tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post1161739318922101722..comments2024-03-28T17:11:52.333+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: Is the outlook getting wetter?Curmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-10620054196407344492023-04-08T20:46:26.555+01:002023-04-08T20:46:26.555+01:00Non food pubs make more sense in urban areas as th...Non food pubs make more sense in urban areas as there are restaurants around. The lunchtime office worker drinker even if it is only one glass (half pint) of session strength beer is low hanging fruit for HR than the workplace tyrant. <br /><br />My regular is a non food pub crisps, peanuts for a euro and a bit toasty sandwiches for a few euro. There is also a chipper nearby and frequently on a Friday afternoon when College is finished I will have my lunch and a pint in this pub. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-63969358616894568522023-03-29T06:33:29.287+01:002023-03-29T06:33:29.287+01:00Thanks for that, Paul! I've just looked at the...Thanks for that, Paul! I've just looked at the Francis Frith aerials again, and can just remember driving under the Fremlins bridge back in the 'seventies! That part of Maidstone was pretty grim back then; quite industrial! Scrobs.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12942449871600526680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-55424068165705528752023-03-28T08:08:10.398+01:002023-03-28T08:08:10.398+01:00Hi Scrobs, it was Barclay Perkins, who later merge...Hi Scrobs, it was Barclay Perkins, who later merged with Courage, that took over Style and Winch.<br />As you point out, it was a massive brewery, now sadly all gone apart from the small area, below ground, now occupied by the Old Cellars micropub.Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-83023970068244169142023-03-27T22:02:19.494+01:002023-03-27T22:02:19.494+01:00Something similar to this happens in No. 13 Bonny...Something similar to this happens in No. 13 Bonny St in Blackpool.<br /><br />The staff have a radio to the chippy 4 doors away and they pop round with the meal while the pub supply cutlery etc.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-82870347773108282402023-03-26T06:41:00.448+01:002023-03-26T06:41:00.448+01:00That was a sad time, Paul, (Scrobs here), the old ...That was a sad time, Paul, (Scrobs here), the old brewery in Fairmeadow can still be seen from some old aerial pics, where it actually bridged the road from the riverside! Whitbreads did indeed massacre the old 'Elephant', but did they take over Style and Winch across the road? Again, aerial pics from back then show a huge brewery, and I can remember several pubs with their signs around Rye!Sen. C.R.O'Blenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07482646859547203051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-3360613919183514172023-03-25T18:19:36.195+00:002023-03-25T18:19:36.195+00:00No, what I mean is that, as was suggested with res...No, what I mean is that, as was suggested with restaurants, the pub has menus at the bar and takes orders for delivery to the pub. And there wouldn't be many drunks at lunchtime.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-67677818438471977312023-03-25T17:48:38.486+00:002023-03-25T17:48:38.486+00:00They'd get drunk customers bothering them. A p...They'd get drunk customers bothering them. A pub is paid to deal with this, sandwich shops aren't.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01441906371588933310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-62734961675084605502023-03-25T16:55:50.272+00:002023-03-25T16:55:50.272+00:00Not just that but it only opens Thursday-Sunday 12...Not just that but it only opens Thursday-Sunday 12-10pm and according to their Twitter account closes at 8pm on Sunday " 'cos we're knackered by then. " Young master Geoffrey does seem to get bored of his pubs after a while ...Thurston McCrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-28186709325008248492023-03-25T15:28:03.498+00:002023-03-25T15:28:03.498+00:00I see from WhatPub that the Ypres Castle is now ca...I see from WhatPub that the Ypres Castle is now card-only. One to give a miss, then. Won't Be Druvnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-56532968760397685182023-03-25T08:50:46.252+00:002023-03-25T08:50:46.252+00:00Agreed, but I'm not seeing these pubs offering...Agreed, but I'm not seeing these pubs offering a simple menu of food for drinkers.<br /><br />On your second point, I've long thought it would be a good idea for pubs to tie up with local sandwich shops to provide lunchtime food, but I've never actually seen this done.