Hootananny pub (formerly Hobgoblin)

[Ol Nick]

I wish they'd taken over Brady's that'd be a larf - pipes and drums in the centre of Brixton

If they'd done that you wouldn't have heard a single voice of complaint. But these people want to close down the George Canning, which is quite different to reopening Brady's.

 

[hipipol]

"These people want to close down the George Canning"
That happened years ago chief, since when it has gradually been crumbling.
Its the old saying, use it or lose it - the Hob has not been making the wedge, the Hob -its already part of chain you know - in New Cross is packed most nights, dont know about the one in Forrest Hill, how its doing, but it used to do a very good trade too.
A lot of people on here are lamenting about a place they havent been in for ages Tarannau and L Queen are definate regulars I know ( I also think that secretly Ts looking forward to getting his kilt on ) - its a lovely building and a great space but it needed more cash over the bar.
This isn't just happening in Brixton, all over ever business is being driven to fuck to produce "returns", its benchmarked against alternative uses and if it aint enough its closed.
People have got out of the habit of going to the pub, even they are not specifically "going out" for the night they end up drinkling at home - the off trade, esp the supermarkets, really is killing the local.
I suspect for all the Highlander pomp of the new owners they are pragmatic types, they have a model that works in Inverness, think they'll find it hard to apply here and will change to fit
I keep thinking about that old song that refers to the Four and Twenty Virgins who come down from Inverness - I suspect these peeps are vigins to the bear pit that the Brixtonites pub loyalty, but will very soon wise up and be selling their arses on Brixton Hill for a rock and a bag of chips

 

[lizardqueen]

Well no, I'd imagine it's still going to be a pub in the daytime and therefore the real regulars will be recognised and not charged, much the same as the Windmill operates

I've just e-mailed hootenanny and apparently there is no door charge unless a high profile band is playing.

So thats better than I had originally thought. Still don't think I'll be going there though

 

[lizardqueen]

Tarannau and L Queen are definate regulars I know ( I also think that secretly Ts looking forward to getting his kilt on )

Ha ha! My camera is poised and ready

 

[Wolveryeti]

I don't live in Brixton, but my heart goes out to anyone who has to put up with a tartan-themed pub called Hootananny's.

 

[mwareing1]

Oh my god....how funny...Is that true!! Brilliant...Well it was looking a bit of a dump from the outside........I wonder if they will do Kali nights......Its probably going to be like that Irish bar in Herne Hill.

 

[lizardqueen]

isn't kali the hindu god of death?!

I hope it isn't like the irish bar in herne hill....thats been shut down and turned into a gastro pub!!

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Its probably going to be like that Irish bar in Herne Hill.

Not too likely - it doesn't exist any more.

 

[hipipol]

Kilted Kali?

Have seen many pics, statues, etc of Kali Mati with her necklace made of mens skulls, and she often has cloth round her thighs, but it looks rather more like a tucked up Dhoti, and I have never seen her sporting a Sporran
Still the idea of goats etc being slaughtered iforsacrifice in the front yard by crowds of kilted devotees conjures an image far removed form the Scottish Theme Pub terror that currently exercises the Brixtonite heart.......


Carrying that idea forward there could be brisk business to be done with a large Shiva Lingam of perhaps a Parvati Yoni out from for a bit of Milk Pouring Action

LQ Shes Goddess of Destruction and Rebirth, all that lives dying and being reborn, something old has to go for the new to replace it. Dont quite as dredful as just death

 

[editor]

"These people want to close down the George Canning"
That happened years ago chief, since when it has gradually been crumbling.
Its the old saying, use it or lose it - the Hob has not been making the wedge, the Hob -its already part of chain you know - in New Cross is packed most nights, dont know about the one in Forrest Hill, how its doing, but it used to do a very good trade too.

Well, that's the bottom line. If you don't support your local you can't complain when it gets closed down or turns into a theme park boozer or part of some anonymous family-friendly chain.

I certainly do my bit for my local!

