Comments on: Shop Closures

By: David

David — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:03:21 +0000

Looks like the LeFleur closure was nothing to do with the olympics – it’s already up and running again as a flowershop (and, from what I’ve seen so far, a much better one – wider variety and more reasonably priced).

You don’t find a new tenant to set up that quickly if your previous tenant has gone bust in the last few weeks.

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 13:37:21 +0000

Not sure how true this is but I’ve heard Jamies have pulled out. Their solititors have discovered that the garden area is not actually owned (leased?) by Bar du Musee but are in fact the property of Network Rail. As I say not sure how true all this is…

By: Darren

Darren — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:30:57 +0000

Roger, Andrew Gilligan lost his credibility regarding the Olympics a long way back.

I’ve seen how quiet its been with my own eyes but to be fair that’s been the picture all over London.

By: RogerW

RogerW — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:37:13 +0000

Matter of fact, the effect on trade in Greenwich during the Olympics, was another topic covered by Andrew Gilligan in his blog.
He actually went to a number of places and spoke with their owners. Among the places he visited were Red Door, Monsoon and the Bar du Musee. Virtually everyone he spoke with talked of a downturn.
(I think his blog entry can still be seen on his Daily Telegraph blog page.)

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 22:13:02 +0000

Frankie & Benny’s, Nando’s, Byron’s, and now Jamie’s. Urgh. I’ve been to a few Jamie’s and the menu NEVER changes. Same in every restaurant for three years now! I won’t be going there as would prefer, if I’m going to frequent a chain I’d rather go to Zizzi’s. Bianco looks good but never been in as it looks way too small for our precocious 2-year old.

The best places to frequent for decent food nearby are the Royal Albert in Deptford and the Vanbrugh on Columb Street. So looks like I’ll be eating mostly out of town.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:50:17 +0000

From talking to many friends who run businesses in and around Greenwich, I’ve heard some real horror stories with regards their turnover during the summer in comparison to last year. The BEST I heard was a 20% drop in turnover… The worst was nearer 80%.

Yes, the Olympics is not solely to blame for some businesses going under, but, given this sort of drop in turnover, it’s no surprise that many are really struggling to keep going at the moment,

By: capability bowes

capability bowes — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:03:04 +0000

Bar du Musee probably closed because the service was atrocious and it was wildly overpriced and a complete dump inside. Nothing to do with the Olympics.

Stitches and Daughters have been going downhill for years. They used to have a much bigger, double fronted shop on the other side of the road and it was full of the kind of thing that only a devoted fan of Laura Ashley would buy. The fact that it moved across the road to a smaller premises and became “Stitches and Daughter” (in the singular) seems to suggest that at least one of the partnership lost interest some time ago.

I think it is invidious to blame these closures on the Olympics when they were both probably on their last legs a long time before the games ever came to town.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:41:44 +0000

Hooper and Palmer did do nice flowers, but was very expensive and had rather eccentric opening hours. I soon gave up going there for a coffee or a bunch of flowers as more often than not it was closed, and on the rare occasions I found it open the service could be a little cold.

While we should all stick to the principles of ‘use it or lose it’, small businesses also need to keep to their side of the bargain – good service, reasonable prices and reliable opening hours.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:11:53 +0000

Fleur is aleady being redecorated for the new shop’s opening..

By: John

John — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:07:24 +0000

I’ll take Bianco over Jamie’s any day of the week even if I’m not exactly a regular. It might provide competition for Pizza Express though in the battle of bland chains.

For all the years I’ve lived in the borough though, I still can’t fathom why Cafe Sol is still popular. No idea if it’s indie or a chain though.