Redhouser
Midfield
Is that where Craig's sports bar is?
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Drinking in Sunderland City Centre - restored
- Thread starter Kingdom Bhoy
- Start date
1more
Striker
Yes its above
Sgt Pepper
Striker
Bar called Halo where Bud Bigs was but Craig’s is above it, you enter via the doors to the left of Victors doors (minster side).
Kingdom Bhoy
Striker
You can also access Craiigs Sports bar via Halo upstairs on the left where the toilets are.
coyneeee_s
Winger
What's the solution to get the City centre having actually people out on a Friday then. Because right now the Empire is single handedly carrying the trade, and that's only 1 part of Town.
Last week, I was working on Vine Street and it took until about 1am to see more than 10 people at once.. Looking outside was like 1 of those Wild West films where you just see tumbleweed floating about, and we're heading into the quietest period of the year now.
Is it because City centre is too expensive? Is it because there's too many alternatives outside of Town - Stack, Steels, Palm etc, is it because there's not enough diverse scenery? All of the above?
Saturdays are fine. But it's just nuts how completely opposite the 2 days are, and places won't want to invest for 1 day a week.
Last week, I was working on Vine Street and it took until about 1am to see more than 10 people at once.. Looking outside was like 1 of those Wild West films where you just see tumbleweed floating about, and we're heading into the quietest period of the year now.
Is it because City centre is too expensive? Is it because there's too many alternatives outside of Town - Stack, Steels, Palm etc, is it because there's not enough diverse scenery? All of the above?
Saturdays are fine. But it's just nuts how completely opposite the 2 days are, and places won't want to invest for 1 day a week.
Get more people into the city for other reasons near the bars who then might go into them after.
Whether that's more unique restaurants, more leisure (luxury cinema, boutique bowling (Lane 7), crazy golf, arcade, music events etc), working staff (offices), decent residental, more city events (Christmas markets, fan zones (football), concerts etc) I'm not sure but that's ideally what you need or a combination of them.
coyneeee_s
Winger
I'm not sure that's the problem as Saturdays doesn't require any of those listed.
There's just something about Fridays which turn people right off and I can't figure out what it is.. I'm leaning more towards expense as Town isn't exactly cheap nowadays.. You can get a Treble Vodka coke for £3 on a Wednesday but a Double Vodka costs £6 on a Friday, that's probably a good reason why the younguns have zero interest in weekends.
Work I'd say. It's more of a push on a Friday after finishing at 5pm etc and as you say the youngun's will go out on Wednesday or whatever the cheap night is nowadays.
Saturday you've got the football on for one and if it's not the football then it's get away from the wife or parents as they've been getting on your tits all day.
It's the same everywhere though tbh not just Sunderland unless there's other reasons to go or people are already there ie living in the centre or work there which Sunderland sadly doesn't really have either.
More women and family friendly pubs may be an idea. Pubs such as Hidden perhaps. More women=more lads.
A lot of the pubs are either old man or football oriented.
Still think The Stack would have been better positioned on the old CLC site. Would have provided a focus.
A lot of the pubs are either old man or football oriented.
Still think The Stack would have been better positioned on the old CLC site. Would have provided a focus.
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coyneeee_s
Winger
Actually agree with this. Fridays have always been more older people orientated, Greens gets busy where the average age is about 179, the Cooper Rose was known as the Cougar Rose on a Friday for a reason
But then we're stuck in a vicious cycle where people don't wanna go out because they think they're gonna get chatted up by someone's granda but at the same time if neones coming out on a Friday then they're not gonna bother investing.
There are places a fraction the size of Sunderland that share those traits and get more people out in the evening. Things are very spread out in Sunderland centre though.
Decent things are opening so hopefully it will start an upward trend. But they are generally quite small (the ones I've seen) - there don't seem to be many good quality empty buildings available.
coyneeee_s
Winger
Wetherspoons was wise to delay the opening until the 9th December... a building like that trading proper once a week just isn't sustainable. I can actually see things going absolutely mental for a few weeks from then, I just hope it doesn't go back to shit from January onwards.
Aye your right suppose they don't have anything else round though like Stack etc which doesn't help.
Mind there's tonnes of space with the Bridges if they were radical. The whole wing near Debenhams plus the Crowtree above it and the grass outside is just crying for some scheme like a mini Qube like the Metro Centre or the new Durham Riverside. They're crap places really but they drag people in. You could probably get the whole lot in the one building if done well.
Not sure mind now is the busiest time of the year. Jan - March are the dead months. In fairness though Wetherspoons has a 7 day trade. It'll make much more during the day from shoppers buying food and students from the university than the drink side.
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Ciro_DiMarzio
Striker
Revolution was probably the pub that attracted the biggest ratio of lasses to lads I was surprised they closed it as due to being close to the empire it always seemed to have a few in even during the week.
coyneeee_s
Winger
Because they've obviously surveyed the Town and saw Friday's are a literal ghost town and considering Fridays and Saturdays is when it turns into a bar/nightclub it's by far it's biggest source of revenue therefore they'd make a loss on Fridays - They were operating on a loss pre-lockdown, people kinda gave up on the place and it started closing real early.
There's bars elsewhere which have already started cutting staff, because I reckon after 12am everywhere but The Rabbit, Indie and Seven will be operating on a loss on Fridays atm.
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Hoping to get down the town later, I'll report back on how deserted it all is.
Is there any proof of that as I genuinely can't believe that's true. They wouldn't spend £2m on a roof garden if the place wasn't making money and argubly would've shut it when they shut the Worm instead - keeping the smaller bar instead. I'm not sure the nightclub will be it's most profitable time though, food sales will make more money than drinks if it was full. There's a much bigger margin on a burger than a pint and they own the freehold on the building aswell if I'm right.
Unless they're a nightclub, the biggest issue isn't Friday it's Sun - Thurs instead where they should be looking at other ways to make money whether that's from pulling the workers or shoppers at lunch time. Workers wanting a pint with mates after work (who might end up being there at 3am on Friday). People going for a pint before or after their meal or trip to the cinema or pre drinks before a gig or simply people popping down from their apartment. The catch 22 is there's no workers, not many shoppers, the leisure is at the complete wrong side of Sunderland as someone mentioned earlier about being spread out and there's very little residential especially of the hipster type who'd actually use the bars. They'd all argubly make Sunderland a better place at the same time. The council do seem to be trying to change it though with the new Sheepfolds and Vaux developments and also housing on the civic centre (mind not sure that's the best use of it because of the transport links but it's better than nothing).
All that area does look right for developing in to something really good. The council don't seem to have a great track record at bringing in investment though.
I don't get things like the stack. Poor drinks range, pay more for what there is and we have the climate for it to be fun for at most 4 months a year and that's pushing it.
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Aye mind think it would be Land Securities who own the Bridges anyway so it would be them dealing with it.
Honestly same in a way but people like it so it'll bring people in, the Newcastle one is heaving all year around. Suppose if your a smoker then it's ideal like which there's quite often one in your group.
Mind I'd rather be there than a German bar, sports bar or cocktail bar where it's prentous with Geordie Shore types.
Glad to see them seeing sense and not pushing retail anymore as it's dead really and wouldn't get anywhere. The independent traders is interesting like rather than going for the usual chains that Eldon Square went for and it's failing pretty miserably aswell. Half of them are shut now and it's pretty dead down there.
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