View Full Version : Cafe Nero is coming to Brixton!
At least that's what the sign for Morley's refurb says. anyone have more info?
Orang Utan
09-05-2006, 13:36
Oh good, at last I can have decent coffee in a place with a wi-fi connection
;)
The seventh seal is broken!
Thunderous tummults quake the heavens!
The end is nigh, nigh, goddamit!
In all seriousness, this is only the beginning :(
Minnie_the_Minx
09-05-2006, 13:44
Next it'll be Costa, then Starbucks :eek:
Hurrah! Their almond croissants are lush! The cake action in Morley's has been very disappointing lately.
Question - why are some chains sneered at more than others? Why for example does Superdrug get the same about of bile that coffee places in particular get?
Really, what's SO bad about Cafe Nero? Starbucks have got some very dodgy practises admittedly, but come on, what the problem with Cafe Nero et al?
It's just the visible face of gentrification rearing its head. Inevitable but sad :(
:eek:
Well, at least it aint Starbucks!! Nero coffee is alright when you compare it to Starbucks!
I can see it now a Pret opening by the tube, selling sandwich (no bread) or whatever it's fuckin called!!
Moreley's is a bit shite tbf, it feels like I'm stuck in C and A or BHS circa 1992 when I go there :(
I was hoping someone would corroberate the news... I don't want to needlessly bear good news!!!
Nero is alright. If i need coffee in a strange place I always got there as the panini and cakes are OK too and the staff seem kinda happy compared to other chains.
One opened in Palace recently but up here it probably only ranks as the the 3rd or 4th best place for coffee so I rarely use it but Brixton is another story.
the pastries n cakes look apetising BUT they're pricey!
Orang Utan
09-05-2006, 14:07
Nero/Costa/Starbucks - they're all the same - I never set foot in them - they're a needless extravagance - do we need coffee? No. Do we need pastries and croissants? No.
These places bring out the Yorkshireman in me.
The dirty robbing bastards......
christonabike
09-05-2006, 14:08
I never go in coffee-shops
They don't sell beer
So why should I?
:)
Donna Ferentes
09-05-2006, 14:09
Nero do we need coffee? No. Yes, we need coffee. Can't live without it.
But proper coffee.
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 14:09
Oh good, at last I can have decent coffee in a place with a wi-fi connection
;)
And free online gaming if ya own a DS!:D
Orang Utan
09-05-2006, 14:10
Yes, we need coffee. Can't live without it.
But proper coffee.
Bollocks - it all tastes the same! :p
Donna Ferentes
09-05-2006, 14:10
I never go in coffee-shops
They don't sell beer
So why should I?
:)Oddly enough, one of the consequences of living in Spain is that when back in England, I find it really frustrating when the pubs don't sell coffee.
Donna Ferentes
09-05-2006, 14:10
Bollocks - it all tastes the same! :pYou, sir, are a philistine.
CharlieAddict
09-05-2006, 14:11
nero is okay but you can't beat that cafe near porkys for 99p full english breakfast.
Orang Utan
09-05-2006, 14:13
You, sir, are a philistine.
I love my tea though!
corporate whore
09-05-2006, 14:14
Nero, the last refuge of the smoker - only high street coffee chain that lets you enjoy coffee and cigarettes and for that I am thankful..
So it's gonna be in Morleys, right, like a concession? Not on the street?
tarannau
09-05-2006, 14:20
nero is okay but you can't beat that cafe near porkys for 99p full english breakfast.
Jeepers. As good value as that appears there's something a bit too worryingly cheap about that offer. What the hell do they make the sausages from...
:eek:
Cafe Nero's just a bit wanky really. Why buy an overpriced over-sugared almond croissant when there's a good ol' honest patty nearby?
Really, what's SO bad about Cafe Nero?Maybe you should ask, "why does Brixton need another bland, identikit, same-as-anywhere-else High Street chain?"
As far as the Coffee Chains go Cafe Nero is the best, but I prefer a good old greasy spoon myself.
I love my tea though!
