Brady's, Brixton (Railway Hotel): history, chat and plans
- Thread starter citydreams
- Start date
editor
hiraethified
Who's been posting up "regular financial tit bits"? Why, no one of course! It's just you acting like a silly billy again!
Call me a crazy old cynic if you will, but when a business newly arrives in Brixton and immediately starts banging on about "the community," "social projects" and the area's "vibrant and ethical feel" then I think it's only right that people shouldn't take it all on face value.
And given their multi million turnover, the first question to ask is, "will they be paying the London Living Wage?"
editor
hiraethified
I don’t see why it is much use looking at turnover. If the difference between a large restaurant running at a profit or loss is £34,000 per year then things are surely pretty razor tight as it is – something that a big rent review or increase in food costs could obliterate.
IMO if someone has opened 12 central London restaurants which employ so many people, which employ carpenters and contractors to fit them out, which employ producers and suppliers as well – then they fully deserve £400,000 profit – and a pat on the back; especially when so many restaurants go to the wall. It’s probable that they have to share that profit with investors.
Attack people who make money by doing nothing, like buy to letters – people like this should be taxed & celebrated - not sneered at.
IMO if someone has opened 12 central London restaurants which employ so many people, which employ carpenters and contractors to fit them out, which employ producers and suppliers as well – then they fully deserve £400,000 profit – and a pat on the back; especially when so many restaurants go to the wall. It’s probable that they have to share that profit with investors.
Attack people who make money by doing nothing, like buy to letters – people like this should be taxed & celebrated - not sneered at.
leanderman
Street Party: July 2
The girl done good.
editor
hiraethified
I didn't think I was attacking them, I was just adding more detail to the story. I'm delighted that the building is being used again and if it provides employment for local people, all the better.
But my eyebrow does instinctively rise when a multi million chain freshly rock ups into town and immediately starts going about their supposed commitment to the 'community' because, frankly, I've heard that a million times before and it's often nothing more than lip service (see: Brixton Green).
So while I'm happy to see the building coming to life that doesn't mean it should be uncritically celebrated, nor should questions not be asked about what community it is that they're serving. I'd be particularly interested to hear if they have a commitment to the London Living Wage too.
And, for the record, they've never approached urban75 or Brixton Buzz which are most likely the two biggest Brixton sites around, so I guess we're not included in their community vision.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Overhead increases get factored into price increases. "Obliteration" seldom happens with outlets once they're established.
Let's take your employment claims and reduce them to the actual volume of work provided.
Employees - full-time and/or part-time work for X number of employees.
Contractors - one-off employment for X number of employees.
Producers and suppliers - demand from shop or chain is a small part of overall operation, so probably provides 3-4 hours' work for 1 picker/delivery person per week.
All very normal, and the effect on employment is minimal.
None of the above means that the parent company deserves to make a profit, or a pat on the back. It's a business, not a foundation for you to give the investors a reach-around for being capitalists.
Zu befehl, Kommandant!.
On second thoughts, I'll attack whoever I like, especially if I believe that they're exploitative and/or are attempting cash in on the cachet of an area they haven't previously stirred their arses to care about.
snowy_again
Slush
But at the same time it is feasible to be very active in the local Brixton community and have no awareness of either U75 or BB.
That’s all fair enough – maybe they are just paying lip service – I haven’t had your experience with this sort of thing so you are better placed to comment. (IMO in the case of Wahaca, the fact that they are providing employment and paying business rates to the Council is a pretty positive already).
I just think that the minimum wage should be raised to LLW levels. If electricity or the cost of tortillas goes up then businesses just have to lump it. If you can’t afford to pay people to live a decent life then you can’t afford to employ people IMO.
On the other hand if they indeed do only make £34,000 profit on average a restaurant then they are in a very different position to Cineworld and perhaps shouldn’t be the first up against the wall.
I just think that the minimum wage should be raised to LLW levels. If electricity or the cost of tortillas goes up then businesses just have to lump it. If you can’t afford to pay people to live a decent life then you can’t afford to employ people IMO.
On the other hand if they indeed do only make £34,000 profit on average a restaurant then they are in a very different position to Cineworld and perhaps shouldn’t be the first up against the wall.
editor
hiraethified
I think it would be nearly impossible to not to be aware of urban75 or B Buzz if you're
(a) capable of using Google and (b) have extensively researched Brady's and made claims about its heritage and history.
