the nightclub, Ruby Lounge and The Woodman?

Ruby's was the Woodman bar, Ruby Lounge and the lease for Ruby's itself. None of those places could operate independently. As things were, Ruby's had to store their empties and bins in Muldoon's due to lack of space over there.

Ledger

Adyx wrote: »

Ruby's was the Woodman bar, Ruby Lounge and the lease for Ruby's itself. None of those places could operate independently. As things were, Ruby's had to store their empties and bins in Muldoon's due to lack of space over there.

yea they were told they were not allowed use the garage anymore, which made things more awkward.

Minstrel27

One monopoly replaced by another.

giles lynchwood

Minstrel27 wrote: »

One monopoly replaced by another.

Yes but this one has money and anybody that can spend that amount of money in a globel recession must be doing something right,i worked in carlow and these boy's are a force to be reckoned with,i think this and the opening of waterford crystal showroom is the step in the right direction and wiil help bring more investment into our great city, waterford

Ledger

giles lynchwood wrote: »

Yes but this one has money and anybody that can spend that amount of money in a globel recession must be doing something right,i worked in carlow and these boy's are a force to be reckoned with,i think this and the opening of waterford crystal showroom is the step in the right direction and wiil help bring more investment into our great city, waterford

here here

MidlandsM

giles lynchwood wrote: »

Yes but this one has money and anybody that can spend that amount of money in a globel recession must be doing something right,i worked in carlow and these boy's are a force to be reckoned with,i think this and the opening of waterford crystal showroom is the step in the right direction and wiil help bring more investment into our great city, waterford

jezzz, I dunno, their venues in Carlow ain't doing what they were (recession considered).
Still, it's good to see them invest in Waterford. Good luck to em'

Musicman2000

giles lynchwood wrote: »

Yes but this one has money and anybody that can spend that amount of money in a globel recession must be doing something right,i worked in carlow and these boy's are a force to be reckoned with,i think this and the opening of waterford crystal showroom is the step in the right direction and wiil help bring more investment into our great city, waterford

Wouldn’t agree with you here, they have no competition in Carlow and charge what they like for entry to the club and have no problem getting it, They made their money from selling property back in the good times, Waterford’s night life is a disaster at the moment and im not sure they realise this as they are only looking at figures on the books, pump what you want into doing up the buildings, Its still not going to make people suddenly run out their doors, people don’t have the money and drink is so expensive in clubs simple as, The one place I would like to see them affect is Harvey’s.

dayshah

Minstrel27 wrote: »

One monopoly replaced by another.

I'd prefer if they were owned by separate people (and I'd like if the Competition Authority banned local monopolies) but is it really a monopoly?

I mean you can go to Flash's place, or to a late bar like Harvey's or Masons, or to the Forum. Maybe thats why Tweedy got into trouble. He thought he'd have a monopoly, but people just went to Harveys.

Adyx

It's only a monopoly if people have no choice of where to go other than to venues owned by one person. A monopoly wouldn't work in Waterford because there is barely enough people out on a Saturday night to fill one club let alone multiple clubs.

To be honest I think they're are going to get a shock when they take over. I know I wouldn't be brave enough to buy a pub in Waterford.

rayc

Adyx wrote: »

It's only a monopoly if people have no choice of where to go other than to venues owned by one person. A monopoly wouldn't work in Waterford because there is barely enough people out on a Saturday night to fill one club let alone multiple clubs.

To be honest I think they're are going to get a shock when they take over. I know I wouldn't be brave enough to buy a pub in Waterford.

But the situation is never going to improve unless some new competition is introduced. To be honest I think they could have done a shrewd bit of business here, they've gotten the premises at an absolute steal at a time when Waterford seems to be on the up, in terms of the city infrastructure and tourist appeal. I don't think you can underestimate the effect of the new motorway when its open either. Kilkennys nightlife is on a different level compared to Waterford, largely due to the influx of tourists and visitors, but Kilkenny is only an hour(-ish) from Dublin and has a huge tourist pull.

The motorway will open Waterford to the incoming tourists, build a more focused centre of tourism in the city (to add to the countys wealth of natural attractions) and with the right marketing, Waterford would see droves of visitors revitalise the city.