Now, if a Betty's Tea room opened in Brixton. :eek: ;) :cool:
Minnie_the_Minx
09-05-2006, 14:34
Yes, we need coffee. Can't live without it.
But proper coffee.
10 years ago you probably didn't even know what proper coffee was :p
Sweet FA
09-05-2006, 14:35
We're simply loving it in East Dulwich darling.
Maybe you should ask, "why does Brixton need another bland, identikit, same-as-anywhere-else High Street chain?"
Good grief! Need? What sort of system dya think this is boy? Commiemumism? You don't "need" these things, it's just the market! Can you imagine wha sort of world this'd be if you only got the things you need :rolleyes:;)
So it's gonna be in Morleys, right, like a concession? Not on the street?
that's what the sign said.
Orang Utan
09-05-2006, 14:37
Coffee - bitter black drink that wakes you up. Nothing more.
Tea - the drink of kings
10 years ago you probably didn't even know what proper coffee was :p
Course he did, the granules were much posher than the powder :D
tea with milk is vile. end of!
So it's gonna be in Morleys, right, like a concession? Not on the street?Ah, if it's tucked away inside the store, then I'm not so bothered.
Minnie_the_Minx
09-05-2006, 14:40
Course he did, the granules were much posher than the powder :D
Exactly ;)
Ah, if it's tucked away inside the store, then I'm not so bothered.
naw...i like their store front - the colours always remind me of Man City but on second thoughts maybe Mr Nero is a Lazio fan
Nickster
09-05-2006, 16:17
Just a thought....why are coffee house chains singled out for being bad for Brixton? Why not have a go at all chains. Boots, Woolies, estate agents (well actually I guess they deserve it, the smug b*stards!)
As said by others - at least it's not Starbucks - there'd be rioting!
Coffee - bitter black drink that wakes you up. Nothing more.
Tea - the drink of kings
Bloody hell, us librarians are all the same eh?
;)
But not too bothered about a Neros. At least it's better than bloody Starbucks.
We're simply loving it in East Dulwich darling.
yeah all you Lordship Laners moaned beforehand, but now look at you all! - the place is packed! yer think yer all indy and anti-capitalist, when all you really really want is a brand you can trust to deliver you mochachocolata-yaya caffiene hit :rolleyes: :p
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 18:06
Maybe you should ask, "why does Brixton need another bland, identikit, same-as-anywhere-else High Street chain?"
Yeah but FREE online gaming!:D :o
gaijingirl
09-05-2006, 18:08
<goes all nostalgic>
I remember where I grew up - before they bulldozed it down and put up an fucking huge shopping centre (in Bromley), there used to be an amazing[B]tea rooms on the high street - Importers. The sort where the waitresses wore pinnies and they sold a bazillion types of tea and loads of different cakes. We'd get taken there for a treat by my mum.
For a real proper treat Mum would take us to the one opposite Charing Cross station (which is now a Pizza Express I think) - Lyons Coffee House.
None of them ever matched up to Bewleys in Dublin though when she used to take us back to her home.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a really nice tea shop, with lovely sandwiches and cakes in Brixton.
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 18:12
Wouldn't it be nice to have a really nice tea shop, with lovely sandwiches and cakes in Brixton.
No. Tea shops are for old grannies and those people who never talk about anything else other than the war.:p
gaijingirl
09-05-2006, 18:17
No. Tea shops are for old grannies and those people who never talk about anything else other than the war.:p
No, tea shops are for people who like to drink tea and eat cakes! :p :mad: :D
gentlegreen
09-05-2006, 18:21
Yes, we need coffee. Can't live without it.
But proper coffee.
Freshly ground guatemalan / colombian / costa rican / nicaraguan, in a cafetiere, strong enough to stand a spoon up in :cool:
(none of this arabica espresso crap :p )
.
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 18:28
No, tea shops are for people who like to drink tea and eat cakes! :p :mad: :D
Yeah in the 1950s!:p Face it that England doesn't exist anymore...
gaijingirl
09-05-2006, 18:32
Yeah in the 1950s!:p Face it that England doesn't exist anymore...
