Weatherspoons Sold

Boooourns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122246282#Comment_122246282

All the buildings will be available on a CAB auction in a few years 😁

azimuth17

The property next to Espresso Restaurant (which is a nice Italian) is in dreadful condition. Third world level of presentation.

johnnykilo

Up on their Facebook page that Sunday is the last day. A backward step for the town. I appreciate it's a business decision to only have premises on the East Coast (Dublin & Belfast), presumably due to logistics costs, but I hope someday they'll be back again, not a bad option to drop into for some reasonably priced food and drink, I'll personally miss them.

azimuth17

Just looking at that place The Aault, I think they own in The Applemarket. Whoever is in charge doesn't really understand what customer presentation is.

PTH2009

Broadstreet bar & grill opening up in the premises from 28th June

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122285568#Comment_122285568

Very original name!

azimuth17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122285568#Comment_122285568

Jesus, they must have spent weeks thinking of that. Why not leave the irish name on it?

Valhalla90

Give it six months! This company will run it into the ground.

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122286070#Comment_122286070

I'm not sure their choice of naming ties in with their intro on Facebook! Surely they could have used a bit of imagination with the name.

What is it with Waterford removing the irish-ness from pubs. We have seen it over the years replacing good traditional pubs with soulless white boxes, pulpit, muldoons etc.

Evening naming the pub Flanagan's as a through back to the fish shop is a good solid Irish name that wouldn't require much thought.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122284529#Comment_122284529

The Wetherspoons model simply does not work in well Ireland. They lost substantially on their outlets outside Dublin.

Chain pubs are just not something that works here outside Dublin unlike the UK where over 70% of the pub trade is controlled by pub groups or breweries. Most are bland and soulless. And wetherspoons are the most bland and soulless of them all.

They'll do OK in Dublin due to the diversity of the population, but if the right offer came, they'd be out of Dublin in 24 hours

johnnykilo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122286125#Comment_122286125

Not that I'm doubting you, but do you have any figures or publications to back that up, or is just that anecdotally. Just interested in this kind of thing, so if there were any reports or publications backing that up I'd be interested in seeing them.

I think the Wetherspoon experience has been well documented at this stage, so people know what they're getting. I've been to lots of Wetherspoons in both the UK, Dublin (and stayed in the hotel in Camden Street) and the one in Waterford and I can't say that the Waterford one was out of line with any of them in terms of look and business, therefore I personally can only assume that it was the additional cost of getting stock to those locations outside Dublin and Belfast that was the main reason for selling up.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122286320#Comment_122286320

It was in their annual report that figures in the Irish market were disappointing and they were disposing of their premises outside of Dublin.

As they are a stock exchange company, they have to make declarations to avoid sudden surprises.

The main wetherspoons model outside major cities is to have a business from breakfast to night. The daytime trade of teas, coffees & scones simply was not there in this market.

Cost of delivery of stock is not a factor as most deliveries are consolidated these days.

azimuth17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122286111#Comment_122286111

You would have to ask the owners that and they would not be able to answer. Flanagan's would be a great name for a pub.

Deisedarren

did they just buy the building or building and business, cos i taught if you bought the business you can use the name?

JohnC.

Presumably they bought the building and licence? They certainly didn't buy Wetherspoons.

Deisedarren

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315911#Comment_122315911

i was thinking that myself as if they bought wetherspoons they would have kept the name, or could be Leasing the Building

muzakfan

When even Weatherspoons can't make a go of things selling cheap booze and food, it's time to just stick a fork in the place tbh.

New place will somehow magically work out by being an identikit copy of every other pub around? €6 a pint & €10 a sandwich. Line up, line up.

Deise Vu

For the life of me I cannot understand Wetherspoons business model. I don’t know what pish they sell in the UK but in Ireland a pint of beer costs about €1.70 on average net of VAT. If you sell that pint for €3,00 you are getting a little bit more than €2.50.

Minimum pay is €12.70 an hour, employer prsi, holiday pay and liability insurance and staff costs are around €15 per hour minimum. You have to sell 15-18 pints to pay one staff member for an hour. WTF? Maybe they sell cheap spirits and cheap food too but where are you covering insurance, rates, utilities, rent / loan repayments, maintenance?

I am equally as baffled about the Causeway business model and their seemingly bottomless pockets but anyone who thinks cheap booze is a sustainable business model in Waterford is deluded. Possibly in Dublin or the UK they sell lots of generic spirits and have a massive footfall but Waterford on a weekday night?

Dunmoreroader

 "the Causeway business model and their seemingly bottomless pockets" What do you mean?……😶