Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

Seaneh

BaZmO* wrote: »

The chef you're thinking about is Gary Rhodes.

And the restaurant was open for a while, it was just ****e.

BaZmO*

Seaneh wrote: »

And the restaurant was open for a while, it was just ****e.

Wasn't mad on the decor, but I thought the food was nice the couple of times I was there.

Seaneh

BaZmO* wrote: »

Wasn't mad on the decor, but I thought the food was nice the couple of times I was there.

The layout was atrocious.

I only ate there once, had a belly pork dish, it was ok, but way over priced and a little dry. It's easy to see why it failed really, price wise it was competing with much better restaurants.

BaZmO*

Seaneh wrote: »

The layout was atrocious.

I only ate there once, had a belly pork dish, it was ok, but way over priced and a little dry. It's easy to see why it failed really, price wise it was competing with much better restaurants.

I would've said that location had a bigger factor in its failure.

jack presley

30 pubs now apparently.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/agribusiness-and-food/british-chain-wetherspoon-set-to-open-up-to-30-pubs-in-ireland-1.1527271

Mick Murdock

Any idea how long it takes them to fit out a pub and get up and running? I assume they are fairly efficient when it comes to this stuff.

If I was a pub owner in Dún Laoghaire, I would be sh*tting myself right about now. It's not exactly overrun with quality pubs, so Wetherspoons can't be any worse, but should be considerably cheaper!

Clearly they import drink into the north, so it's not all that different to import it here.. So that's not really an issue at all.

Losty Dublin

Mick Murdock wrote: »

Any idea how long it takes them to fit out a pub and get up and running? I assume they are fairly efficient when it comes to this stuff.

That depends on how long it takes to formally acquire the pub then survey it, decide what level of work that the pub needs done, sort out planning permission if required, obtain quotes and get the work done and finally deal with any residual licence issues that may crop up. In other words it's as long as a piece of string. If they are happy as is they could have a pub opened in a matter of weeks; if not then stay in your local for a large chunk of 2014.

Mick Murdock wrote: »

Clearly they import drink into the north, so it's not all that different to import it here.. So that's not really an issue at all.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK so importing alcohol to Belfast or Derry isn't an issue. Bringing it into Dublin will become an issue as excise duty's will have be levied; it isn't a matter of a truck with kegs and bottles arriving in from Holyhead.

Seaneh

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Northern Ireland is part of the UK so importing alcohol to Belfast or Derry isn't an issue. Bringing it into Dublin will become an issue as excise duty's will have be levied; it isn't a matter of a truck with kegs and bottles arriving in from Holyhead.

Actually, having their UK supply chain in place to the north already means their cost of importing to Ireland is already smaller than it would be if they were to try and ship to Dublin as they can just bring it down via Belfast and means their buying power isn't effected. So even with the excise and so on there will be able to pay much, much less than they would if they were trying to buy from Irish suppliers and they have access to all the great local breweries they buy from in the UK.

kevohmsford

I am happy enough seeing Wetherspoons coming to Ireland.

The only thing I see as a problem is they don't play music in the pubs in the UK so unlikely to see live music in pubs here.

Seaneh

kevohmsford wrote: »

I am happy enough seeing Wetherspoons coming to Ireland.

The only thing I see as a problem is they don't play music in the pubs in the UK so unlikely to see live music in pubs here.

If they open Lloyd's it will have music etc.

JohnK

When ye say they don't play music, do ye mean they don't play any music at all (ie, only noise in the bar is the chat of the drinkers) or is it just that they don't do live music but have some CD's playing at the usual deafening levels?

Seaneh

JohnK wrote: »

When ye say they don't play music, do ye mean they don't play any music at all (ie, only noise in the bar is the chat of the drinkers) or is it just that they don't do live music but have some CD's playing at the usual deafening levels?

None of them I've been in have had live music, the odd one has had music on a PA system playing quite low in the background. The main noise would be people chatting, yeah.

Losty Dublin

Seaneh wrote: »

Actually, having their UK supply chain in place to the north already means their cost of importing to Ireland is already smaller than it would be if they were to try and ship to Dublin as they can just bring it down via Belfast and means their buying power isn't effected. So even with the excise and so on there will be able to pay much, much less than they would if they were trying to buy from Irish suppliers and they have access to all the great local breweries they buy from in the UK.

Fair point but it's still stock that has got to get to Dublin. With just one pub it won't be that cheap. Servicing of the lines and taps will be interesting as well; I can't see Heineken or Diageo's local quality teams co-operating with them.

This is assuming that they will supply Dublin from their chain in the North.

jrmb

I think it'll be good news if it opens at more locations. It's great for a substantial meal on a student budget. If you don't like it, you don't have to go.

Seaneh

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Fair point but it's still stock that has got to get to Dublin. With just one pub it won't be that cheap. Servicing of the lines and taps will be interesting as well; I can't see Heineken or Diageo's local quality teams co-operating with them.

