pre-schaedenfreude?

[waider]

Dalkey, with a population somewhere short of 10,000, currently has at least four coffee shops and a half-dozen pubs where you can also purchase the brewed bean. That hasn't stopped Starbucks from renovating a premises in the middle of the town, due to open some time soon going by the "Staff Wanted" notices. Personally I'm hoping that their general downturn in fortunes due to rapid expansion might mean that this particular outlet never sees a single customer...

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I hope you have a suggestion as to what should go into the building instead of Starbucks.Look around Dalkey obviously you have missed the 6 closed units several have been closed a long time including the proposed unit for Starbucks.In the economic downturn we need the jobs and people Starbucks will bring to Dalkey, the alternative is to continue with a negative attitude leaving an empty building in the town and a luxury pad for the pigeons just waiting to take over their previous home!!!

[waider.livejournal.com]

I walk through the main street every day of the week, and while I understand your point I don't think that adding another coffee shop, much less adding a Starbucks is the answer. Bear in mind that such a corporate-owned enterprise isn't exactly contributing to the local economy, since a certain chunk of their earnings winds its way back to the parent company.

You have a point, though. I don't have a suggestion, only criticism.

[(Anonymous)]

Constructive criticism is what we need!I ask again what would you put in that building instead 20 new jobs to people looking for work has got to be more positive than your reasons for Starbucks not coming to Dalkey,they certainly do well in Blackrock with out any damage to existing coffee shops of which there several.

[waider.livejournal.com]

Well, aside from not being a huge fan of Starbucks, the point I was trying to make is that I really don't think Dalkey needs another coffee shop - I personally can't believe that there's an actual market for it. But then, if Starbucks are closing down across the US, and they're opening a shop here, my belief must be incorrect. I guess as a local I'd rather see something other than a coffee shop, a bar, or a restaurant; these are all things I like but I think there's already enough of them in Dalkey to serve the local population and some diversity in a different direction would be nice. On the other hand I notice the most recent bric-a-brac shop closed, and Gemma's Newsagent has been folded into the EuroSpar (although the latter has a planning permission notice in the window that I've not gotten around to looking at so I'm guessing there's plans for renovation there?)

I really don't know. Is there a market in Dalkey for, say, a clothes shop? A hardware store to replace the one that closed? I guess I'm trying to come up with the sort of things I find myself having to go to Dun Laoghaire or elsewhere for, and wondering why none of those things are in Dalkey. I'm not a commercial person, I'm just a local who thinks that another coffee shop isn't going to be a big win for the village.

[(Anonymous)]

If there was a market in Dalkey for a clothes shop don't you think they would have already opened in one of the other empty outlets?In the past there have been dress shops and Fabio shoes all who closed after a short time,as for the hardware shop I think Mr Kelly's son would have kept it open if it was a viable proposition.Sadly all these outlets suffer because of big shopping centers on our doorstep which take business from the town its the price we pay for people wanting more choice under cover.Getting back to Starbucks it is difficult to think what could go into that building,as a retail business,hopefully it will prove successful and as a result benefit the other retail outfits in the town and maybe other retailers may come to town to fill the empty outlets.

[waider.livejournal.com]

Since I've only been in the area a few years, I'm not familiar with the older shops, but I'll take your word for it. And the location and layout of the Starbucks premises does make it difficult to imagine what else would go there. I remain skeptical, however, that there's a market in Dalkey for another coffee shop; I would particularly be interested to see how the coffee shop market in general does as the economy tightens and people realise that perhaps a cup of Maxwell House will suffice in the morning in place of a hand-roasted colombian decaff latte or whatever. I guess time will tell.