Joey leBlanc

rayc wrote: »

But the situation is never going to improve unless some new competition is introduced. To be honest I think they could have done a shrewd bit of business here, they've gotten the premises at an absolute steal at a time when Waterford seems to be on the up, in terms of the city infrastructure and tourist appeal. I don't think you can underestimate the effect of the new motorway when its open either. Kilkennys nightlife is on a different level compared to Waterford, largely due to the influx of tourists and visitors, but Kilkenny is only an hour(-ish) from Dublin and has a huge tourist pull.

The motorway will open Waterford to the incoming tourists, build a more focused centre of tourism in the city (to add to the countys wealth of natural attractions) and with the right marketing, Waterford would see droves of visitors revitalise the city.

Agree 100%! The motorway will have a huge effect on the city & will finally see Waterford prosper. I am not gonna re-ignite the old Waterford -vs- Kilkenny argument but in terms of nightlife RAYC is just telling it like it is. Kilkenny out scores Waterford. Maybe with the Dinn Ri people coming they will be able to approach the nightlife scene in Waterford from a different angle to what has went before.
Even though the new Wfd Crystal Showrooms are only open a few weeks I for one have noticed a massive change in the numbers of tourists around the town. Plus having the showrooms located right in the heart of the City was a fantastic idea. Lets hope the City Councils plans for the Viking Quarter are up and running within the next year or so.

rayc

Joey leBlanc wrote: »

Agree 100%! The motorway will have a huge effect on the city & will finally see Waterford prosper. I am not gonna re-ignite the old Waterford -vs- Kilkenny argument but in terms of nightlife RAYC is just telling it like it is. Kilkenny out scores Waterford. Maybe with the Dinn Ri people coming they will be able to approach the nightlife scene in Waterford from a different angle to what has went before.
Even though the new Wfd Crystal Showrooms are only open a few weeks I for one have noticed a massive change in the numbers of tourists around the town. Plus having the showrooms located right in the heart of the City was a fantastic idea. Lets hope the City Councils plans for the Viking Quarter are up and running within the next year or so.

Just to clarify that wasn't intended to spark any of that Waterford/Kilkenny bull****. Just based on my own experience of regularly going out it both places.

At the minute Waterford nightlife is in danger of becoming somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It feels like all people talk about (after the weather) is that the nightlife is dead, which in turn discourages people from going out. Some new premises will probably create a 'surge' of renewed interest, but at the end of the day that won't be sustained unless it simply becomes cheaper to go out here and theres the perception of a 'buzzing' nightlife. Hopefully the new competition will help with the cost aspect. As for the perception of a 'buzzing' nightlife it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but I do think that the new premises with cheaper pricing could help jump start it, then with the addition of visitors to the city it might really take off.

Musicman2000

rayc wrote: »

Just to clarify that wasn't intended to spark any of that Waterford/Kilkenny bull****. Just based on my own experience of regularly going out it both places.

At the minute Waterford nightlife is in danger of becoming somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It feels like all people talk about (after the weather) is that the nightlife is dead, which in turn discourages people from going out. Some new premises will probably create a 'surge' of renewed interest, but at the end of the day that won't be sustained unless it simply becomes cheaper to go out here and theres the perception of a 'buzzing' nightlife. Hopefully the new competition will help with the cost aspect. As for the perception of a 'buzzing' nightlife it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but I do think that the new premises with cheaper pricing could help jump start it, then with the addition of visitors to the city it might really take off.

Have to agree with the new motorway it will help with tourists, but I honestly don’t think the new Waterford crystal site would make a huge difference regarding the night life, as most of the clubs would target an age group between 18 and 30, and in my own opinion it would be and older crowd that Waterford Crystal would attract to the city. Waterford still has huge unemployment at the moment it’s going to take years for things to start picking back up again. It all comes back to money at the end of the day and people are watching their pennies and just can’t afford to go out. And if they can its only one night of the week and that’s Saturday. And a lot of the lads posting here work in the Venues in the city and know what the city is like every night of the week. But they did get an absolute steal buying the 2 venues and years down the line it will pay off as a long term investmeant.

Adyx

But Waterford's nightlife is dead. And it isn't a sudden thing which just came on with the recession. I moved to Waterford 10 years ago and worked in the Rhythm Room/Junction. At the time, even that dump was doing well. Every club and pub was full on a Friday & Saturday night. In fact when I started in Merlins 8 years ago, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays were all equally busy and Muldoon's was jammed every night.