 

[lizardqueen]

LQ Shes Goddess of Destruction and Rebirth, all that lives dying and being reborn, something old has to go for the new to replace it. Dont quite as dredful as just death

Hmmm, sadly appropriate in these circumstances then

Although I love the idea of a sporren clad goddess. Now that would be brixton randomness at its best

 

[tarannau]

Well, that's the bottom line. If you don't support your local you can't complain when it gets closed down or turns into a theme park boozer or part of some anonymous family-friendly chain.

I certainly do my bit for my local!

But we do support our local and whilst it's not as busy as it used to be, it's far from losing money as well. It still makes money by all accounts, albeit it's hardly the jewel in a troubled chain.

Sadly it's not enough to support your local and hope it doesn't turn into a theme pub. Reasonable profitability and loyal customers aren't always enough to stop someone else coming in with a 'brilliant' idea, like a Scottish theme bar for example. Ganleys was way more profitable than the Brockwell recently, with a surprisingly diverse and large clientele, but that wasn't enough to stop someone seeing it as potentially more profitable as part of an upmarket gastropub chain.

Fortunately the Albert's size, central Brixton location and the fact that it's owned by Greene King, one of the more traditional pub operators give it some protection. But even that may not be enough in the longer term - the traditional local boozer template's nearly always going to struggle in pure profitability terms against other options, gastropub or pseudo-restaurant included.

 

[spanglechick]

Sadly it's not enough to support your local and hope it doesn't turn into a theme pub. Reasonable profitability and loyal customers aren't always enough to stop someone else coming in with a 'brilliant' idea, like a Scottish theme bar for example. Ganleys was way more profitable than the Brockwell recently, with a surprisingly diverse and large clientele, but that wasn't enough to stop someone seeing it as potentially more profitable as part of an upmarket gastropub chain.
.

true enough - Ganleys was absolutely rammed when the football/rugby/other sports were on. Too full to wedge in the door, sometimes. The rest of the time it was as busy as any other pub i know in the area. It must've been turning a massive profit.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

I totally agree with this. I really understand why locals of their pub are gutted it's closing - who's fault is that?

"These people want to close down the George Canning"
That happened years ago chief, since when it has gradually been crumbling.
Its the old saying, use it or lose it - the Hob has not been making the wedge...

Well, that's the bottom line. If you don't support your local you can't complain when it gets closed down or turns into a theme park boozer or part of some anonymous family-friendly chain.

I certainly do my bit for my local!

This isn't true, it's nothing to do with the locals not using it - the Hob does make money now. Just the brewery has decided to sell a 2 year lease to Hootananny. People have been using the pub loads...that's why we're so annoyed its closing. It's all the brewery's fault But I don't even know who the brewery are (And by the way, i'm pretty it's not part of the "Hobgoblin" chain any more, tho i might be wrong...)

Anyway, a little bird told me the other day that the deal actually hasn't been signed yet, despite their website etc....

Last night tomorrow. Get yourselves down there people, it might be your last ever chance!

 

[teuchter]

This isn't true, it's nothing to do with the locals not using it - the Hob does make money now. Just the brewery has decided to sell a 2 year lease to Hootananny.

Presumably it can't be making very much money. Otherwise they wouldn't want to lease it to someone else, would they?

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Presumably it can't be making very much money. Otherwise they wouldn't want to lease it to someone else, would they?

What that shows is only that the people behind the new bar are prepared to commit to a more expensive lease. What it doesn't show is that the new place will actually make any more money than the Hob when it actually starts running.

 

[teuchter]

What that shows is only that the people behind the new bar are prepared to commit to a more expensive lease. What it doesn't show is that the new place will actually make any more money than the Hob when it actually starts running.

Well, it shows that they believe it will make more money. Enough to risk a substantial amount of their cash on it.

They might be right or they might be wrong. Only time will tell. That's business, innit.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Well yeah, that's fairly obvious.

The point is that a pub doesn't have to be losing money, or not doing well, in order to end up having this happen. If someone turns up with the money then that's what happens.

As has already been mentioned, Ganley's in Herne Hill is the most obvious example. There's no way it wasn't doing well but the new owners had the money.

 

[teuchter]

Well yeah, that's fairly obvious.

The point is that a pub doesn't have to be losing money, or not doing well, in order to end up having this happen. If someone turns up with the money then that's what happens.