I like tea and nice cakes.... surely I can't be alone in that... tea, nice cakes and a good book.
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 18:36
I like tea and nice cakes.... surely I can't be alone in that... tea, nice cakes and a good book.
*wonders if gaijingirl has a rocking chair as well*
gaijingirl
09-05-2006, 18:38
*wonders if gaijingirl has a rocking chair as well*
Right that's it you!! When I open my award winning, incredibly popular tea shop with yummy cakes in Brixton.. you're BARRED :mad:
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 18:42
Right that's it you!! When I open my award winning, incredibly popular tea shop with yummy cakes in Brixton.. you're BARRED :mad:
Hahahaha! You'd have to get in there first for it to be a proper barring!:p
Right that's it you!! When I open my award winning, incredibly popular tea shop with yummy cakes in Brixton
I've always thought there was a market in Brixton for a PROPER tea shop. I'll be first in the queue when you open :)
memespring
09-05-2006, 19:37
I've always thought there was a market in Brixton for a PROPER tea shop. I'll be first in the queue when you open :)
You might have to wait until someone works out how to fleece people £3 a cup before someone does that ;)
as a sidetrack, the best tea shop in the world is the Mock Turtle in Brighton - doughnuts the size of cricket balls!
as a sidetrack, the best tea shop in the world is the Mock Turtle in Brighton - doughnuts the size of cricket balls!
OHMYGOD INNIT! That's EXACTLY the tea shop I had in mind. Their home made meringues are AMAZING :D
gaijingirl
09-05-2006, 19:50
So, if Brighton can do it SO CAN WE!!! :p
spanglechick
09-05-2006, 20:06
Ah, if it's tucked away inside the store, then I'm not so bothered.
is globalism less of a problem if we can't see it from the pavement, then? ;)
memespring
09-05-2006, 20:10
There's enough empty units in Market Row / Brixton Village ;)
So, if Brighton can do it SO CAN WE!!! :p
Oh God, I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven if we had our own version of the Mock Turtle. I don't know if I'd be able to bring myself to go to work so perhaps it's just as well we don't! :p
For those that don't know it there's a little more info here with pictures (scroll down) http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/newsletter/index.php3?issue=5
gaijingirl
09-05-2006, 20:29
Oh God, I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven if we had our own version of the Mock Turtle. I don't know if I'd be able to bring myself to go to work so perhaps it's just as well we don't! :p
For those that don't know it there's a little more info here with pictures (scroll down) http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/newsletter/index.php3?issue=5
ooh.. gaijinboy and I made a "biscuit-henge" wedding cake for our mates' wedding which was featured on www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com. It went down very well! :D
So, if Brighton can do it SO CAN WE!!! :p
I have thought about it; it's just lack of cash that's stopping me! I'm going to keep buying the lottery tickets... ;)
ooh.. gaijinboy and I made a "biscuit-henge" wedding cake for our mates' wedding which was featured on www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com. It went down very well! :D
Oh I think we need a picture. :)
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 21:18
ooh.. gaijinboy and I made a "biscuit-henge" wedding cake for our mates' wedding which was featured on www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com. It went down very well! :D
I've seen it all now.:eek:
There's enough empty units in Market Row / Brixton Village ;)
I have a dream... :p
Just a thought....why are coffee house chains singled out for being bad for Brixton? Why not have a go at all chains. Boots, Woolies, estate agents (well actually I guess they deserve it, the smug b*stards!)
That's a good point IMO.
Let's face it- Brixton is already gentrified/cloned beyond repair. McShite, KFC, Foot Locker, Sainsburys Local, M&S, Boots, Vodafone, Body Shop, Subway, Argos...
I don't think the addition of a Cafe Nero, even if it were to be on the street instead of tucked away inside Morleys, would change things for the worse...
brixtonvilla
09-05-2006, 21:45
Yeah, but coffee's like, all middle-class...
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 21:46
Yeah, but coffee's like, all middle-class...
