LFCCCC

Hi there,

Just wondered if I could get some advice if possible.

I am a New Zealander who has been living in the UK for some time. I am now faced with the reality that I may have to return home for my partner's sake and, being honest, I am a bit worried about it all.

I'm not sure career-wise how it would pan out, so I've come up with an idea that I want to run past everyone.

I am thinking of opening a pub in an area that has a strong expat-Brit population, where I'm not too sure but am flexible on location. I envisage it to be like the village local where families can go and enjoy a bit of food and a few drinks without it descending into chaos like the pubs I frequented back home. I've seen a million Irish pubs but can't think of any English pubs that serve classics like decent fish and chips and mushy peas and good beer. I would also like to have as many EPL games as possible and encourage people to come in their kits etc.

Do you think people would be interested in going to an English pub in NZ? Any ideas and suggestions welcome.

Thanks all

azakeen1980

If it is anywhere near Christchurch and had a proper pool tale and dart board i defo would be participating in a few shandys!

BEVS

Hi there and welcome to BE.
As you will see , I have moved your thread into the main NZ forum so that those who are currently living and working in Christchurch get a better chance to see and comment on it.

I'm not in Christchurch but am in NZ. It'd be great to see a pub with a proper dartboard & a good carvery wouldn't go amiss.

Anyway. Let's see what those living and working in Christchurch have to say.

UKNZAUS

If it had the sticky floor to make it 'authentic', I'm in!

Seriously, I was just talking about this the other week, how I miss being able to go for a Sunday lunch at the pub and be able to take the kids to play in the gardens, so that he can watch sport and I can have a good ole chinwag with the WAGs I love the whole community feel

UKNZAUS

If it's in Auckland, I'll put my 50p on the table for first game of pool, and would also dust off my darts for a game of arrows too...

Genesis

PLEASE come and open it in Palmerston North! Whilst we have a bunch of great pubs here there is nothing like you envisage for your pub. We have quite a few irish pubs and a few lovely new ones but no 'english' ones. We have a huge student population (that are well behaved), 75,000 residents and many, many satellite towns that use Plamerston North as a hub for eateries, enjoyment etc. I think it is a good idea and something that with the right management and attractions is a recipe for success. You never know there even may be incentives for you open a well managed establishment. BTW one thing that IS very rare here is a REAL country pub/restaurant with a great garden. Just one in our whole district that I know of that is also very poorly marketed. Good luck where ever you chose to settle!

Tom1983

I would be delighted if you could remove the dump of the corner pub that's on Hereford Street in Linwood, Christchurch and add some English theme to it

I'll even be first in if you have league one football shown on the screen (probably championship next season) as well as participating in regular games of darts and of course a pool table will be handy

I have an Irish bar that has a pool table close by but refuse to go in because they do not play any decent music in the background. They play Irish music but not the class of Thin Lizzy etc, it's more the utter rubbish that ruined the UK music industry (aka Louis Walshs bands). Oh and they never play any U2 old stuff grrrr

Bellasmum

This started out as a very small bar just down the road from us with a brewery set up out the back and look at it now.

http://www.cockandbull.co.nz/

barnsleymat

Would the pub have English prices and English measures, not $9 for a half glass of beer.

One thing I have noticed about pubs over here and it might explain the ridiculous prices, they're always well overstaffed. My local up Kingsland always has 3-4 bar staff and a chef and sometimes I'm the only one in. All the venues and pubs I've ever worked in has normally had a fraction of the staffing levels but still the same levels of service.

If you do open a pub and need a promoter I'm your man, I've never had a problem filling a pub. Over the years I've transformed some crumbling pubs into vibrant place to be's. I never moved into promoting full time as a proper job, but it's something I could easily do.

There's a new British pub in Dunedin (Madly British), we went in 2 weeks ago and it falls into the same category as all those photocopied Plastic Paddy pubs as in the walls are full of gimicky stuff and it's got a daft name.

sparkie down under

genesis

Justcol

I'll tell you now for all the rhetoric on here it'll never work.
I've lived in 2 expat strongholds since arriving in nz one had
a very good english pub and apart from me and one friend the place
was empty 90% of the time.
Expats rapidly turn into kiwis, stop going out and start complaining about
the cost of a pint compared to what you can buy a crate of cheap piss
for in the supermarket.
I'd love you to try and hopefully prove me wrong but the the truth is
pubs /bars here are usually dead unless they are in the big CBD's

Tomsk

We had a brilliant English pub open up in Rotorua a year or so ago, it was owned by 2 British ex pat couples and modelled very much on an English pub. It had fabulous grounds, good food, lovely cosy bar & a couple of other rooms and it was fantastic. It was also packed to the gills every night, & not only with ex pats, there were always plenty of kiwis in there. The drink wasn't particularly cheap, but was comparable with everywhere else in town. Unfortunately it went out of business approx 6m ago, largely, I think from what I've heard, because it was a victim of it's own success. It was located outside of the town centre in a residential area, & the neighbours started to complain about all the noise & parking (it had been an exclusive restaurant before, that never really seemed to attract a lot of trade) and consequently, I believe, there were issues around resource consents & licensing laws. There were other problems as well between the owners.

All that aside, my point is that, yes, I truly think that there is a demand for a British style pub in NZ, I was quite genuinely amazed at how packed this place used to be every night, & at the cross section of local people who used it. And this is Rotorua for goodness sake! If it worked that well here, then I'd be surprised if it didn't work anywhere else in NZ

Bo-Jangles

My only reference to the Cock and Bull places is the one at Botany, which is to all intents a Disney fake style pub with the charm befitting of it's a theme park-esque fake olde-worlde shopping mall surrounds.

I have been past this place many times but never felt compelled to try it http://www.britishislesinn.co.nz/ although I have heard the food is good.

There's also Speakers Corner at Browns Bay, again I have never been in. It's a blokey uninviting kind of a joint, generally full of football shirt wearing Pommy blokes that look like they're there for the duration.

I would so love to see a family friendly pub with grub, ploughmans lunches and a nice garden.

theghostofdustybin

The bard on avon was always busy and had speckled hen on tap, till it fell over...

Genesis

The Rose and Crown? Worn tattered and horrid IMO. Very average food and a naff setting. Only been twice in 7 years and one time I had no choice. The 1st time I went I decided I would never go there again..given the choice.