Eastern Seaboard Gettin’ Notiony

IvoryTower

IvoryTower wrote: »

Sorry yes examinership, still plenty of time to grab something to eat. I wouldn't be expecting money for a voucher anyway.

Drove last Brown Hound an hour ago. It’s closed, notice on the door .

IvoryTower

I mean since the summer lol. Anyway look, some people think they're hard done by, I personally wouldn't be chasing money for a voucher from someone who just lost their business. My point was as soon as things were looking bad it would make sense to use it if you could be bothered. You got a gift of a voucher for a restaurant that closed down, unlucky

furiousox

Deleted User wrote: »

Drove last Brown Hound an hour ago. It’s closed, notice on the door .

Really??? :eek: :pac:

Mylow

furiousox wrote: »

Amid all the gushing tributes by the "devastated" on their FB page, someone dared ask the question "what happens to the gift vouchers?".
Still unanswered.

Hopefully all the suppliers haven't been left with large unpaid bills.

barney shamrock

A few posts from former staff on FB there telling how it really was behind the scenes.
Someone else also dared criticise the noble seaboard and got a one word response from the owners "twat".

furiousox

Someone is really upset about the ESB closure :pac:

IvoryTower

Some of the staff seem pretty pissed alright its a good read :pac:

My missus used to work there, she said aside from using the tips to pay for stuff(which is pretty lame tbf), she didn't think it was any worse than other restaurants. She meant that in the sense that it's pretty rough no matter where you go.

barney shamrock

From the ESB facebook page, got to be a wind-up? :pac:



Just a word of warning, after the tragic closure of the Brown Hound my wife Padraigin and I decided to bring our children Sorcha, Oisin and Eli to a coffee shop in town which I won’t name, let’s just call it ‘The Poorland Cafe’

Well, after many joyous visits to the BH our experience in ‘The Poorland Cafe’ could not have been more different.

As most regulars of the BH would know my wife likes to make clothing for our children from non-gender specific ethically sourced recyclable fabric.

When my family walked into ‘The Poorland’, my children were laughed at by other offspring from a lower social strata, it was most upsetting to see these “people” dressed from head to toe in “Penney’s finest” openly laughing at my unique and wonderful children!

I wish I could say our experience improved from there but sadly it did not.

We asked for some gluten free carrot cake as Eli has issues, we were told “we don’t sell that sort of thing”
We then asked for skinny lattes made with fairtrade almond milk for Sorcha & Oisin, only to be told again that “we don’t sell that sort of thing”!

We were told ‘sausages and chips’ or ‘chicken and chips’ were available at the “hot counter” (whatever that is!)
As lifelong vegans we were so outraged and upset we decided to leave, the Brown Hound this was not!

We packed up the iPad and loaded Eli into the baby sling, then to add insult to injury our bamboo double stroller got damaged when we tried to exit the place and when we finally got back to a “safe space”we found the Prius had a parking ticket on it!
I’m adamant we were only in that loading bay for 40 mins tops!
On a Saturday!

We were all so upset we went home and lay together crying for the loss of our beloved Brown Hound.

The children seem ok now (children are resilient after all) but Padraigin was unable to attend her yoga class the following day as her energy was out of sync.

Who knew trying to buy a bloody bun for your family could be so traumatic.

Lord TSC

There's an article in the Leader today about the closure.

The last paragraph though had something I have to ask about....

(Jeni) said the issues surrounding the negotiating of the rent was one factor (in the closure). She also pointed to VAT rates, staffing costs, and a decision to allow dogs in the restaurant, and also the allegend theft of €30,000 through fraud all impacting the company)


What's the dog bit about? Was it something that was forced on them, or something?

positron

I read that, and was surprised to see no mention of new menu and associated prices.

positron

positron wrote: »

I read that, and was surprised to see no mention of new menu and associated prices.

Their biggest mistake (and they will never admit it) is changing the menu. This was their biggest asset and they ruined it. People loved the wings, the little loaf of bread at the beginning, the slow roasted carrots, mackerel pate and many other dishes. If it aint broke don't fix it.
(I'd say there were issues with staff too)

borderlinemeath

Lord TSC wrote: »

There's an article in the Leader today about the closure.

