Waterford's Nightlife megathread

ziedth

An12fr3 wrote: »

I've been follow this thread for a couple of months now. I'm a research student in DIT and have been researching nightclubs all over the country and europe for 10 years now.There are a couple of things that I believe have been completely missed here.

Firstly, The argument of price and comparison to Masons, Harveys etc to the Foundry Waterford is completely invalid as none of these venues are actually nightclubs.They are all late bars.At present there is no nightclub (population 300+) in Waterford.The last time I researched Waterford, when rubys and oxygen were both running their door policy was to charge outsiders/tourists and free for anyone that wanted to walk up through Muldoons etc.No wonder nobody from outside came to Waterford,and no wonder the nightclubs went belly up with this policy.

Second,If Waterford City is to become one of the top night spots in Ireland then it needs a modern state of the art nightclub with continual investment.I believe, but am not sure the Foundry have bought the 2 venues.With their history of nightclubs,surely they will achieve this.Look at Carlow,the same recession,yet every weekend people from all over the country go there.Fair enough it is one of the top 3 clubs in Ireland but the point is and going on research,Waterford City does not attract any catchment area outside the City.Carlow,and lets be honest,not exactly a metropolis takes people from all over south Leinster/Ireland to the town on Fri, Sat n Sun night.Not to mention the student business.This generates tourism,job growth,economy growth and direct employment.Waterford needs that!

Thirdly in my research,Waterford proved a quandary and hard to pin-point the reason why the nightclub scene completely hit the wall (All opinions greatly appreciated).I believe the people took the nightclubs for granted and the attitude of not paying (only city/town/place in Ireland btw) proved to backfire on the whole city as currently there are no nightclubs.The only place/town/city in Ireland.This is only my opinion but this is not good for the city or tourism of Waterford.

Fourth,In all my years of research,cheap drink usually ends one way for pubs and clubs,CLOSED,the list is endless all over the country!If it is the same owners as it appears to be in Carlow then they are surely in Waterfod for the long haul.Given their performance in Carlow (including competitors) I would fancy them to make a long and lasting impression in Waterford. Note:Friends in office came back from a Stag in Carlow and quote of week was 'why is there not a Foundry in Dublin?'

I would suggest that maybe Waterford should be encouraging one of the top nightclub operators in the country to its city but ultimately this is up to the people of Waterford. I'm looking forward to getting back to Waterford in the next couple of months to check out the Scene and hope you enjoy d comments

Hi there,

first off if you are connected with the foundry you'll get infinately more respect by coming right out and it but if your being honest that you for you input. Couple of points:

Can you explain price wise the exact differance between a "late bar" and "nightclub"? does it increase the cost of Insurance,Security,staff and so on? Harveys you pointed out was only a late bar but opens till half 2 and has a full array of drinks. If its the case that Harveys can run at a much lower cost without the tag nightclub and they can pass the savings onto the customer what kind of a muppet would open a nightclub instead of a late bar?

I'm afraid it doesn't add up for me.

Ledger

dayshah wrote: »

Every reasonable person will agree that a business needs to cover its costs. So if the foundry gives a new experience, better than a late bar, people will pay extra (for the expense of maintaining a nice environment or good DJ). But if its basically the same as Masons, why pay the extra? I don't really see a big difference between Mason/Harveys and a nightclub, but maybe I'm just too old.

But anyway, they have their capital costs and their variable costs. They have to cover their variable costs. But the capital cost? They already sunk in €4m. That's gone now. I think they overpaid, and won't see it back. Now they can just make the most of it.

As I said, people will pay more if its something better, but aren't willing to be ripped off. €5 for a Monday night. Seriously?

I don't think this place will close. Dinn Rí may sell up and take a loss on the money they invested. But suppose someone bought it for €1million. I reckon then they could afford to keep prices low and turn a profit.


I would be willing to pay extra for a place with nice comfy couches. The bar would make less due to less people in the bar, but I'd be willing to pay for the comfort.

That's the thing nowadays, there is barely any difference, execpt perhaps the price of the licence.