M&S the bastion of working class revolution is it?:D
brixtonvilla
09-05-2006, 21:49
It has been there donkeys for donkeys though. Don't quite see KFC, Foot Locker, McDonalds and Argos as signs of gentification myself...
is globalism less of a problem if we can't see it from the pavement, then? ;)
Well yes - Atleast its not distorting the visual culture of Brixton. - If you cant see it it aint a problem.
:) :)
Kid_Eternity
09-05-2006, 21:55
It has been there donkeys for donkeys though. Don't quite see KFC, Foot Locker, McDonalds and Argos as signs of gentification myself...
Good point, perhaps a better word is commercialisation or corporatism? Seems to me that complaining about a chain because it’s perceived as being middle class but having no problem with Mcshite (cos ordinary folk use it innit?) etc is a little odd.:confused:
Good point, perhaps a better word is commercialisation or corporatism? Seems to me that complaining about a chain because it’s perceived as being middle class but having no problem with Mcshite (cos ordinary folk use it innit?) etc is a little odd.:confused:
I think its largely that. And that a 'coffee shop', is more distinctively part of leisure culture.. you're at footlocker to buy something, McDonalds/KFC is essentially fast food.
A 'coffee shop' is something different, a place where you intend to linger and take in its idiosycrisises as part of the experience. Cafe Nero, Starbucks dumb down the experience and effectively bland you out as a consumer.
We recently got a Cafe Nero in Crystal Palace, I just laugh at the people sitting in the windows trying to look cool and sophisticated.
Its a shithole and so plastic and fake it makes the macdonalds opposite look like a.....errr....um....Wimpey..or something.
Good point, perhaps a better word is commercialisation or corporatism? Seems to me that complaining about a chain because it’s perceived as being middle class but having no problem with Mcshite (cos ordinary folk use it innit?) etc is a little odd.:confused:Couldn't give a fuck about the class/status of people going there, but I do care when I see independent, locally-run shops disappearing forever and every High Street in Britain turning into a bland, multinational carbon copy of the other.
Couldn't give a fuck about the class/status of people going there, but I do care when I see independent, locally-run shops disappearing forever and every High Street in Britain turning into a bland, multinational carbon copy of the other. Absolutely... though sadly that's why it will make little difference if a Cafe Nero opens seeing as Brixton already has so many other clone town chain stores gracing its streets.
You could say that the more bland chain stores that open the worse it gets of course. Though I still feel a Cafe Nero would be but a drop in the ocean at this stage.
Perhaps it's just perception/prejudice but I have a lot less antipathy for a Cafe Nero than for a Subway or a McDonalds.
We recently got a Cafe Nero in Crystal Palace, I just laugh at the people sitting in the windows trying to look cool and sophisticated.
How the hell does having a coffee make you look cool and sophisticated???
It doesn't.
If some 70 yr old lady finds the window seat is the only seat available and sits there she's trying to be cool and sophisticated?? /laff
miss minnie
10-05-2006, 08:10
ooh.. gaijinboy and I made a "biscuit-henge" wedding cake for our mates' wedding which was featured on www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com. It went down very well! :D
i love the poll on their front page!
Jaffa Cake Developments
I'm all for innovation
(366 votes)
If its not broken don't fix it
(207 votes)
They went for the wrong flavours
(111 votes)
Actually I don't like Jaffa Cakes
(180 votes)
They should just make them bigger that would work for me
(480 votes)
Total votes: 1344
Perhaps it's just perception/prejudice but I have a lot less antipathy for a Cafe Nero than for a Subway or a McDonalds.
Because its "European" rather than Yanky corporate?
miss minnie
10-05-2006, 08:19
as a sidetrack, the best tea shop in the world is the Mock Turtle in Brighton - doughnuts the size of cricket balls!
<offtopic>
anyone visited the tea shop in aldeburgh run by the crump sisters? might not be there anymore i guess. it did not open until 3pm on the dot so you joined the queue to watch the window fill up with huge piles of scrummy home-made cakes and scones and sausage rolls.
when the doors opened you grabbed a table, tea would be brought and you helped yourself to the food. no table service. after, you went to the till and told them what you ate and they totted up the bill on trust. :)
trust: an amazing olde-world granny thing i guess :D
</offtopic>
How the hell does having a coffee make you look cool and sophisticated???