The last paragraph though had something I have to ask about....

(Jeni) said the issues surrounding the negotiating of the rent was one factor (in the closure). She also pointed to VAT rates, staffing costs, and a decision to allow dogs in the restaurant, and also the allegend theft of €30,000 through fraud all impacting the company)


What's the dog bit about? Was it something that was forced on them, or something?

A few years back the laws regarding animals in food establishments were relaxed and Eastern Seaboard embraced the change and made an announcement that dogs (well behaved and leashed) would be allowed accompany their owners into both ESB and the Brown Hound. There was uproar on their facebook page with people (who probably rarely ate there) lambasting their decision. There were a good few supporters of it too, but of course it was the keyboard warriors that were convinced that they would either:
A/Be attacked by a dog while going for a meal
B/Get dog hairs in their dinner
C/Would compromise hygiene in the kitchens
D/Didn't want to sit watching dogs lick their balls while they ate their dinner.
E/ There were people complaining that they were petrified of dogs and they would never eat their again after this.

She defended it as best she could and tried to combat any criticism with logic and reasoning but it was all blown out of proportion. You would swear there was going to be a dog sitting up at every table when the reality was the odd little dog sleeping under their owners table.

I've been in dog friendly places with my dogs and it's not all that much different, in most places you wouldn't even notice a dog was there unless you went looking but the "non dog" public really went to town on her for it.

I reckon while it didn't make much of an overall difference to trade, it was probably the first real collective criticism apart from the odd crank on trip advisor so it sticks in her memory as being a significant part of the downturn. IIRC, it happened maybe a month or so before the big menu change. I think the law changed in Nov'17, and they put a Christmas menu on for December and changed the menu dramatically in January.

IvoryTower

positron wrote: »

I read that, and was surprised to see no mention of new menu and associated prices.

In their interview in times she doesn't mention it

Cardamom and mimosa

Lord TSC wrote: »

There's an article in the Leader today about the closure.

The last paragraph though had something I have to ask about....

(Jeni) said the issues surrounding the negotiating of the rent was one factor (in the closure). She also pointed to VAT rates, staffing costs, and a decision to allow dogs in the restaurant, and also the allegend theft of €30,000 through fraud all impacting the company)


What's the dog bit about? Was it something that was forced on them, or something?

Allowing dogs in the restaurant was a bad move, my mother regularly went but has a fear of dogs so had to stop going.
I had gone in with a friend one afternoon and a man with a big enough dog came in and sat right beside me, it was uncomfortable as im not too fussed on dogs myself, I do like them allot but wouldnt consider myself a dog person and didnt like eating right next to one. Like my mum im a little fearful of dogs myself.

A cafe or restaurant specifically with the intent of being open to dogs would be nice, similarly to the cat cafe in Dublin or Paw's dog friendly cafe, could be a really nice idea but to go to a cafe and see dogs unexpectedly is not for everyone.

Id wonder if their location also had something to do with it?
Drogheda center has a few expensive cafe's and restaurants that are thriving because theyre so easy to get to.
ESB and Brown hound are practically in a housing estate outside of town, bit of a nuisance to get to, wouldnt be going to either on a whim.

Hoboo

Cardamom and mimosa wrote: »

Id wonder if their location also had something to do with it?
.

It's surrounded by Dublin road estates in easy walking distance, with a demographic that go for regular meals and have disposable income. Location was ideal.

I'm not sure who owns the restaurant building but the owner of shop building is a bollix, if it's the same guy/family i could only imagine what he was demanding. Another restaurant in there in the next few weeks? I wouldn't be surprised.

borderlinemeath

Cardamom and mimosa wrote: »

Allowing dogs in the restaurant was a bad move, my mother regularly went but has a fear of dogs so had to stop going.
I had gone in with a friend one afternoon and a man with a big enough dog came in and sat right beside me, it was uncomfortable as im not too fussed on dogs myself, I do like them allot but wouldnt consider myself a dog person and didnt like eating right next to one. Like my mum im a little fearful of dogs myself.

