Would a Wetherspoons pub be popular in Shetland?

[Longdog]

I know they're cheap but please please please no plastic pubs, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Pizza Huts, Subway and the rest

 

One of the things I was amazed about and like about the place is that it isn't like every other place the world over with all this garbage.

 

Just reading 'The man who cycled the world' in the middle of the Punjab and poverty he even came across 2 Mc Donald's! Save Shetland from this ^$%^^%£!!

 

I'm sure that plenty would love it, but not me

[sleepychef]

No franchise plastic pubs or fast food joints in the British Virgin Islands either. Same population and as spread out as Shetland although it is a wee bit warmer...

[GT]

Unfortunatly there's no way the Lerwick Mafia (sorry, Lerwick Retailers Association) would allow them up here to drastically under cut their prices.

It is fun living in Shetland and getting constantly fleeced by the Lerwick Mafia and their monopoly.

 

£250,000 should be enough to convert a disused knitwear factory into a Weatherspoons style establishment.

[daveh]

I have received the following email from Wetherspoons today following my enquiry to them:

 

Thank you for your email. Our acquisition surveyor has made some preliminary investigations into Lerwick and the surrounding area but unfortunately the conclusion is that Lerwick is too small to sustain a JD Wetherspoon pub as the population in a one mile radius is approx. 6,249 and generally we would be looking for a population of 8,000-10,000 plus in a one mile radius.

 

I have responded back mentioning the various music festivals, the cruise ships calling in, the long summer days and the Up Helly Aa.

 

I'll post up if there is any further reply from them. Out of interest, what is the population within a 1-mile radius of Lerwick? I have no idea. I would have thought it was about 8,000.

[daveh]

I have now had the following reply:

 

Given our extensive expansion plans over the next 5 years I hope that you will understand that we need to maximise the opportunities available to us in the larger towns where we are not currently represented. Once we have achieved this we can then look into the remaining towns where we would also like to establish a Pub.

 

So, it is a case of nothing doing for at least 5 years, then.

 

[Twerto]

Thank god for that. ^^ I suppoe you get waht you pay for but urg gastly places

[tattie_soup]

Ah well never mind yates might come.

[MuckleJoannie]

Wetherspoons may be heading this way.

 

http://www.scotsman.com/business/Wetherspoon-on-brink-of-hitting.6513425.jp

 

FAST-growing pub chain JD Wetherspoon is poised to burst through £1 billion in sales this week when the group will also confirm it is looking to take the brand to the Orkneys.

The group, which has more than 40 pubs in Scotland including The Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh and The Counting House in Dundee, will also reveal plans to open outlets in Livingston and Hawick by the end of this year.

 

Company spokesman Eddie Gershon said the two new outlets would create 80 jobs, as he also confirmed Wetherspoon had identified a site in what would be its first foray into the Orkneys - if it gets planning permission.

 

Gershon said: "We have identified a site in the Orkney Islands and would love to open a pub there. We believe that our style of pub will appeal to the people living there as well as holidaymakers.

 

"Wetherspoon's first pubs in Scotland were located in major cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. However, we are keen to open throughout the country and the Orkney Islands is definitely an area we are keen on."

 

[RickB]

Very sad times for Orkney. I hope that's as far north as they will go. The last thing we need is a Weatherspoons.

Just take a look around over the winter at the empty pubs and then decide if we need another licensed premises. Many of the pubs are very quiet during the week.

[ISOT]

Very sad times for Orkney. I hope that's as far north as they will go. The last thing we need is a Weatherspoons.

Just take a look around over the winter at the empty pubs and then decide if we need another licensed premises. Many of the pubs are very quiet during the week.

 

No point posting that here mate. As long as people can get something for even a couple o quid cheaper nowadays it doesn't seem to matter what effect it will have locally, now or in the future!

 

I went into a Weatherspoons down the road last weekend and to be perfectly honest IMO (of course) its just another restaraunt selling mediocre, processed food, churning out plate after plate!

 

Cheers

[daveh]

They are you opinions but, as per the small poll at the top of this thread suggests, you are in the minority.

I would welcome the opening of a Wetherspoons in Lerwick and, as is the case with Tesco, you are more than welcome not to go there if you wish.

I, personally, have always enjoyed eating and drinking in Wetherspoons pubs and certainly cannot say that about the Lerwick pubs; all of which are grubby and unpleasant.

[Guest Anonymous]

and as is the case with tesco you don't really get what you pay for.

looking at the ads for tesco in the national press their prices are dearer than my local shop except when they have deals on, and as has been said on here before the drink sold from weatherspoons is damn near its sell by date so if skittering through the eye of a needle is how you like to spend the morning after then by all means drink in weatherspoons

[Cammara]

Thank god for that. ^^ I suppoe you get waht you pay for but urg gastly places

 

I suppose you get what you pay for yes, but the weatherspoon pubs i have been in are clean and friendly can you say the same for any pubs in the toon?

 

Why so ghastly? have you ever been in one? and what pube to you drink in that are so much better

[Pam]

I would love a Weatherspoons in town. They are far cleaner than what I've seen in some restaurants/pubs here. Some restaurants I'd even put off going to the toilet!!! and the amount of times i've had to scrub down the highchairs is unreal

 

They would also, hopefully be open longer than the usual 12-2 that we are used to. The amount of times I go into the town to do my bits and bobs and before I know it, its coming up to 2pm and I've not ate so I end up sitting in the car with the kids and a chippy or sandwich.

 

It would be great to get a nice big place, espcially if it had on of those indoor playcentres (like brewers fayre pubs have) for children as there is nothing that great here that you can sit in and have a cuppa whilst the kids tire themselves out in the play area and you get peace to have a cuppa and a meal

 

I would actually go out more if there was a nice place to sit in but at the moment restaurant visits are very rare in town as I'd opt for a takeaway and ejnoy it in my own clean home

[jannjulie]

Just take a look around over the winter at the empty pubs and then decide if we need another licensed premises. Many of the pubs are very quiet during the week.

 

With good reason, there is nowhere in town that you would take your wife or family, sit down quietly and have a decent pint of ale and a sensibly priced meal, just pubs selling gassy rubbish based around the idea that binge drinking is a good idea, and throwing up outside afterwards or having a ruck is the aim.

 

The pubs in lerwick need to move with the times, there are thousands of customers out there who would visit if they offered what the customers wanted - Wetherspoons are growing rapidly because the general public like what they offer! I think they are really missing a trick with just concentrating on the weekend binge crowd, surely a great business opportunity for someone.

 

I know that i know exactly what i will get in a Wetherspoons, a smart pub with good prices, decent beer and a decent meal at a sensible price, in a clean and well presented outlet with plenty of space to sit and talk, bring it on.