This is assuming that they will supply Dublin from their chain in the North.

A lot of pubs in Ireland don't let Heiniken or Diageo near their lines and look after cleaning and maintance themselves.

Porterhouse, Galway Bay, and lots more around the place all clean their own lines. It's not a hard job, I've worked in bars where we cleaned our own lines.

I'd imagine they'll be hiring a cellar/stock man and odds are it will be his job to clean the lines once a week and every time the cask is changed (which should be every few days).

I'd bet my shirt on them using their existing supply chain, it makes no sense for them to do anything else, and to cost of moving stock south after it's already in belfast isn't much more (is any more) and moving it west to Derry. Dublin and Belfast are only what, 2 hours, at most away?

Bigcheeze

Losty Dublin wrote: »

With just one pub it won't be that cheap.

I think they understand their own costs. According to the Irish times today the plan is for up to 30 pubs.

BenEadir

Mick Murdock wrote: »

Clearly they import drink into the north, so it's not all that different to import it here.. So that's not really an issue at all.

Don't you mean "transport" beer into the north? How can they "Import" beer from one part of the UK to another? :P

EDIT: I just spotted the earlier correction.

Ben

LordSutch

Which begs the question, if real Cask Ale can travel from GB to NI, then surely it can travel here? which I guess it will do in the short term.

Long term, I do hope the local Irish cask ales take off at the Wetherspoon pumps too . . .

Lucena

Seaneh wrote: »

The main noise would be people chatting, yeah.

Best sound in a pub.

themandan6611

Lucena wrote: »

Best sound in a pub.

depends on how you are listening too

Lucena

themandan6611 wrote: »

depends on how you are listening too

With my ears, mostly.

coylemj

If JDW make a go of Tonic in Blackrock then good luck to them. Dealing purely with the local scene, you currently have Cafe Java (coffee shop with a snack food menu), Jack O'Rourke's (traditional bar with pub food menu) and on the main street there's also an Insomnia and an Eddie Rockett.

At the top of the tree in the area there's Ouzos (cheapest main: fish 'n chips €13.95) where the Mad Hatter used to be, be across the road from Tonic.

I wish them well and look forward to a place that serves good food with no muzak.

oblivious

LordSutch wrote: »

Which begs the question, if real Cask Ale can travel from GB to NI, then surely it can travel here? which I guess it will do in the short term.

Long term, I do hope the local Irish cask ales take off at the Wetherspoon pumps too . . .

A number of craft breweries do, it probably come down to price with spoons and bulk buying. But it would be great if they did more irish cask ale

rubadub

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Northern Ireland is part of the UK so importing alcohol to Belfast or Derry isn't an issue. Bringing it into Dublin will become an issue as excise duty's will have be levied; it isn't a matter of a truck with kegs and bottles arriving in from Holyhead.

No real issue, its sold so cheap abroad its definitely worthwhile. I wonder if others are already at it.

Sunday business post ~2010

Diageo has agreed to slash the price of Guinness to the company which runs the bars in Dublin’s new Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road, after the company threatened to import supplies from Britain.

Irish publicans pay €131.66 for a 50-litre keg of Guinness. The ex-duty price of the same keg to the on-trade in Britain is half that, at £54.15 (€66). Even after payment of Irish duty, the cost of importing Guinness to Ireland would be only €99.33 per keg, a saving of 33 per cent.

biko

JDW is getting one pub in a village outside Dublin and you'd swear they suddenly will take over every single pub in the country (although it may be their ultimate goal already having 900 pubs in UK, Dublin would fit right in).

Big Nasty

If Diageo Ireland can slash their prices to Aviva they might now have to do the same for ordinary publicans once JDW get a foothold.

drumswan

biko wrote: »

JDW is getting one pub in a village outside Dublin and you'd swear they suddenly will take over every single pub in the country (although it may be their ultimate goal already having 900 pubs in UK, Dublin would fit right in).

Irish Times says its up to 30 pubs

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/agribusiness-and-food/british-chain-wetherspoon-set-to-open-up-to-30-pubs-in-ireland-1.1527271

oblivious

biko wrote: »

JDW is getting one pub in a village outside Dublin and you'd swear they suddenly will take over every single pub in the country (although it may be their ultimate goal already having 900 pubs in UK, Dublin would fit right in).

30 with 3 to 4 thus year alone and its already mid September. Them means they are putting in massive funding and supllie chain

biko

Thanks, the initial article just mentioned one. 30 is a hell of a lot of pubs alright.

Sofiztikated

MCMLXXV wrote: »

If Diageo Ireland can slash their prices to Aviva they might now have to do the same for ordinary publicans once JDW get a foothold.

Might nothing.

Ordinary publicans don't have the individual pull that the Aviva or JDW would.

And VFI and IVF do **** all to try to help, to be honest.