It doesn't.
If some 70 yr old lady finds the window seat is the only seat available and sits there she's trying to be cool and sophisticated?? /laff
LOL you really dont have a clue do you. ;)
Yeah i do. I just don't make blatant generalisations :)
My point:
There's a Cafe Nero in Clapham Junction. It's the only real place to sit if you've got a wait for a train (unless you want to sit in Burger King).. doesn't mean all the clientelle are trying to be cool :)
Did I mention the cafe nero in Clapham at any point in my original post? :confused:
Ah, fair enough, I thought the thread was discussing Cafe Nero as a chain on the whole.
Therefore, I took your post as generalising that anyone that sits in one is trying to look cool and sophisticated. When it could be that they actually didn't have much choice, hence my example :)
Kid_Eternity
10-05-2006, 09:31
It’s funny how Urban creeps into real world awareness. On the bus this morning I noticed a tea shop next to London Bridge station which I’ve never noticed until now! It’s called My Tea Place and it’s at the top end of Tooley Street (where it connects with London Bridge).
Minnie_the_Minx
10-05-2006, 09:38
Right that's it you!! When I open my award winning, incredibly popular tea shop with yummy cakes in Brixton.. you're BARRED :mad:
Lovely. Gold top milk or cream?
http://www.ycdtotv.de/kua_img/c2_11.jpg
Mr Retro
10-05-2006, 09:50
But not too bothered about a Neros. At least it's better than bloody Starbucks.
But what worries me about this is when Nero comes to an area, Starbucks can't be too far behind with about 3 stores. 2 to put Nero out of business and 1 to put local coffee shops out of business.
OpalFruit
10-05-2006, 10:56
But what worries me about this is when Nero comes to an area, Starbucks can't be too far behind with about 3 stores. 2 to put Nero out of business and 1 to put local coffee shops out of business.
Fair enough - except there aren't any local coffee shops to put out of business!!
Jacaranda garden used to do good cakes and coffee - now upmarket wine bar.
S'pose Lounge could be at risk? Doubt it though.
There is ECO in the market - basic on the cakes, but excellent coffee.
Orang Utan
10-05-2006, 11:10
Fair enough - except there aren't any local coffee shops to put out of business!!
There's that place on Acre Lane and a couple of places on the hill
Because its "European" rather than Yanky corporate? More like because they offer far superior quality products.
More like because they offer far superior quality products.
I'd say because its offering more of a bourgeois product range.
lang rabbie
10-05-2006, 11:30
Plus ca change...
I believe Quin and Axten's of Brixton may have been the first store with an in-house tea room
To-day, a woman can do her household shopping under one roof, but in those days the big department store for women, covering most of her personal and household requirements, was only in its infancy. Aunt Jane's shopping was therefore a business of visiting, during her week, some thirty different shops, and this meant a series of buses and four-wheelers. The buses in those days still lived in the last throes of the coaching atmosphere. Instead of cabalistic numbers and initial letters, they had names. Just as the coaches had been named Defiance, Quicksilver, Wonder, Rapid, Reliable, so the buses were The Atlas, The Favourite, The Royal Blue. Most of my early rides seem to have been associated with the Royal Blue. I forget its route, but I feel sure that it touched Piccadilly Circus, and I have memories of mounting and dismounting from it at that spot on these shopping tours. It may have touched Oxford Circus, too, since it seems that one was in the Royal Blue at a few minutes to eleven, and at eleven one was buying glories in Buszard's.