If you asked 100 people, 95 of them would probably think Harvey's and Mason's are nightclubs. These late bars are at such a high standard now that they are nightclubs in all but name.

The only difference between them from a punter's Point of view is that Nightclubs seem to automatically assume they are better and can charge more if they wish.

An12fr3

ziedth wrote: »

Hi there,

first off if you are connected with the foundry you'll get infinately more respect by coming right out and it but if your being honest that you for you input. Couple of points:

Can you explain price wise the exact differance between a "late bar" and "nightclub"? does it increase the cost of Insurance,Security,staff and so on? Harveys you pointed out was only a late bar but opens till half 2 and has a full array of drinks. If its the case that Harveys can run at a much lower cost without the tag nightclub and they can pass the savings onto the customer what kind of a muppet would open a nightclub instead of a late bar?

I'm afraid it doesn't add up for me.

Can't put my hand up for the Foundry sorry,new user to boards,not keen to put up my name but if anyone is interested in my work they can check out DIT publications "The Emergence of Public Relations in the Nightclub Industry" and Current research, masters in Philosophy, MPhil "The reputation of the nightclub industry in Ireland". Cheers

ziedth

An12fr3 wrote: »

Can't put my hand up for the Foundry sorry,new user to boards,not keen to put up my name but if anyone is interested in my work they can check out DIT publications "The Emergence of Public Relations in the Nightclub Industry" and Current research, masters in Philosophy, MPhil "The reputation of the nightclub industry in Ireland". Cheers

No need for your name, you can see how it might look i'm sure for a brand new account to come in seemingly defending the place. thanks for your input.

Mooley22

There is one thing paying a little bit more but think about it this way if you go to the foundry on a saturday and buy a vodka and red bull.You will have paid 10euro in and between 9 and 11 euro for your drink which is at least 19euro gone out of your pocket for your first drink.If you go to masons you will pay 5euro for the same drink so you've saved 14 euro.If you go to harveys you pay 2 euro in and 5.50 for your drink thats still a saving of 11.50.That adds up to alot of money saved over the night and i don't think people will pay that much extra for the same commercial music that is everywhere else.

abouttobebanned

Doesn't say much for D.I.T. or your research if you're not even able to use a comma or a full stop.

Regardless, I don't see a whole lot of validity to your argument. The foundry have arrived in Waterford in not too disinilar a way to when Jesus arrived in Gallilee. Everything that has gone before is invalid now the saviour has arrived.

There is no justification in any business ripping off customers. The night club business is a hard one to maintain...security..entertainment and exemption costs...so it makes sense that a decent club has to be more expensive than a bar that doesn't have the same costs. However, my point is that these guys seem to be arriving in with their noses in the air totally disregarding the mountain of evidence that would tell them that what they are proposing hasnt worked in Waterford for about 5-6 years and all they will succeed in doing is make the likes of masons and harveys a more desirable proposition.

I have no doubt that when the honeymoon period is over they'll have to review a number of their policies. There really is no place for arrogance in one of the country's most vulnerable industries.

Mooley22

Im sure they wouldn't have much higher running costs then masons or harveys.Masons must be close to the same size over the 2floors maybe even a little bigger,Harveys would be roughly the same size but has the smoking area which costs alot to run so if they can charge cheaper so can the foundry.Its just down to the pure arrogance that they think because it works in carlow they can charge what they want down here and because they are the "famous foundry" people will pay whatever they want.

Speak Now

Ledger wrote: »

mostly just cheaper than what they were.

but if you take some of their deals into account they are cheap, if you see what i mean.

Not really

How much is a pint of lager at the weekend?

Mooley22

Pint is 4.50 in harveys on saturdays and 4euro on fridays,used to be 5.20 or 5.30 i think

Ledger

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

Not really

How much is a pint of lager at the weekend?

I dont generally drink pints when in nightclub/late bar, but i would say about a fiver. (not harveys)

A few years ago you would be paying nearly 6!

savic04

thank god we run clubs to a niche market who appreciate the atmosphere and not just the drink price and cover charge and have nothing to do with this comercial war. People taking pity on Masons or Harveys?? are you having a laugh, the same places bleed you dry for long enough. Paying close to 6euro for a pint there at one stage. can the likes of harveys or masons really survive a massive downturn when Foundary opens and attracts crowds for either a month or a few months.

