New Shops/Businesses in Bray

Creamy Goodness

I think a point that’s not getting much air time around parking that was mentioned in passing is that many of the other options like Dundrum/carrickmines etc. have covered parking. Yeah Florence/church/and dirt Dargle parking are within walking distance but imagine walking up to the town from the Dargle on a day like today (do appreciate there might be some recency bias in this comment).

Again I don’t think that this is the sole reason, but it’s death by a 1000 paper cuts.

zoobizoo

The new parking at Bray Central is covered.

What might be a good idea is for them to offer free parking for a week so people drive in / see how accessible it is / see how many places there are etc etc

Would be a nice goodwill gesture.

murpho999

But am I right in saying that parking in Bray Central only has access via Florence Road?

Will it eventually open up on Quinsboro Road?

Having to go round a one way road network is not great.

Also, still no word on any stores which I really find bizarre.

ssaannee1980

Back on topic... It looks like work has begun on the unit beside SPAR on bray seafront. According to the planning website, its being turned into a restaurant, but the floor plans etc. make it look more like a coffee shop/cafe set up. I've searched the applicants name and cant find any associated businesses apart from a plastering company based in Lucan.

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120075041#Comment_120075041

8 charity shops in Bray on my last visit.a lot more rip off breakfast/lunch/coffee bars than that.maybe you there on a payout or delivery day.town is dirty alright but scores moderate/good in IBAL surveys for some reason.run down looking,traffic deadlocked

Ger Roe

I pass Bray Central regularly and I am astounded with the lack of promotion for the businesses that are actually open.

There is no visible sign of any activity within the complex, from a casual pass by. All the shop fronts visible from the footpath, are obviously empty and nothing would entice you to walk any further towards it. If you do venture into the courtyard area, apart from the two open premises, it is obvious from looking through the wall of empty windows on the other sides of the complex,that it is far from being finished - even the common stairwell areas are still in a building site state. I did hear plans of an open courtyard approach when the design was first proposed, but the dark monolithic kiosk constructions in the central yard area obstruct the view of the overall complex and destroy any hoped for impression of an open and inviting social space.

Why do whomever has responsibility for the success of the complex (council/developer/management company) not promote that fact that there are at least two business open and operational?. Some promotional posters in the windows of the street front vacant premises might give a hint that there are restaurants in there, trying to survive just out of sight.

It seems doomed to failure, if the businesses that have actually taken the plunge to start operations, are effectively hidden from view and ignored - they deserve to be supported by whomever wants the complex to be a success. It is self promotion basics for any commercial retail complex to promote itself during setup with lots of 'coming soon' and teasing future facilities posters ... Bray central looks like a vacant office block when viewed from the street front. It smacks of really bad management of a bad situation .... they need to at least think like a serious retail development as a basic start and then really think out of the box to address the current 'screw up' perception and to keep the dream alive.

It is as though no one cares enough to work towards making it a success. Who is in charge?

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120102218#Comment_120102218

the two businesses that are open are both Press-Up group restaurants; seeing as that company is also responsible for the Cinema and bowling alley it's hard to feel too much sympathy for them when they haven't completed and opened the latter units which would massively increase footfall in the centre.

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120102044#Comment_120102044

On that topic, does anybody know what the story is with the old Campo de Fiori place opposite the aquarium? I understand it's owned by the people who run the "casino" next door and they want to extend but it's been turned down a few times, rightly so in my opinion. It's a real eyesore and becoming more run-down looking by the day.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120102218#Comment_120102218

I don't find it that strange that they're not promoting the restaurants with signage yet as it as if I ran the place I would wait until shops are in and cinema was open before getting to marketing/promotion etc because at present they'd only be promoting something that is open to ridicule.

Best to wait, get fit outs done and then promote a complete complex. I think the two restaurants were just opened as gestures to satisfy council and probably meet contract demands.

So I wouldn't be saying it's doomed to failure just yet as for me the centre is not fully officially open yet.

This is all down to Press Up Group by the way and not the fault of the council.

SlipperyPeople

new restaurant going in on the main street as per a sign up on the building. Next door to Dunnes. Anyone know what's going in?

Viscount Aggro

I heard its going to be a coffee shop run by Focus Ireland.

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120111965#Comment_120111965

Great, another coffee shop! That’s the last thing Bray needs.

Cuddlesworth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120112915#Comment_120112915

At least its not another pound shop.