I recall visits to other "pastrycook's" besides Buszard's; it was Aunt Jane's regular custom to withdraw from the fray at mid-morning and take biscuits and a glass of "sherry wine," giving me the freedom of the pastry counter. I cannot find those pastrycooks now. Indeed, I know of but one pastrycook's of the old style remaining in London, and that one is in Jermyn Street. Unless Gunter's and Rumpelmayer's can be covered by that term. Aunt Jane would never patronise the new tea-shops, which were then opening in different parts of the town, chiefly because they were new and not of her youth. She must always find a pastrycook's. Lunch meant returning to her hotel, or looking about for one of the few restaurants to which a solitary female could go. In this matter the modern woman shopper enjoys another advantage over her mother and grandmother. Not only can she do her household and garden shopping under one roof; she can spend the day there and take lunch and tea in agreeable surroundings, without leaving it. If she cares to go elsewhere, any restaurant is open to her; she could even go to a public-house if she wished to, without incurring the suspicion, common in Aunt Jane's day, of being no better than she should be. (Though how any human creature could be anything else is a question which used to puzzle me every time I saw or heard the phrase.)
I believe it was some suburban drapery store which was the pioneer in this matter of refreshment. I think I have heard that somewhere in South London a large establishment of this sort made the experiment of setting aside one room of its premises for afternoon tea. The experiment was a success, and on the news of its success a number of central London houses followed its example, and soon extended it from afternoon tea to lunch, and finally to an all-day service. Then, of course, the giant stores arrived, with their roof-garden restaurants, their palm-lounges for tea, their rest-rooms, writing-rooms, telephone-rooms, hairdressing-rooms, exhibitions and entertainments, and all the other services of a metropolitan High Street. So that the housewife of to-day can not only cover all her domestic business in one shop, but can get for nothing the sort of Happy Day which her grandmother had when she went to the Crystal Palace.
Source (http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks04/0400651h.HTML)
Mr Retro
10-05-2006, 12:10
Fair enough - except there aren't any local coffee shops to put out of business!!
Ant the Italian place by the Beehive - (San Marino?) and the deli/coffe shop in the Market (Rosies?)
Ant the Italian place by the Beehive - (San Marino?) and the deli/coffe shop in the Market (Rosies?)
Yeah, but I think it isn't Cafe Nero which is solely responsible for this, maybe not even the main cause - its business rates and rents which are crushing small business everywhere.
I'd say because its offering more of a bourgeois product range. Some people might see it that way but I certainly don't.
McDonalds is a repugnant, evil corporation and its so-called food a long term health risk for those who ingest it regularly.
Subway is a bit better though.
Some people might see it that way but I certainly don't.
McDonalds is a repugnant, evil corporation and its so-called food a long term health risk for those who ingest it regularly.
Subway is a bit better though.
Your local greasy spoon is also of course a long term health risk.
Mr Retro
10-05-2006, 12:57
Yeah, but I think it isn't Cafe Nero which is solely responsible for this, maybe not even the main cause - its business rates and rents which are crushing small business everywhere.
No arguement there, but they may be the final sraw.
I believe this is just the start. How much longer will Starbucks ignore the massive potential profit in Brixton? There is, however, a need for the independents to adapt to the way people want to visit coffee shops. Longer opening hours, choice of food and drinks, decor etc.
The Lounge is an independent that is a perfect example of how to make yourself more attractive than a chain. If many other independents don't take a similar route they'll be gone in 5 years.
Orang Utan
10-05-2006, 13:01
The Lounge is an independent that is a perfect example of how to make yourself more attractive than a chain. If many other independents don't take a similar route they'll be gone in 5 years.
Hasn't it gone bust though?
It hasn't been open the last few times I went there, even on a Saturday.
tarannau
10-05-2006, 13:04
Hasn't it gone bust though?
It hasn't been open the last few times I went there, even on a Saturday.
Eh. It was open this weekend when I went past. Are you not thinking of Atlantico (now open as Bar 628)...
Orang Utan
10-05-2006, 13:06
Eh. It was open this weekend when I went past. Are you not thinking of Atlantico (now open as Bar 628)...
Good! It was definitely the Lounge - about 2/3 weeks ago, I went there to get brekkie on a Saturday and it was closed and I had to resort to The Prince for breakfast.
the lounge is always packed! and should be open on sundays.
that bar 62thingie has the worst lighting i've ever come across in a restaurant. makes me feel im in a trance club. :(
tarannau
10-05-2006, 13:16
Blimey, I'm sure the Lounge is open Sundays as well. I reckon I must be walking past a different space-time dimension or something.