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-76100803270072621532023-03-25T08:04:00.385+00:002023-03-25T08:04:00.385+00:00Sadly, the Fremlins brewery in Maidstone, closed a...Sadly, the Fremlins brewery in Maidstone, closed a couple of years before I started drinking - thanks to Whitbread, who had also bought up and closed, several other Kentish brewers.<br />I therefore missed out on Fremlins legendary County Ale. Production of Fremlins Three Star was switched to Faversham, although it had the ignoble fate of being known as Whitbread Trophy for a while.<br />Still a fine drop of ale, until brewery wreckers Whitbread closed the Faversham plant as well. ☹️<br /><br />Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-57711268926750354032023-03-25T06:58:30.279+00:002023-03-25T06:58:30.279+00:00Just remembered, the Fremlins Five Star was 'D...Just remembered, the Fremlins Five Star was 'Draught County Ale', and the bottles were fabulous too!Scrobs.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12942449871600526680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-75812455907852022752023-03-25T06:56:44.116+00:002023-03-25T06:56:44.116+00:00Aaaah, The Ypres Castle, (The 'Wipers')......Aaaah, The Ypres Castle, (The 'Wipers')...<br /><br />I did much of my formative drinking there when I regularly went for lunch in the sixties! Dorothy's cheese and potato pie, with a ladle of the soup of the day and a pint of Fremlins was absolute nectar! Percy Ide tipped me off about a favourite drink for the fishermen out of Rye Bay, which was half a pint of Fremlins Five Star Bitter, mixed with a nip of Gold Label! (We always took note of what those guys did and said, they're still around despite sea fishing being in dire straits...)That gorgeous concoction nearly blew your head off, and became a favourite for high days and holidays! <br /><br />Johnny, the perfect epitome of a seafarer even smoked a corn-cob pipe and chatted with anybody with a hugely happy, egregious manner! Somewhere in Rye is a famous painting of him mending his nets - I wonder what happened to it... <br /><br />The problem is actually negotiating the steep steps, either up or down, and we can't get there nowadays, more's the pity!<br /><br />Scrobs.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12942449871600526680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-77753027940520737392023-03-25T02:23:30.476+00:002023-03-25T02:23:30.476+00:00There's never going to be a one size fits all ...There's never going to be a one size fits all approach, but for most pubs that don't want to go down the destination food approach, a simple menu that can be prepared with minimal staff costs seems to work the best. Having no food on at all definitely limits custom to an extent as drinking on an empty stomach isn't appealing and it's not always possible to eat prior. But it doesn't have to be fancy, just some fodder to keep you going like a sandwich at lunch. One of my regular haunts does pot meals for a modest cost. Presumably it costs pennies to knock up a big vat of the stuff, and stops customers moving elsewhere, but they probably don't make a fortune from it.<br /><br />The other option is to tie up with a local restaurant, but done properly it should have menus and the ordering done at the bar. Hopefully a good relationship would see the pub charging full price, but receiving a discount from the restaurant.The Dangermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-54716024440647901302023-03-24T13:55:43.041+00:002023-03-24T13:55:43.041+00:00As long as I can get a pickled egg or a ham and ch...As long as I can get a pickled egg or a ham and cheese toastie.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10603987317820861401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-9746224419378609242023-03-24T12:34:05.234+00:002023-03-24T12:34:05.234+00:00Pubs died on the 1st July 2007. What we have now i...Pubs died on the 1st July 2007. What we have now is a hospitality trade. It trades out of former pub buildings or sometimes on a smaller scale out of converted shops. It has an offer and an appeal or otherwise to differing sections of society. Some are lucrative business models, other less so.<br /><br />What works in one place may not work in another. What people want and where depends on demographics, work patterns, holiday or leisure patterns, changes to geographical areas as either gentrification or urban decay, or just basic economic growth or decline.<br /><br />You can spot macro changes to hospitality as wide industry changes or micro changes as the appeal of your town either increases or declines to your needs and wants.<br /><br />Either way, Pubs died on the 1st July 2007. None of these is pubs. They are hospitality venues.<br /><br />Bassnoreply@blogger.com