People can say what they like on here, but the Foundary will be jammers for first few months before changing tack. Waterford is a city in name only, its really only a village where the masses follow the flock.

Dan133269

An12fr3 wrote: »

I've been follow this thread for a couple of months now. I'm a research student in DIT and have been researching nightclubs all over the country and europe for 10 years now.There are a couple of things that I believe have been completely missed here.

Firstly, The argument of price and comparison to Masons, Harveys etc to the Foundry Waterford is completely invalid as none of these venues are actually nightclubs.They are all late bars.At present there is no nightclub (population 300+) in Waterford.The last time I researched Waterford, when rubys and oxygen were both running their door policy was to charge outsiders/tourists and free for anyone that wanted to walk up through Muldoons etc.No wonder nobody from outside came to Waterford,and no wonder the nightclubs went belly up with this policy.

Second,If Waterford City is to become one of the top night spots in Ireland then it needs a modern state of the art nightclub with continual investment.I believe, but am not sure the Foundry have bought the 2 venues.With their history of nightclubs,surely they will achieve this.Look at Carlow,the same recession,yet every weekend people from all over the country go there.Fair enough it is one of the top 3 clubs in Ireland but the point is and going on research,Waterford City does not attract any catchment area outside the City.Carlow,and lets be honest,not exactly a metropolis takes people from all over south Leinster/Ireland to the town on Fri, Sat n Sun night.Not to mention the student business.This generates tourism,job growth,economy growth and direct employment.Waterford needs that!

Thirdly in my research,Waterford proved a quandary and hard to pin-point the reason why the nightclub scene completely hit the wall (All opinions greatly appreciated).I believe the people took the nightclubs for granted and the attitude of not paying (only city/town/place in Ireland btw) proved to backfire on the whole city as currently there are no nightclubs.The only place/town/city in Ireland.This is only my opinion but this is not good for the city or tourism of Waterford.

Fourth,In all my years of research,cheap drink usually ends one way for pubs and clubs,CLOSED,the list is endless all over the country!If it is the same owners as it appears to be in Carlow then they are surely in Waterfod for the long haul.Given their performance in Carlow (including competitors) I would fancy them to make a long and lasting impression in Waterford. Note:Friends in office came back from a Stag in Carlow and quote of week was 'why is there not a Foundry in Dublin?'

I would suggest that maybe Waterford should be encouraging one of the top nightclub operators in the country to its city but ultimately this is up to the people of Waterford. I'm looking forward to getting back to Waterford in the next couple of months to check out the Scene and hope you enjoy d comments

You make a lot of factual errors for someone who has apparently done a lot of research on this. No nightclub in Waterford? Is the forum not a nightclub? Escape?

Cheap drinks equals closure? Billy Ryan's "The Exchange" is the busiest pub in Waterford at the mo entirely due to the fact that he was the first person in town to bring in the 3 euro all drinks rule.

Cannot compare Foundry to harveys and masons as the latter 2 are only late bars? So the spelling on a legal document means they cannot be compared in spite of the overwhelming overlap between their products/services?

Pull the other 1 boy! All the best.

Speak Now

Mooley22 wrote: »

Pint is 4.50 in harveys on saturdays and 4euro on fridays,used to be 5.20 or 5.30 i think

Ledger wrote: »

I dont generally drink pints when in nightclub/late bar, but i would say about a fiver. (not harveys)

A few years ago you would be paying nearly 6!

So cheaper then not cheap

Always think € 4 is fair enough.

€ 3 is a steal or even the 3 for € 10 is very good.

Anything around the fiver is taking the mick IMO.

So are we talking € 5 plus in the new place?

dayshah

Could someone please clarify for me the actual legal difference between a nightclub and a late bar?

Ledger

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

So cheaper then not cheap

Always think € 4 is fair enough.

€ 3 is a steal or even the 3 for € 10 is very good.

Anything around the fiver is taking the mick IMO.