Over the last few years though things have been getting steadily worse. Not only are less people going out but there going out so late that for late bars it's not worth opening before 11 and if you get a decent crowd before 12:30 you're doing well. This can't be blamed on Tweedy owning everything either or venues not doing anything to attract people in. This started before he bought Muldoon's or Ten opened and I've seen venues bend over backwards to attract customers in with theme nights, different types of music, big name DJs & bands, drinks promotions etc. Students aren't worth a **** any more either. You get lucky occasionally such as Groove Armada in Ten but honestly I wouldn't waste my time.

I do hope I'm proved wrong though.

abouttobebanned

Coolio!!

You're spot on though adyx.

rayc

Yeah undoubtedly there is no quick fix for Waterford at the minute, my point is that things seem to be going in the right direction. I just hope the new investors are aware of this and have the resources and foresight to hang around. It's all about changing the perception of a place though and I do think tourism helps in that regard. I mean it could be argued that most tourist attractions aren't really geared towards young people, but if you get a critical mass of tourist attractions you build a reputation and attract more people. Whether they are going clubbing or to restaurants or pubs it adds to the positive vibe of the city and nightlife will improve in line with that. There's also just the weekend away aspect that will become much more attractive with the motorway etc.

giles lynchwood

irish people are creatures of habit until something changes their routine and chances are they don't go back.New years eve 2000 was the dawning of an new era in irish social scene the house party suddenly people were aware of the fact overpriced taxis,rude bouncers,overpriced drink and pubs/clubs overcrowded with drunken assholes was not the only way to have a good night,since 2000 this phenomia has grown more popular with people adding conservertries on there houses and takings turns in hosting nights,hence no hassle with drunks,ignorant staff etc etc.Din RI in carlow caters mainly for young,student crowd and i am sure this is the market they are after in waterford.
P.S anybody that thinks din ri did not do his honework on this venture should stay away from the cool aid.

Adyx

Maybe they have done their homework but honestly just using the model they used for the Dinn Rí will not work here. Last time I checked it was €15 into the Dinn Rí on a Saturday night and I doubt drinks prices were much cheaper than they are in Ruby's at the moment. Now I've never paid into a nightclub in Waterford but I know it's cheaper than that ( Oxygen has been more or less free for the last 6 years).

Slightly off topic but as I mentioned earlier I was in Belfast last Wednesday and Thursday for a gig. We went into a bar at about 7 o'clock on the Wednesday and it was very busy. When was the last time any bar in Waterford could say the same?

Odats

That's true Adyk never seen a bar packed regularly at that time. Waterford people are very fickle. Think the Dinn Ri crowd have done their homework but will need to reinvigorate both places to have some shot a turning them around. I believe they need a smoking area to make this work and something along the lines of Harveys but not as big.

Joey leBlanc

Maybe if all the people who talk the big talk on the boards actually went out from time to time they would'nt complain about how bad the nightlife in Waterford is. The present young generation don't know how to have a good time. I agree with some of the previous posts about how most places were doing well up to say 5yrs ago. Well before the recession kicked in. In in my 30s now & when I was in my prime goin out years (10/15yrs ago) the place was always packed (and not only on the w/end). Think back to places like The Bridge/Breens, The Roxy, Flow Motion/Flare upstairs in Egans, The Junction Bar, Preachers/The Pulpit, The Metroland etc. Since then the population of the City has risen but the present young generation probably have other recreational activities to amuse themselves. Ya can't expect us oldies to show ye how to do it. TBH I'd absolutely hate to be at the going out age right now. Talk about all the modern pressures heaped on one's so young to conform to what the media/mags/web tell you. It may have been a simpler more laid back way of life in the 90s but it at least it was fun. No mobiles so you have to pre-arrange a meeting place or just all meet in the pub. There was no late bars so the majority went to the disco afterwards. Then to Skippers or the New York Pie Co. in later years. Personally I used to walk home afterwards (except if it was raining), from the town, thru Ballybricken, up the Yellow Road hill & home. And never ever did I have any trouble or feel afraid evn if I was on my own.