A cafe or restaurant specifically with the intent of being open to dogs would be nice, similarly to the cat cafe in Dublin or Paw's dog friendly cafe, could be a really nice idea but to go to a cafe and see dogs unexpectedly is not for everyone.

Id wonder if their location also had something to do with it?
Drogheda center has a few expensive cafe's and restaurants that are thriving because theyre so easy to get to.
ESB and Brown hound are practically in a housing estate outside of town, bit of a nuisance to get to, wouldnt be going to either on a whim.

Nothing in the centre of Drogheda is easy to get to unless you live there or within a short walk. That's why the town centre and Scotch Hall/Laurence Centre is half full of boarded up shop fronts and empty units. Where restaurants might benefit is that people might taxi in and out when on a night out, and traffic wouldn't be half as bad as during the day. I positively hate going into town to go to the bank or any of the town centre shops because of the dire traffic and lack of on street parking. If we're going out for dinner either myself or my husband will drive so eating in the town isn't even considered. ESB was so handy for parking and accessibility - even from a public transport point of view it was adjacent to the train station and bus stops. Similar with brown hound, it was always packed full of parents coming to and from the school run, or even people using the post office who wanted a decent coffee.

Cardamom and mimosa

borderlinemeath wrote: »

[/B]

Nothing in the centre of Drogheda is easy to get to unless you live there or within a short walk. That's why the town centre and Scotch Hall/Laurence Centre is half full of boarded up shop fronts and empty units. Where restaurants might benefit is that people might taxi in and out when on a night out, and traffic wouldn't be half as bad as during the day. I positively hate going into town to go to the bank or any of the town centre shops because of the dire traffic and lack of on street parking. If we're going out for dinner either myself or my husband will drive so eating in the town isn't even considered. ESB was so handy for parking and accessibility - even from a public transport point of view it was adjacent to the train station and bus stops. Similar with brown hound, it was always packed full of parents coming to and from the school run, or even people using the post office who wanted a decent coffee.

Boarded up shops - not restaurants or cafe's and I think the closed shops in Scotch Hall are due to the new theater upstairs and Top shop and Dorothy Perkins closing most of their stores country wide.
Any half decent place to eat in town are always busy, Ive been in the Mooreland, Relish, IlForno, Harpers at all times of the day for breakfast, lunch and afternoon meeting friends and theyre always very busy, could never say the same for ESB or Brown hound, certain times of day or week like the weekend, lunch and evening they were busy but places in town constantly have people coming in and out. Even Bru, ive gone in at 12 on a wet Tuesday afternoon and it was busy.
In the evenings, especially weekends, you cant even get a seat in many places in the town center.
Dublin road is convenient for a minority of people living in the area or driving but most people when going for a meal with intent of heading out after or want to have a drink go for meals in town.

borderlinemeath

Cardamom and mimosa wrote: »

Boarded up shops - not restaurants or cafe's and I think the closed shops in Scotch Hall are due to the new theater upstairs and Top shop and Dorothy Perkins closing most of their stores country wide.
Any half decent place to eat in town are always busy, Ive been in the Mooreland, Relish, IlForno, Harpers at all times of the day for breakfast, lunch and afternoon meeting friends and theyre always very busy, could never say the same for ESB or Brown hound, certain times of day or week like the weekend, lunch and evening they were busy but places in town constantly have people coming in and out. Even Bru, ive gone in at 12 on a wet Tuesday afternoon and it was busy.
In the evenings, especially weekends, you cant even get a seat in many places in the town center.
Dublin road is convenient for a minority of people living in the area or driving but most people when going for a meal with intent of heading out after or want to have a drink go for meals in town.

My point still stands, it's Your opinion that ESB was in a poor location. For many it was an ideal location. Close to town, but with parking, beside public transport links and for a lot of South Drogheda residents, within walking distance.