OK. But it depends on your definition of doing "well" ... the pub can still be making a profit but it's all relative to what it could potentially be making. If I'm the owner of the building and I'm raking in a zillion pounds a year in rent, then that's fine, but it's not that great if I know I could be making two zillion pounds.

The only way to stop this happening (and I agree there is a case for trying to keep regular local pubs open) would be to subsidise such pubs or impose some kind of planning/license conditions on the buildings that would be very specific about the kind of use permitted.

I don't think it's really fair to blame the owners of the building, or the new licensees. Might be something in blaming the previous licensees for running it down through incompetence, if that is what has happened, rather than simple market economics taking their toll.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Yeah I agree with all of that basically.

I hate what I see happening, and have a good moan about it on here, but there's certainly no easy way to stop it.

 

[milesy]

Last night tomorrow. Get yourselves down there people, it might be your last ever chance!

i'll be there, as will the missus. see you later!

 

[wurlycurly]

Well yeah, that's fairly obvious.

The point is that a pub doesn't have to be losing money, or not doing well, in order to end up having this happen. If someone turns up with the money then that's what happens.

As has already been mentioned, Ganley's in Herne Hill is the most obvious example. There's no way it wasn't doing well but the new owners had the money.

Ganley's was refurbished specifically because it wasn't making enough profit (it still isn't post-makeover). When you went in there on a footie night it was absolutely packed, but as soon as the full-time whistle went it was tumbleweed time, and most of those watching weren't even drinking. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Scot but am against the absurd Scottish thing in the Hob and was also against the gentrification of Ganley's, but pubs of that size aren't going to keep ticking along with a few punters slowly sipping pints in the evening, patrticularly when they're largely empty during the day. The Hob is deserted in winter during the daytime, and pub attendances are bound to fall post-smoking ban when the weather's cold. If I can still get a beer in either place in two years' time I'll be more than happy regardless of whether they're gentrified, tartanised or whatever. Beats turning them into flats

 

[bang]

I went there last Friday and it was completely dead - around 10pm, the music part was open but there can't have been more than 10 people in there..
..have some wikkid memories of post-cannabis festy misbehaviour in there but if it's regularly as dead as it was on Friday then I am not surprised it's closing..

 

[lizardqueen]

Sadly I think everyone has given up on the place since they announced they were closing...a lot of people have already started drinking elsewhere

Should be more lively tonight though (hopefully!)

 

[tarannau]

Ah well. It's the Hob's official send off night tonight, before it changes hands next Thursday. Bring yourself down for the last rites of this venerable institution. The usual assortment of characters and dribbling locals, spread from pool table to smoky beer garden, nodding to their heads to a mix of tunes. Bring yourself down and pay your last respects. We'll be holding court and raising glasses again.

And then it's down to become the scottish branded bar of ridiculous national stereotypes. Staff wearing kilts, more tartan than you can shake a stick at, bagpipes, fiddles and even some numpty dressed as a ghost giving us a rendition of some sodding poetry(Burns no doubt). You couldn't make it up. It's cutting edge apparently, rather than desperately twee.

Still, good to know that their proud Highland branding doesn't extend to the kitchen, where there'll be serving good old Scottish Thai food, which tells you all you need to do about the bankruptcy and contrived nature of this silly concept.

Drink today. For those silly playing at Highlander fools will be us in a week or two. Until then, come and join us for a last drink in one of Brixton's most diverse boozers. All tribes welcome - just leave the tartan at home.

 

[Blagsta]

I may come down for a couple, for old time's sake.

 

[Mr Retro]

Ganley's was refurbished specifically because it wasn't making enough profit (it still isn't post-makeover).

How do you know that though? Were/are you involved with the premises?

 

[wurlycurly]

How do you know that though? Were/are you involved with the premises?

Ganley's was my regular for years prior to the refit. The subject was regularly discussed between punters/landlord/bar staff

 

[Mr Retro]

Ganley's was my regular for years prior to the refit. The subject was regularly discussed between punters/landlord/bar staff

My post looks like I was challenging you - I wasn't. Just wondering because "word" was the Irish owner sold up for no other reason than he wanted to. