tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post3731159309249248197..comments2024-03-28T17:11:52.333+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: Sour grapes, bottledCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-65946156242763229542016-03-25T09:33:07.139+00:002016-03-25T09:33:07.139+00:00Many pub operators seem to be so insecure about th...Many pub operators seem to be so insecure about their business that they sieze every opportunity to shriek about new or old competition, instead of looking at ways to take advantage. Too many of them still think opening the doors is all they have to do to make their business work. ElectricPicsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-87330647337203681942016-03-24T14:23:10.546+00:002016-03-24T14:23:10.546+00:00I reckon there are some pubs still going years aft...I reckon there are some pubs still going years after the smoking ban simply because nobody's interested in turning them into shops - a couple on Castle Street, Edgeley spring to mind.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-82561926831499583132016-03-24T13:25:44.960+00:002016-03-24T13:25:44.960+00:00I saw that article, Curmudgeon, about licensees mo...I saw that article, Curmudgeon, about licensees moaning about micropubs and bottle shops. The combined capacity of the four we have in Southport is less than either of our Wetherspoons. If the loss of such small numbers is seriously affecting the local pub trade, I can only conclude the customer base in the area concerned must be tiny.Neville Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10923209266005338452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-41961586520765097272016-03-24T11:32:00.849+00:002016-03-24T11:32:00.849+00:00Charity shops with £1 a week rents have been going...Charity shops with £1 a week rents have been going for years as the only way to fill the empty premises. Maybe these box bars will go for years too with nominal rents. Who knows the future?Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-70798212253377057802016-03-24T11:02:03.224+00:002016-03-24T11:02:03.224+00:00The local ones aren't exactly in prime shoppin...The local ones aren't exactly in prime shopping locations. And, given that the demand for shops selling stuff, as opposed to services, is likely to continue to decline, I don't think they'll be under much financial pressure.<br /><br />And the competition is surely from the on-trade element, not the off-trade.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-72939268475003065032016-03-24T10:39:53.628+00:002016-03-24T10:39:53.628+00:00The decline of the highstreet has resulted in many...The decline of the highstreet has resulted in many shops available for nominal rents and I think breaks on business rates. Be interesting what happens to these places if the high street revives as a shopping destination or succeeds in the change to a leisure destination. Either way rents and taxes will eventually rise.<br /><br />As for their relative merits. I'm with you, I find them cramped, uncomfortable and with only one pisser I can ruin everyones evening after a Spoons curry. The saving grace is often you find wife beater strength grog quite cheap.<br /><br />Do like the fact that supermarkets offering none middle class none CAMRA approved grog cheaply are pub killers but so long as you flog CAMRA approved grog to the middle classes it compliments pubs and the competition raises the game!<br /><br />Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-129376325531857952016-03-24T10:04:52.865+00:002016-03-24T10:04:52.865+00:00It's worth pointing out (although it doesn'...It's worth pointing out (although it doesn't change the argument) that the ones near me, plus the one in Marple that John refers to, offer draught beer as well as bottles.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-25901237127879306002016-03-24T08:56:44.946+00:002016-03-24T08:56:44.946+00:00There are a couple of these bottle shop/bars aroun...There are a couple of these bottle shop/bars around here. I've dropped in a couple of times for a beer before going somewhere else. The one thing I would say that differentiates them from run of the mill pubs is the welcome. Every single time I've found the owner and also many of the customers welcoming and willing to have a conversation. The same cannot be said of many pubs.<br /><br />I really don't see them as competing with existing pubs. They are far more expensive for starters, and the range of beers they sell tends to be mostly on the "craft" side. Nobody is going to go into one of these places and order a bottle of Banks Mild. <br /><br />However, complaints about competition from pubs are just ridiculous. Since all you need to sell the sort of beer they offer is a fridge and some glasses, there is nothing to stop pubs offering exactly the same range of "craft" bottled beers if they think that is what people want.Beermunsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564489130909572144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-19844269999528769012016-03-24T07:33:34.324+00:002016-03-24T07:33:34.324+00:00I went to the new Samuel Oldknow in Marple last ni...I went to the new Samuel Oldknow in Marple last night - while it's a "bar and bottle shop" the shop bit is really an aside and it'a very attractive two room bar (with brand new fixed bench seating too...) and a very welcome addition to the Marple area.John Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00132845616834779091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-12111878736343688612016-03-23T20:40:36.602+00:002016-03-23T20:40:36.602+00:00Drinking habits are changing - whatever keeps peop...Drinking habits are changing - whatever keeps people out and in company is far better than kept inside behind locked doors.<br /><br />From some research I've done, when it comes to planning permission it is always best to describe a new alcohol venture as a "Tap" or "Bottle Shop" as this seems to be more gentle than say "pub" or "bar" and doesn't seem to have as much impact should people get all temperent about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-33822576138861269022016-03-23T20:02:01.771+00:002016-03-23T20:02:01.771+00:00The slow decline of pubs started when the law was ...The slow decline of pubs started when the law was changed to allow other outlets to sell alcohol (early 1960s?); so a reversal of that would revive pubs like nothing else could.Andynoreply@blogger.com