Many many businesses DEAD

  • Thread starter Thread starter AGinAg (37)
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octophone said:
Debenhams occupy a 5 story building on Argyle Street in Glasgow - it would be a huge deal if that closed. No-one would move into it - not even Primark.
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The one in Manchester is a huge old building, but I could see that becoming a mixed use kind of building, bars/restaurants, hotel etc. It's some prime real estate.
 
The one in Bournemouth is the same, an absolutely massive five floor old building in the centre of town. I don’t think it would be empty long. At least not the ground floor.
 
I wouldn't see the Bristol one going for anything other than office space - at least every floor other than the ground one.
 
Or actually thinking about it, it would probably be converted to student accommodation.
 
lolly said:
Or actually thinking about it, it would probably be converted to student accommodation.
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That's what's happening to ever spare bit of ground in Glasgow but I can't imagine them doing that right in the middle of Argyle Street.

Also worth noting; HMV are in the ground floor and basement of that building.
 
:disco:!

That Westfield one is a right load of shit so good riddance. Had a really romantic soirée there a few years ago with a former colleague who told me how big his cock was - AS YOU DO when awaiting the arrival of the main course - but revealed that it didn’t get hard very often because of the medication :)
 
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The one in Brighton was dark, slow, over priced, migraine inducing decor and loud. Good riddance.
 
Never been to the one here. Heard mixed reviews, was enough to make me not bother.

I think restaurants should have closing down sales, where they just cook what's left for half the price.
 
The logo makes (well, MADE :disco:) me feel sick as well. The state of the ‘s’ and as for the ‘J’ :oi:
 
I've never clapped eyes on one out here in the STICKS so it's NO LOSS TO ME
 
I just don't get why people go to chain Italian restaurants (except maybe in big groups where capacity is an issue). It's not THAT hard to make good Italian food, but it's certainly a bit harder where the staff are spotty 18 year olds on minimum wages are cooking a bit of pasta and adding the shipped-in head office tomato sauce on top.
 
Indie said:
I just don't get why people go to chain Italian restaurants (except maybe in big groups where capacity is an issue). It's not THAT hard to make good Italian food, but it's certainly a bit harder where the staff are spotty 18 year olds on minimum wages are cooking a bit of pasta and adding the shipped-in head office tomato sauce on top.
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Absolutely this. I go to an AMAZING Italian locally which serves food on a completely different level to the likes of Zizzi, Strava et al. I’ve eaten in such places in an emergency and they’re alright, but it’s not like you’re saving money or getting anything remotely unique or interesting...
 
How in trouble are Starbucks? They have closed two of central stores here, leaving only one, compared to five branches of Caffe Nero and four of Costa. Plus a drive through which was meant to open in spring is still 'opening soon'. And I noticed one of the two central ones in Bath has closed and well.
 
It hardly has the same cache it did 10 years ago, with so many higher quality independent coffee stores around now I'm not sure who it appeals to.
 
Students who buy one frappuccino and make it last all day while they work on laptops, from what I've seen. I take your point about better indies, and we do have a fair few of those but they tend to be on the fringes of the centre due to rents I guess. And Costa and Nero seem to be thriving despite Starbucks not doing so.

Perhaps it's all those years of tax avoidance catching up with them.
 
I rarely go to chain coffee shops, the independents are a far more appealing prospect.

Although I have half a suspicion, huge companies own half of them. Don't Tesco have a chain of coffee shops, disguised as independent locals?
 
I think they're more focusing on drive-throughs? I've seen loads of them popping up.
 
I suppose drive through tend to be on main roads and out of town shopping centres where the rent is cheaper. Drive throughs for coffee seems a little ODD to me, but as a non driver perhaps I don't get it.

I've noticed far more in the way of Starbucks branded coffee and pods in supermarkets recently, so perhaps they are actively moving away from city centre cafes.

The appeal of Starbucks to me was that they were reasonably comfortable rather than anything else, and you could expect that wherever you went, and didn't feel guilty about hanging around in them without spending much money.

As much as I prefer indies for their coffee (usually), they sometimes seem to be pretty functional rather than comfortable, and I would feel somewhat guilty making one coffee last an hour or more.
 
Ag said:
I rarely go to chain coffee shops, the independents are a far more appealing prospect.

Although I have half a suspicion, huge companies own half of them. Don't Tesco have a chain of coffee shops, disguised as independent locals?
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Don't know about that, but I do know there are big companies disguising themselves as small breweries through acquisitions and pretending to have niche brands.
 
Starbucks has always been horrible so good riddance if it’s dying a death. I’ve said it before but I blame ‘Friends’ for its inexplicable popularity. Everyone sat round sipping on their nasty milky drinks pretending to be Enid and Shaun or whatever the characters were called

Actually there’s a café up the road called the Haggerston Perk Café. I almost vomited. Pass me the petrol and a match would you, Pamela
 
We actually HAD a FRIENDS-THEMED coffee shop called CENTRAL PERK here for a while. THANK GOODNESS THAT DIDN'T LAST LONG
 
How ghastly. Were there framed prints of Friends favourites Sally and Ronald on the walls? I noticed a while ago that Friends is / was apparently de retour as there was a range of unsightly logo t-shirts in Urban Outfitters, where I’d have hoped that standards would be higher MAIS NON
 
DARLING OBVIOUSLY I couldn't even CONTEMPLATE DARKENING THEIR DOORS so I shall never know of the HORRORS CONTAINED WITHIN

My SPIES tell me apparently it looked something like this

Friends-no-more-Central-Perk-coffee-shop-closes-its-doors_wrbm_large.jpg
 
:D Goodness they really did capture the Friends Flavour there! I mean some might mistake it for the Dog and Duck but they obviously haven’t watched the much-loved programme!

PORT AND LEMON FOR ME THANKS LUV
 
So nothing on Thomas Cook DEAD?

I have nothing to add. I've only ever had one package holiday and it wasn't through these throwbacks. I'd rather book through Teletext. No reason other than that they remind me of the Only Fools and Horses episode where they go to Spain.
 
Only went once with Thomas Cook, didn't like them and the 15kg baggage allowance was shocking. I switched allegiance to Jet2Holidays and they're great. 22kg baggage allowance.
 
I'm fucking ancient and have only been on a package holiday once, in 1989.

Even my mother in her 70s books all her flights/hotels/transfers etc online herself for her multiple European holidays (usually Spain or Turkey) each year. I think she does use travel agents when she's playing the merry widow cruising the Caribbean, though.
 
I used to work for Thomas Cook - spent a summer working for them in Ibiza as a rep and then worked in one of their travel agents on the high street back in 2000-2001. I left In September 2001 after the Twin Towers disaster when the travel industry collapsed and people were made redundant. This was before the internet really took off for booking holidays so I can only imagine how bad it got. It’s a real shame that a company with such history has died this way.
 
I once (rather inexplicably) applied to be a rep with Thomas Cook and they said no DESPITE my counting from 1 to 10 in Greek at the interview

Or probably BECAUSE. Why oh why :side-eye:
 
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