Partizan

Joey leBlanc wrote: »

Maybe if all the people who talk the big talk on the boards actually went out from time to time they would'nt complain about how bad the nightlife in Waterford is. The present young generation don't know how to have a good time. I agree with some of the previous posts about how most places were doing well up to say 5yrs ago. Well before the recession kicked in. In in my 30s now & when I was in my prime goin out years (10/15yrs ago) the place was always packed (and not only on the w/end). Think back to places like The Bridge/Breens, The Roxy, Flow Motion/Flare upstairs in Egans, The Junction Bar, Preachers/The Pulpit, The Metroland etc. Since then the population of the City has risen but the present young generation probably have other recreational activities to amuse themselves. Ya can't expect us oldies to show ye how to do it. TBH I'd absolutely hate to be at the going out age right now. Talk about all the modern pressures heaped on one's so young to conform to what the media/mags/web tell you. It may have been a simpler more laid back way of life in the 90s but it at least it was fun. No mobiles so you have to pre-arrange a meeting place or just all meet in the pub. There was no late bars so the majority went to the disco afterwards. Then to Skippers or the New York Pie Co. in later years. Personally I used to walk home afterwards (except if it was raining), from the town, thru Ballybricken, up the Yellow Road hill & home. And never ever did I have any trouble or feel afraid evn if I was on my own.

You are bringing back the memories with that one there Joey. Throw in Club LA as well and Waterford circa 1994-2001 was a hopping place. There was so many places to go to and the town used to be hopping from Wednesday through to Sunday. Club LA and the Junction was my favourite spots and Muldoons in its heyday was a great place. I got the tail end of Breens and would also frequent Flashes/FloMo and the Roxy. The Junction and Club LA were great places to score. I had some memorable nights and the night I scored a student from Monaghan (studying in NUI Maynooth) in Merlins and took me back to the hostel on the Quay is a night I'll never forget.

Sonia if you are around, give me a pm.

giles lynchwood

When i started my dance hall days waterford had 2 discos breens which still used a mobile disco on the stage,Kirean o Neill's Morning Star disco and the other club was the stonecourt,no taxi's and the gardai had no paddy wagon.Those were the day's my friend.

dayshah

Back in my day there were no taxis, or mechanical horses as we called them.

You don't know how lucky you are. We had to walk barefoot through the snow (even in summer) to get to the disco as we saved our shoes for the dance. We had no polish for the shoes as we used it all in our hair to get the crooner look.

None of your fancy iPods or MP3s either. We listened to things called 'tapes'.


Oh yeah, and it cost two and six to leave in your smoking jacket.

MitchKoobski

dayshah wrote: »

Back in my day there were no taxis, or mechanical horses as we called them.

You don't know how lucky you are. We had to walk barefoot through the snow (even in summer) to get to the disco as we saved our shoes for the dance. We had no polish for the shoes as we used it all in our hair to get the crooner look.

None of your fancy iPods or MP3s either. We listened to things called 'tapes'.


Oh yeah, and it cost two and six to leave in your smoking jacket.

It used to cost dickety pence to get into a gig. We had to say dickety becuase the catholic church wouldn't let us use the word twenty.

Professey Chin

MitchKoobski wrote: »

It used to cost dickety pence to get into a gig. We had to say dickety becuase the catholic church wouldn't let us use the word twenty.

I remember that!I walked dickety miles to get it back off them but they sold it to the kaizer

MitchKoobski

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

I remember that!I walked dickety miles to get it back off them but they sold it to the kaizer

Trying to get into that Flying Hellfish club was a nightmare!

Ledger

Just an update on the current situation

The sale of woodman/muldoons/oxygen and lease of rubys will be final some time this week.

Nobody (including staff) is even sure whether it will stay open, there is whispers of it being closed down, this could be for renovation, or just for a period of time. Cant see it being the latter though.

Re: Masons.
The receiver is on holidays and so the lease will most likely be finalized when he comes back.


Ledger

Popquiz_hotshot

Musicman2000 wrote: »

They should take back on Bar Staff, I worked for them myself in Carlow and still do part time as a dj, but most a their djs come from EML, I presume it would be the same in Waterford, I covered for a mate of mine last week in a club in Waterford last week, I never saw such a quiet city

Just on the DJ side of things..does anyone know if they hire all DJ's from eml or will they be open to taking on fresh dj's..just I do a bit myself and found it hard to get into any of tweedys places as they seems to be a clique coz such a small town. So was hoping they will want to freashin things up a bit and be looking for new talent!!!!

abouttobebanned

Popquiz_hotshot wrote: »

Just on the DJ side of things..does anyone know if they hire all DJ's from eml or will they be open to taking on fresh dj's..just I do a bit myself and found it hard to get into any of tweedys places as they seems to be a clique coz such a small town. So was hoping they will want to freashin things up a bit and be looking for new talent!!!!

They went through a phase of trying new DJs but they never lasted cause they were cat.

mikeym

Im after hearing that rubys is closed for refurbishment can anyone confirm this?

Just saw their facebook page.