Maybe you don't remember back when ESB opened, it was not easy to get a table, any day of the week, at typical lunch or dinner times. It had a good reputation and people came from all over to eat there. I had many friends from Dublin that would take the trip up for a meal. It ran extremely successfully in it's current location until it changed the menu, and stopped listening to their clientele. A loyal base of customers dwindled away and spent their money elsewhere. I typically would have eaten there 2/3 times a month, spending in the region of €100 every time. We abruptly stopped going in Jan '18 when the menu changed and explored other options.

Spot on Borderlinemeath!
I’m in south Drogheda since 2013......an area that’s on a huge growth spurt at the moment. I’ve also worked in Drogheda town for 4 years. I can tell you anything that prevents me going back into the town at weekends to eat or socialize is a plus. ESB was in a perfect location and had a huge amount of well healed customers in their direct catchment area , never mind people who happily came from Dublin, Malahide, Skerries, Rush, Ashbourne, Navan. It was a perfect location. THAT was never the problem.

Hoboo

Funny how location hasn't affected The Black/Gold Bull. Nearly 50 years and still flying.

Dublin Road has arguably the highest density of professionals with spendable income in the town, can't think of anywhere with more.

MightyMighty737

Hoboo wrote: »

Funny how location hasn't affected The Black/Gold Bull. Nearly 50 years and still flying.

Dublin Road has arguably the highest density of professionals with spendable income in the town, can't think of anywhere with more.

Is it?

I've long since stopped going - food and service are both terrible imo.
Ever since they refurbed the front bar I thought it went downhill.

Having said that - I do think Bryanstown/Dublin Road is a great location in terms of size of market and amount of money floating around there. The housing estates there are massive!

For my money Duende is streets ahead of ESB and Black Bull for food.

Mr Jinx

Hoboo wrote: »

The bull is a gold mine. There's no getting away from that, whether you like the food/service or not. Haven't eaten there in a few years but used to a few times a week, was always good so that's a pity to hear. Actually started eating and drinking in Duende, but have since stopped but not because of the food or staff.

The front bar was just a bar but I did love it. Grew up in it. Unfortunately it had to be done to dissuade a certain group of people from drinking there. Had been a few incidents and it wasnt far from something very serious. And they're now drinking in Duende. Which as much as I love, food drink venue and staff who I know personally, I now avoid.

Hmmm would that be have anything to do with the recent events in Bettystown??

Hoboo

Mr Jinx wrote: »

Hmmm would that be have anything to do with the recent events in Bettystown??

Same business sector alright. Grange Rath is a hotbed.

IvoryTower

Burger and bag of coke not your thing

Bellbottoms

IvoryTower wrote: »

Some of the staff seem pretty pissed alright its a good read :pac:

My missus used to work there, she said aside from using the tips to pay for stuff

Pay for stuff? Like what? Wages?

IvoryTower

Like mistakes(eg customer getting wrong drink) and stuff like light bulbs from what I remember. Its been many years since she worked there so no idea if that was still the case.

Hoboo

IvoryTower wrote: »

Burger and bag of coke not your thing

That's not even a thing.

PGE1970

Like many people, I worked in a restaurant whilst a student.

Whilst not commenting on any specific restaurant (in this thread or otherwise), I would simply not use any restaurant that took any of its staff tips or who didn't give a service charge to staff (often for large tables who might not then leave a tip due to an extra service charge levied upon them).

I was in a restaurant once with my wife (just the two of us) where a discretionary 15% service charge was automatically added to the bill. I asked the waitress if they received this and they said no. She confirmed that tips were often affected as people assumed that staff received this charge.

When paying, I asked her to remove the charge and gave her a cash tip instead. She was delighted.

Lord TSC

100%

When I tip, it's to "reward" (for lack of a better term) the staff who have served me and helped make the experience what it was at the restaurant. If I ever caught wind that tips weren't going to staff, it would be the end of my visits to any place.

Bellbottoms

IvoryTower wrote: »

Like mistakes(eg customer getting wrong drink) and stuff like light bulbs from what I remember. Its been many years since she worked there so no idea if that was still the case.

WHAT!!
Really, that is disgraceful.

Good riddance to them if they where up to that. I am shocked.

I saw someone mention of staff complaining online, could someone link to it. I would like to know what other shenanigans they where up to.