I do recall the Lounge having the doors shut early one Saturday evening recently, but that was for a Kid's birthday do.
Blimey, I'm sure the Lounge is open Sundays as well. I reckon I must be walking past a different space-time dimension or something.
I do recall the Lounge having the doors shut early one Saturday evening recently, but that was for a Kid's birthday do.It is open on Sundays although sometimes opens quite late.
The Ritzy's got a good cafe too, btw.
No arguement there, but they may be the final sraw.
I believe this is just the start. How much longer will Starbucks ignore the massive potential profit in Brixton? There is, however, a need for the independents to adapt to the way people want to visit coffee shops. Longer opening hours, choice of food and drinks, decor etc.
The Lounge is an independent that is a perfect example of how to make yourself more attractive than a chain. If many other independents don't take a similar route they'll be gone in 5 years.
Its all chicken and egg innit. An area moves upmarket, more wealth, greater spending power.. up the rent and rates.. but the chains move in.. Big double wammy.
Its easy to make yourself 'appear' more attractive, but ultimately the customers have got to come and spend. The corporates have all the benefit of economies of scale, being able to cross -subsidise between units, standadization, and dare I say it, "good" managment.
that bar 62thingie has the worst lighting i've ever come across in a restaurant. makes me feel im in a trance club. :(
Really is a bizarre place. And given its only been open a few weeks and is already empty most evenings I fear the worse.
Great idea that frosted glass stopping anyone outside looking in and vice versa
tarannau
10-05-2006, 14:58
Its easy to make yourself 'appear' more attractive, but ultimately the customers have got to come and spend. The corporates have all the benefit of economies of scale, being able to cross -subsidise between units, standadization, and dare I say it, "good" managment.
No problem with the economies of scale issue, but the last point strikes me as unlikely to say the least - many of the coffee shop chains boast a very high turnover of managers. The cynical amongst us may suggest that they tend to use up and spit out assistant managers in particular, perhaps because salaried workers work out cheaper per hour than part timers in the longer term and may show greater commitment.
Same in the pub and restaurant trade in general. In many ways it's more about the processes and de-skilling staff rather than any notions of forward thinking and 'good' management.
No problem with the economies of scale issue, but the last point strikes me as unlikely to say the least - many of the coffee shop chains boast a very high turnover of managers. The cynical amongst us may suggest that they tend to use up and spit out assistant managers in particular, perhaps because salaried workers work out cheaper per hour than part timers in the longer term and may show greater commitment.
Same in the pub and restaurant trade in general. In many ways it's more about the processes and de-skilling staff rather than any notions of forward thinking and 'good' management.
Yes - I was really referring to managment in the Head Office, business model sense.. like how can we bleed our staff the best.
Mr Retro
10-05-2006, 16:42
The Ritzy's got a good cafe too, btw.
And can I give my predictable shout out to O Cantinho de Portugal. The nicest espresso ever. Pop in for one with a pastry and it will cost you £1.50
And can I give my predictable shout out to O Cantinho de Portugal. The nicest espresso ever. Pop in for one with a pastry and it will cost you £1.50
seconded.
Your local greasy spoon is also of course a long term health risk.
Perhaps... though they're not in the business of brainwashing children into becoming regular patrons through relentless advertising campaigns, free toys and generous donations to schools of nursery rhymes books that happen to have a McDonalds plug on every other page.
I want a proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot
Orang Utan
11-05-2006, 11:28
Coffee is so vulgar
And can I give my predictable shout out to O Cantinho de Portugal. The nicest espresso ever. Pop in for one with a pastry and it will cost you £1.50
Don't tell everyone.;)
But not too bothered about a Neros. At least it's better than bloody Starbucks.
Surely they're virtually identical? Merely places to buy beverages. Not good, not bad....just coffee shops! It's like saying Superdrug is OK but Boots?! Boots can fuck right off, the bastards...