Creamy Goodness

Coffee shops and pound shops obviously work in Bray. They’re the only thing that really survive so can see why more will open.

tea and coffee

A coffee/ charity shop. If they sell coffee for a euro we would have the Holy Trinity

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120112982#Comment_120112982

....at immense cost to the main street, such a pity.

Annasopra

Im always amused at the moaning about closed premises and moaning about closed premises opening as coffee shops - particularly in the case of a premises that has been a coffee shop for decades.

You cant win. Bray people moan when premises are closed and moan when they open.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120114238#Comment_120114238

How is it a cost to the Main Street if it's replacing an empty unit?

Dereliction is the scourge of the Bray Main St not coffee shops.

Bray's proximity to City Centre, Dundrum, Carrickmines and Liffey Valley means that traditional retail is going to struggle in the modern on-line retail world so it's services and food where the future will be.

I can't envision a future for Bray with a Main St full of clothes and homeware stores as it's too easily available elsewhere and businesses have to make a profit.

theresapie

Much rather a coffee shop than a tacky "Chinese tat" store, like the one on Florence Road where the fish shop was, and the one up near McDonalds.

murpho999

Yes, people seem to expect Bray to turn into Grafton Street but it's just not going to happen.

Long established shops like Allen's, Miser T and Anvils, to name but a few couldn't survive so newer shops would have no chance.

dRNk SAnTA

Agree with these last few comments about parking. I have always complained that many towns in Ireland are ruined because they're covered in cars and parking spaces. Yet, I hypricritically find myself put-off from visiting Bray main street because I can't pull up outside the shop I want, and I live really close to it! There are usually loads of spaces behind the arcade and now also in Bray Central, but I have some kind of mental barrier about using these. It 'seems' like so much effort.

At the same time, there is something about the main street that makes it a little unpleasant to be on. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm always racing to get what I need and leave. It's not a place I happily stroll along for window shopping, like I might on Quinnsborough road. Neighbourhood wines opened and I kept meaning to call in, but never once did.

Maybe we need to find a way to reduce the traffic using the main street, make it a better pedestrian environment, make it easier for everyone to cycle to those shops from home. In many ways Bray is a perfect size for a cycling town because we have a massive bypass with the N11 and nowhere is too far from the main street. But there isn't that culture and the bridge on the main street is pretty much the only place to cross the river.

murpho999

I really can't think of any major town in Ireland where you can be guaranteed park in front of a shop on the Main St

Even Greystones, whose residents often complain about Bray, is a nightmare to drive through and get on street parking, so I just don't get the complaint about Bray.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120116258#Comment_120116258

At the same time, there is something about the main street that makes it a little unpleasant to be on. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm always racing to get what I need and leave.

The answer to that one is that its choked with cars.

fjon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117255#Comment_120117255

So is Church Road in Greystones as mentioned above.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119213#Comment_120119213

It's ridiculous. Every town in Ireland is the same with traffic It's crazy to single Bray out on this.

Go to Bray, park your car in the numerous options outlined, that people don't seem to see as options, as you would in any other town and walk safely on the pavement.

There's no danger, there's no atmosphere on the main street, there's nothing urging you to leave as quickly as possible.

There' s plenty of options for food, haircuts and chemists.

The only issue is choice of shops and derelict sites which is a tough nut to crack but Bray is not alone in that.

2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120114518#Comment_120114518

If Dundrum shopping center was nothing but coffee shops how do you think it would attract the same footfall?

My own view is that there is a correlation between dereliction and both the quality and variety of shops in the immediate area.

I’m a self confessed coffee addict myself, but I think that Bray passed the “coffee shop saturation point”long ago. I’m struggling to see the benefit to other businesses of flooding the area with even more coffee shops.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119472#Comment_120119472

You'd have a point if the new coffee shop wasnt replacing a coffee shop in existence for decades until the pandemic.

1 coffee shop opening in a premises that has been a coffee shop for about 40 years isnt a flood.

Plastik

What type of businesses do posters think would rejuvenate and work on the main st.?

ssaannee1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120116258#Comment_120116258

I like your honesty but also I think, are you trolling us lol. I do get what you're saying though!

browne_rob5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120121480#Comment_120121480

I don't think the main street can compete in the retail goods space with retail/shopping centers and online so I think the main focus should be on building residential in and around the town center and this would help support service based retail. The people living in the town would then support it rather than trying to attract people in cars here.