So are we talking € 5 plus in the new place?

ah yeah but we're talking about more than pints in fairness.

Like the bull round, 4 vodkas and 2 red bulls for E20?
You pay E20 for the vodkas alone, and at least 6 or 7 euro for the red bulls.
A few years ago you'd be lucky to get 2 vodka's and 1 reb bull for E20. so thats nearly half the price

RxQueen

An12fr3 wrote: »

I've been follow this thread for a couple of months now. I'm a research student in DIT and have been researching nightclubs all over the country and europe for 10 years now.There are a couple of things that I believe have been completely missed here.

Firstly, The argument of price and comparison to Masons, Harveys etc to the Foundry Waterford is completely invalid as none of these venues are actually nightclubs.They are all late bars.At present there is no nightclub (population 300+) in Waterford.The last time I researched Waterford, when rubys and oxygen were both running their door policy was to charge outsiders/tourists and free for anyone that wanted to walk up through Muldoons etc.No wonder nobody from outside came to Waterford,and no wonder the nightclubs went belly up with this policy.

Second,If Waterford City is to become one of the top night spots in Ireland then it needs a modern state of the art nightclub with continual investment.I believe, but am not sure the Foundry have bought the 2 venues.With their history of nightclubs,surely they will achieve this.Look at Carlow,the same recession,yet every weekend people from all over the country go there.Fair enough it is one of the top 3 clubs in Ireland but the point is and going on research,Waterford City does not attract any catchment area outside the City.Carlow,and lets be honest,not exactly a metropolis takes people from all over south Leinster/Ireland to the town on Fri, Sat n Sun night.Not to mention the student business.This generates tourism,job growth,economy growth and direct employment.Waterford needs that!

Thirdly in my research,Waterford proved a quandary and hard to pin-point the reason why the nightclub scene completely hit the wall (All opinions greatly appreciated).I believe the people took the nightclubs for granted and the attitude of not paying (only city/town/place in Ireland btw) proved to backfire on the whole city as currently there are no nightclubs.The only place/town/city in Ireland.This is only my opinion but this is not good for the city or tourism of Waterford.

Fourth,In all my years of research,cheap drink usually ends one way for pubs and clubs,CLOSED,the list is endless all over the country!If it is the same owners as it appears to be in Carlow then they are surely in Waterfod for the long haul.Given their performance in Carlow (including competitors) I would fancy them to make a long and lasting impression in Waterford. Note:Friends in office came back from a Stag in Carlow and quote of week was 'why is there not a Foundry in Dublin?'

I would suggest that maybe Waterford should be encouraging one of the top nightclub operators in the country to its city but ultimately this is up to the people of Waterford. I'm looking forward to getting back to Waterford in the next couple of months to check out the Scene and hope you enjoy d comments

I think you have a point on something, but waterford was hit hard by the recession and last thing people will want is a charge in at the door, and high drink prices... just to have a name tag of a nightclub applied to it

Mooley22

dayshah wrote: »

Could someone please clarify for me the actual legal difference between a nightclub and a late bar?

They are basically the same.Late bar is a bar that opens a bit earlier then a nightclub but has a late license and a late bar doesnt usually have a designated dance floor.A nightclub is a bar that only opens late and has a dance floor.I cant see much difference really

Mick Electric

dayshah wrote: »

I would be willing to pay extra for a place with nice comfy couches. The bar would make less due to less people in the bar, but I'd be willing to pay for the comfort.

Come up to us at The Forum Lounge Daysah, plenty of lovely comfy couches for ya and great live music every Saturday

RxQueen

Mick Electric wrote: »

Come up to us at The Forum Lounge Daysah, plenty of lovely comfy couches for ya and great live music every Saturday

I tried last week, wasnt left in but thats a story for another time :pac:!

ziedth

emo!! wrote: »

I tried last week, wasnt left in but thats a story for another time :pac:!

I heard they were sold out/full alright. Lovely problem to have these days

dayshah

Mick Electric wrote: »

Come up to us at The Forum Lounge Daysah, plenty of lovely comfy couches for ya and great live music every Saturday

Is the forum lounge where that bar is just off the dancefloor? Nice couches too. Revolution has, but not as good as Flashes was. I don't like the brickwork in Revolution.