Mine's a latte
Brixton Hatter
11-05-2006, 23:12
I want a proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee potchampion lurker! welcome sir :)
i like decent coffee - it's gotta be black - but Orangutan is right...tea is the drink of kings. I'm already there in your teashop Gaijingirl!! ;)
What's wrong with making your own tea and coffee? Bring it in your flask...I do. ;)
Neros is Whitbread or someone isnt it ?
Problem is , once they have taken the first step ans made their footprint, its usual for their co-conspirators to start doing their sums and buying up in the locale as well, putting up rents etc.
Some would say its a slippery slope, but others argue that if the local Biznesses are any good, then they will retain their customer whatever.
I think the interesting thing here is NOT the businesses that make the difference, but the CUSTOMERS who go to them - chicken / egg situation -ish.Sometimes you can see how deep most consumers loyalty is by the way they switch brands to the bigger name for no real end benefit.Would you go out of your way for a particular coffee brand ? I probabaly wouldnt & Im a bastard for my Java
It will be interesting to see if people embrace it or dont bother giving Neros their custom - I am a grim cynical fucker, so will guess that Neros will do well, as the vacant, shallow, one dimensional ,consumerist, brainwashed, brand fixated sheep than seem to dominate the UK these days will pile in without a thought.
Lordship lane / East Dulwich never really had a good coffee shop - I dont count the Blue MOUntain cafe as a good coffee shop, as it was always full to bustng with eager thrusting Middle class mums and their heinous offspring , and their Coffee wanst too good either .
kyser_soze
20-10-2006, 10:18
So what places in Brixton serve decent coffee that Nero's will be putting out of business?
San Marino next to the Beehive serve about the only genuinely decent coffee in Brixton in terms of take away.
The're not only good but at £1 a pop, bloody cheap too. I would hope that they'd be able to carry even with a possible Nero due to customer loyalty to price+quality.
TBH, when they go on their August hols, there isn't really any other decent take away option in central Brixton. (early morning)
So what places in Brixton serve decent coffee that Nero's will be putting out of business?
I'm sure it won't go out of business but Opus on Acre Lane serves the best coffee in Brixton.
kyser_soze
20-10-2006, 11:59
*makes mental note*
Cheers.
Minnie_the_Minx
20-10-2006, 12:12
Out of curiosity, do you think this conversation would have happened 10 years ago? Not the conversation about Starbucks/Costa etc., but coffee shops in general?
dogmatique
20-10-2006, 19:59
Nero/Costa/Starbucks - they're all the same - I never set foot in them - they're a needless extravagance - do we need coffee? No. Do we need pastries and croissants? No.
These places bring out the Yorkshireman in me.
The dirty robbing bastards......
Aye.
dogmatique
20-10-2006, 20:03
San Marino next to the Beehive serve about the only genuinely decent coffee in Brixton in terms of take away.
The're not only good but at £1 a pop, bloody cheap too. I would hope that they'd be able to carry even with a possible Nero due to customer loyalty to price+quality.
TBH, when they go on their August hols, there isn't really any other decent take away option in central Brixton. (early morning)
I would have thought a poncey fop like yourself would have had one of these in his kitchen anyway... Why you buy take-out, you lazy fuck?
http://www.reneka.com/images/gammes/viva-s-2-groupes-petit.gif
Out of curiosity, do you think this conversation would have happened 10 years ago? Not the conversation about Starbucks/Costa etc., but coffee shops in general?
San Marino has been going for longer than 10 years. Also I used to frequent Max's on Atlantic Road around that time.( is it still there?)
me and my mates used to compare the two and some other places as well until a couple bought those Italian stovetop things and I got a fuckoff espresso machine whoch is the way forward for all.
I would have thought a poncey fop like yourself would have had one of these in his kitchen anyway... Why you buy take-out, you lazy fuck?
http://www.reneka.com/images/gammes/viva-s-2-groupes-petit.gif
Fuck off with your fancy chrome stuff. I've got one of these.
http://www.craystone.com/francis/X1/X1orange.jpg
Plus, I'd never dream of nipping downstairs and buying a latte from SM & then putting it in my own mug once upstairs again :D :o
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