They'd be absolutely bonkers to.
If I was opening a business in Brixton that didn't fit your tightly defined template of acceptable, which is easy to work out, I wouldn't come near your websites. Why bother with the hassle
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Unlike that cynical oaf Winot who jumped to the knee jerk conclusion that you were cocking a sneer, I just assumed that you were providing the information on face value and thought it was a good idea. Seems I was wrong too.Who's been posting up "regular financial tit bits"? Why, no one of course! It's just you acting like a silly billy again!
Call me a crazy old cynic if you will, but when a business newly arrives in Brixton and immediately starts banging on about "the community," "social projects" and the area's "vibrant and ethical feel" then I think it's only right that people shouldn't take it all on face value.
And given their multi million turnover, the first question to ask is, "will they be paying the London Living Wage?"
Silly billy me indeed.
leanderman
Street Party: July 2
Post 891 makes the Editor's position quite clear!
''Wouldn't it simply be divine if the well heeled folks from the edgily named Brady's block in Brixton Square could toodle across to Wahaca and enjoy a Brady's Burrito? That would work on so many levels of nu-coolness''
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Rushy
basically a scrotum
The profit may take account of income being reinvested in new restaurants opening.
I was talking to a guy in the Charlotte Street one last week. I was abit tiddly but I seem to recall him saying that they have something like 60 people working all day in their kitchen there (they do a lot of the prep for the other sites).
editor
hiraethified
Where do you find this "tightly defined template of acceptable" on Brixton Buzz please?
Rushy
basically a scrotum
By only mentioning Brixton Buzz, are you conceding that a tightly defined template of acceptable exists on U75?
I'm so tired of your sneer->mock disbelief at reaction->denial->victimisation spiel. Leanderman quite clearly quoted your stance
editor
hiraethified
I have opinions and express them honestly, just like everyone else can here - and does.
Given the amount of disagreements and debate that goes on here, it would be absolutely stupid to declare there was any kind of 'tightly defined template of acceptable' about most matters.
Now, about Brixton Buzz....
editor
hiraethified
Actually, I was running with a joke that had already been posted, but don't let that spoilt your cod indignation.
Still, at least this time you managed more than a one-word moronic utterance though, so things are looking up.
It's got a different purpose obviously but it's still you
You are absolutely entitled to your views but sometimes you come across as a self appointed arbiter of what is acceptable and what isn't in Brixton
It's not hard to see why businesses don't always beat a path to this particular community
editor
hiraethified
Except it's not. There's loads of writers posting up stuff, all with their own opinions.
Now why don't you back up your accusations and show me where we've been so unbelievably beastly to Wahaca that their only option is to turn their back on the most popular Brixton website?
Can you do that please?
editor
hiraethified
For sure, and that's just fine. But it gets a bit tricky when brand Wahaca is loudly throwing around their 'community' credentials and bigging up how they 'design they business to suit the local area'.
In fact, that article says that they were aware of the reaction that they may get, so I would have thought the best way to handle that was to face it head on rather than just ignoring any elements of the community who aren't enthusiastically applauding their every move.
And this notion of urban75 being some sort of forbidding mono-thought clique is embarrassingly silly. People are free to express whatever they like here. My opinion carries no more weight that anyone else's and it should be what's being said that matters, not the tedious personal swipes.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
I agree that the sneering is toned down slightly on Brixton Buzz.
that is missing my point totally.
i haven't said what you are asking me to back up, my point was about your general tone towards businesses you don't like.
it's not worth the hassle of engaging with this website and increasingly Buzz is quite editorial.
fwiw I often agree with you but if i was opening a business i would give you a wide berth, it's an absolute lose/lose
editor
hiraethified
If you want opinion-less, pussy-footing advertorials I'm sure there's other sites who will serve up 'news' in that fashion or you.
If you've got a beef with what's been written on B Buzz, use the comments box there rather than sneering here.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
There you go. You specifically asked me whether I thought Buzz had a tightly defined template of acceptability. I answered. And then you - Editor and mod - tell me to fuck off and post it somewhere else.
My arse!