I remember the chill out room in South, basically an orgy was going on there

To be honest I don't think my idea of an extra comfy nightclub would be profitable

MitchKoobski

dayshah wrote: »

Is the forum lounge where that bar is just off the dancefloor? Nice couches too. Revolution has, but not as good as Flashes was. I don't like the brickwork in Revolution.

I remember the chill out room in South, basically an orgy was going on there

To be honest I don't think my idea of an extra comfy nightclub would be profitable

Forum Lounge is the area downstairs, Forum Venue is the area upstairs.
REALLY comfy furniture in the Lounge part.

First time I went in there I was out of my mind having been drinking all day. Didn't believe the fireplace the had was real. Drunk MitchKoobski figured it must just be a tv screen or something. Stuck my hand in it......it hurt...

royalcarlowgc

STIG83 wrote: »

What will we give them before they go belly up? id say 8 to 12 months

They will never go belly up. They have so much money its not funny.

ziedth

dayshah wrote: »

I remember the chill out room in South, basically an orgy was going on there

Now your talking, twas like an episode of Spartacus in there :pac:

south

In law there is no such thing as a nightclub licence. The nightclub owner must have an intoxicating liquor licence, public dancing licence and special exemption order before he/she is in a position to serve intoxicating liquor after the permitted hours. Application for a special exemption order is made to the District Court and, if granted, intoxicating liquor can be served up to 2.30a.m. The application is dependent on having a public dance licence and Intoxicating Liquor Licence in place (includes publicans, hoteliers and holders of wine retailer’s on-licence but excludes the holders of a Special Restaurant Licence) and if of course there are no objections to the application by the Gardaί, Fire Officer, Local Authority or any affected person.

Musicman2000

royalcarlowgc wrote: »

They will never go belly up. They have so much money its not funny.

They must certainly have their blinkers on regarding Waterford’s nightlife if they think they will open 7 nights with a cover charge, For the tenth time they are not in Carlow there is other venues in Waterford, Sure why cant they be the best in Carlow when there is no other competition, Fix what ever prices you want and screw people in Carlow. But that won’t happen in Waterford

Deisekickboxing

Musicman2000 wrote: »

They must certainly have their blinkers on regarding Waterford’s nightlife if they think they will open 7 nights with a cover charge, For the tenth time they are not in Carlow there is other venues in Waterford, Sure why cant they be the best in Carlow when there is no other competition, Fix what ever prices you want and screw people in Carlow. But that won’t happen in Waterford

Yes they will sure they had no problem givin it to tweety,
Q: does anyone no where the 10million they lost went?

Musicman2000

I was told today in college Ten is reopening, All these venues and not enough people to fill them

RyanP

Musicman2000 wrote: »

They must certainly have their blinkers on regarding Waterford’s nightlife if they think they will open 7 nights with a cover charge, For the tenth time they are not in Carlow there is other venues in Waterford, Sure why cant they be the best in Carlow when there is no other competition, Fix what ever prices you want and screw people in Carlow. But that won’t happen in Waterford

Couldnt agree with you more.

Joey leBlanc

Musicman2000 wrote: »

They must certainly have their blinkers on regarding Waterford’s nightlife if they think they will open 7 nights with a cover charge, For the tenth time they are not in Carlow there is other venues in Waterford, Sure why cant they be the best in Carlow when there is no other competition, Fix what ever prices you want and screw people in Carlow. But that won’t happen in Waterford

Not in my back yard sonny Jim.... Why won't it happen?? I'm Waterford true & blue but let's face it's not a hip happening thriving metropolis & any inward investment from an outside source (with a strong track record in the field) in a new nightclub should be welcomed with open arms by everyone. After all no local investors or entrepreneurs have bothered to establish a night club in the wake of the demise of Rubys etc.
What must people visiting a supposed "city" think when they arrive & discover that there's not even a nightclub in town. Not everyone wants to be squashed into a late bar. Im aghast at all the negativity surrounding this new venue. Flabergasted in fact!