Limerick Businesses Opening

Reputable Rog

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

Cruises Hotel should never have been knocked and Cruises street should never have been built - instead they should have focused on William street as the main retail hub. The street is like something from Legoland - zero character .

Unfortunately Limericks retail core has lost nearly all it's ornate landmark buildings such as Cannocks now Pennys & the Sarsfield street entrance, Todds now BT & many others which were replaced by the eyesores that remain today - These eyesores add no architectural value or character to any city centre instead just dull & ugly.

For example compare the facades of Brown Thomas in both the Cork and Galway to Limerick - the original ornate buildings are still intact resulting in an attractive streetscape.

Unfortunately Todds burnt down and was replaced with ****e. Penneys is inexcusable.

kilburn

Apparently the cannocks building was blocked with scaffolding and the work was done without planning shame they didnt make them stop

pigtown

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

Cruises Hotel should never have been knocked and Cruises street should never have been built - instead they should have focused on William street as the main retail hub. The street is like something from Legoland - zero character .

Unfortunately Limericks retail core has lost nearly all it's ornate landmark buildings such as Cannocks now Pennys & the Sarsfield street entrance, Todds now BT & many others which were replaced by the eyesores that remain today - These eyesores add no architectural value or character to any city centre instead just dull & ugly.

For example compare the facades of Brown Thomas in both Cork and Galway to Limerick - the original ornate buildings are still intact resulting in an attractive streetscape.

Just some info about Brown Thomas.
Originally built in the 1870s as Todd's, photos here
http://archiseek.com/2014/1874-todds-department-store-limerick/

Burnt down in 1959. Some photos show just how catastrophic the fire was for the store
http://limerickslife.com/rare-photographs-of-todds-fire/

Rebuilt in the style of the time, rather ugly unfortunately. Bought by Brown Thomas and renovated in 1999. Great article about the renovation here
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/two-year-limerick-5-5m-rebrand-is-nearly-complete-1.243640

The store is over twice as large as the Galway one, while Cork's is larger after an extension when it was bought by the group.
The store is owned by the group so they don't have to pay rent, meaning there is less pressure on it should sales decline. By some accounts some of the Limerick departments are the strongest performing outside of the Dublin store.

The current building could do with a facelift in the same way that the Bank of Ireland received one a few years ago. I imagine that a contemporary style would be chosen if it ever went ahead.

Jose Maria

The city center looked better 100 years ago

Silentcorner

Jose Maria wrote: »

The city center looked better 100 years ago

I remember it well...

Of course, there was a lot more people living in the city centre back then, suburban living hasn't helped!

Vanquished

Cannocks demolished their grand ornate frontage in 1961 before the Planning and Development Act (1963) was introduced. This effectively established the Irish planning system as we know it. The new facade was unveiled in 1963 and was apparently motivated by the owners paranoia that the new modern, open plan premises that Todd's were building would leave them behind. The fact that the beautiful frontage and landmark clock were their signature features and most recognisable symbols of the business was clearly lost on them. Bizarrely they didn't touch the single storey extension to the rear which housed the majority of the store. The logical decision would have been to re-develop the poor quality structure to the rear and maintain the striking landmark facade. Overall it was a calamitous miscalculation and the business struggled in the aftermath. The new design did not go down well with the locals who lamented the loss of what was regarded as a prominent and much loved city centre landmark.

Penneys bought Cannock's in 1980 and reconfigured the frontage again in 1983 to the red brick finish that remains in place today.

pigtown

Milanos are opening in the Crescent

James Bond Junior

pigtown wrote: »

Milanos are opening in the Crescent

I'm fond of milanos. They always have decent offers if you sign up to their email list, 2 mains for 15 etc.

arch_stanton

pigtown wrote: »

Milanos are opening in the Crescent

Is that the unit beside subway where they added a second story?

JCX BXC

pigtown wrote: »

Milanos are opening in the Crescent

Ugh, Italian already catered for.

A shopping center the size of the crescent needs better eating options than it currently has.

pigtown

arch_stanton wrote: »

Is that the unit beside subway where they added a second story?

Unit A3 I think it said on the planning application

Sal Butamol

**** sake there's already an Italian. Food options out there are rubbish.

Berty

Milano, aka Pizza Express across the UK.

I wouldn't personally put it into "Italian" restaurant categories. They are nice restaurants laid out and done well though. Compare the restaurant aesthetics of the Ennis store versus the one in Limerick. Ennis is much nicer and more inviting to go into.

They do good deals as well.

James Bond Junior

Berty wrote: »

Milano, aka Pizza Express across the UK.

I wouldn't personally put it into "Italian" restaurant categories. They are nice restaurants laid out and done well though. Compare the restaurant aesthetics of the Ennis store versus the one in Limerick. Ennis is much nicer and more inviting to go into.

They do good deals as well.

Summed up very well. If we have a special occasion we go to La Piccola for an Italian. If it's a Sunday evening and we are too lazy to cook we go to Milano. They aren't really comparable.

Poxyshamrock

There’s a new donut store opening in town! :rolleyes:

panda100

Poxyshamrock wrote:

There’s a new donut store opening in town!

Ya Nom donuts and gelato on Roches Street. Is that where the vape store is now? Can't see any of these donought shops lasting more than a year, if even.

Berty

panda100 wrote: »

Ya Nom donuts and gelato on Roches Street. Is that where the vape store is now? Can't see any of these donought shops lasting more than a year, if even.

Easy entry to the market. You just need the raw ingredients and a fryer essentially to make a donut. After that it's just HSE stuff mostly to cover like prep area, display, temperatures, record keeping etc.

Lash in a coffee machine and a drinks cabinet and away you go. Most other things are merely window dressing.

High Margin as well. This is why Coffee shops do so well. Ice cream cones themselves can be around 80% margin.

frosty123

^^^^^^^^^^

same with pizza, cheap ingredients big profits

Sal Butamol

And a donut shop opened in the old Wacky shoes outlet.

Love the copycat store openings in Limerick.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^

wonder how long it'll last? a month?

Shn99

Madness, Is there another starbucks to open too or is that hearsay?

sioda

Shn99 wrote: »

Madness, Is there another starbucks to open too or is that hearsay?

Old Dermot Foley chemist building is the new Starbucks

Berty

Shn99 wrote: »

Madness, Is there another starbucks to open too or is that hearsay?

Across from Debenhams where the chemist was.

Shn99

Berty wrote: »

Across from Debenhams where the chemist was.

Is there really a need for 3 Starbucks in Limerick or are they just trying to push indo coffee shops out?

OfTheMarsWongs

Sal Butamol wrote: »

And a donut shop opened in the old Wacky shoes outlet.

Love the copycat store openings in Limerick.

I was actually in there today. Better shop layout than Funky. Better selection too.

Funky was limited of course with the size of the shop.

nim1bdeh38l2cw

Shn99 wrote: »

Is there really a need for 3 Starbucks in Limerick or are they just trying to push indo coffee shops out?

Starbucks business model is to have one on every block

bigpink

Is Shack a chain or franchise?in fairness they got a great location
Nom will find it harder in roches street

Sal Butamol

OfTheMarsWongs wrote: »

I was actually in there today. Better shop layout than Funky. Better selection too.

Funky was limited of course with the size of the shop.

Queuing by the door blocking the entrance is terrible design

fryup

anyone take over the sage cafe unit on catherine st?

panda100

fryup wrote: »

anyone take over the sage cafe unit on catherine st?

I think Esquires Coffee shop opened there a few months back.It has a nice outdoor seating area that looks to be doing well everytime I pass it.