The Stockwell opening delayed again (From Gazette)
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The Stockwell opening delayed again
12:29pm Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News By James Cox
The Stockwell opening delayed again
THE relaunch of the former Stockwell Arms has been delayed.
An opening ceremony was earmarked for Thursday, February 7, at the Grade I listed building in West Stockwell Street.
But the new rubber floor has been damaged by rain water.
A new opening date is yet to be set.
Comments(13)
Say It As It Is OK?
says...
2:08pm Tue 5 Feb 13
The owner has taken on, and personally funded a massive task in renovating The Stockwell Arms I think he needs lots of support.
co4
says...
2:36pm Tue 5 Feb 13
sandgronun64
says...
4:08pm Tue 5 Feb 13
Surely rubber floors are waterproof? Or is this 'Mediaeval' rubber?
Perhaps it is just too ambitious; after all, the position and lack of cheap/free parking will hardly encourage the crowds to come from afar. As for his needing "...a lot of support..." surely a restaurant is a business. The bottom line is that this is a commercial venture, not a moral or public concern. He is funding it himself (as Say it as it is OK points out) and support must come from successfully meeting client needs. I agree with co4 that this seems an expensive menu. Number nine had similar high ideals and they went bust. He (Mr Cole) didn't even have a large venue to fill. The new Stockwell appears (from the street at least) to be huge; certainly twice the size of the former pub.
I would be interested to know if this is the only reason for the constant postponements to a job which seems to have been on-going for over two years now. If I didn't know better, I would think that it was a council led initiative! It is almost as if it is being run by the same team that managed Firstsite. After all, numerous construction problems, several postponed openings, (most likely) over budget, and with an overpriced eatery?
MMM. Sounds familiar.
Red Tape 2
says...
6:20pm Tue 5 Feb 13
sandgronun64
says...
6:37pm Tue 5 Feb 13
Red Tape 2 wrote:Maybe that is precisely what those prices will be - exclusive.
Surely if you want to charge exclusive prices your need a menu a bit more ambitious than over-priced steak & chips, prawn cocktail and shepherds pie?
They might well have the effect of 'excluding' the vast majority of (potential) customers.
I mean really, the shepherd's pie must contain 'real shepherd' at those prices.
silverado
says...
10:22pm Tue 5 Feb 13
wellnow
says...
9:14am Wed 6 Feb 13
romantic
says...
9:43am Wed 6 Feb 13
Location is the main issue he will have. Not being visible from the High Street is a drawback, so can´t get in passing trade. Not having car parking is not the end of the world, but could be a factor for some people when they decide whether to come.
I remember they tried to do this with some other pubs in town. The Kings Arms has gone from a place which was packed every day and night to a far quieter place, although still doing OK. They tried it at the Foresters, which is tucked away off the beaten track just like the Stockwell, and it crashed and burned. That has now gone back to being a pub with food, and was doing really well the last time I called in. Neither of those wanted £20 for a bit of shepherd´s pie. Price is a far more important criterion now than before the recession.
I hope he proves us all wrong! Nobody likes to see somebody throwing away their money, but he is going to have to make sure his food is fantastic from day one and hope that enough people know it is there, and want to come back again.
historyman22
says...
9:20pm Wed 6 Feb 13
I read the print edition today though and felt I'd add my bit.
The problem with the "unusually high water table" should have been foreseen, during the initial site survey or by his (civil) engineer. The hill upon which Colchester stands has a complex drift geology, one that results in numerous springs. Even where water does not 'spring' at the surface, water flows downhill often just below the surface.
The site in question slopes to the north west and water is obviously abundant there. The clue is in the name - 'Stock-well'. People dug wells where water was nearest the surface.
The new extension has clearly interfered with the hydrological flow.
In short then, this problem will not just subside with any abatement in the recent wet weather, and will doubtless recur in the future unless steps are taken to intercept this groundwater flow and divert it into an approved drain or culvert.
I hope he is going to have a few strong words with his engineers or architects because in my (professional) opinion, this problem might prove costly to remedy.
Perhaps this is why in the print edition he is quoted as saying that the opening has been delayed indefinitely?
sandgronun64
says...
9:31am Thu 7 Feb 13
I just walked past this morning and the extension seems only half-finished. Indeed, the whole of the new build section seems like ‘one huge snag’ … at least from the outside.
André
says...
2:52pm Mon 11 Feb 13
sandgronun64
says...
9:25pm Mon 11 Feb 13
André wrote:Interesting comment, particularly in respect of the language used.
There are plenty of us willing to pay for chav/prole free dining. Colchester needs a number of more exclusive restaurants that exclude the riffraff. I am looking forward to them opening.
I would be interested to know how many " ...plenty of us..." is. It would need to be over 100 to fill the place based on the size, and that would need to be on a regular basis, and throughout the day. There will need to be 'plenty' of you then.
You refer to exclusivity.I have already said that these prices will necessarily exclude many.
As for "...chav/prole free dining..." this is most interesting. How do you define a chav. In my definition, it is not a monetary division but one of attitude. If (so called) chavs can afford it then, how would they be excluded?
As for proles, this is even more illuminating. The term 'prole' was coined in 1948 by George Orwell, in his novel 1984. In this text, he describes a society where the masses have a similar lot in life, enforced by the state with the anodyne security supplied by propaganda and the ever present view screen; a sort of television that watches you. The proles were effectively both working and middle class then. The remaining stratum of society was reserved for an bourgeois class, limited in numbers, but practically limitless in their power to control.
Perhaps Andre views himself as belonging to this latter elite then? If so, why is the town not already blessed with a suitable set of venues for this privileged few?
The best comment on this thread seems to have come from wellnow - "...The moon's a balloon..."
When EE Cummings penned this, in the mid 1920s, it was cryptic to say the least. In my own interpretation, he used it to described someone imagining that he can get on the moon and ride away into a love filled utopia with all the pretty people.
I am glad it will be exclusive then ... it will protect those of us with a sense of realism from those who live in an idealistic, money fuelled cloud cuckoo land.
co4 says...
1:42pm Tue 5 Feb 13
I give at most 12 months before he has a rethink and lowers his prices and expectations. Fine dining doesn't exist in Colchester as there is no market for it!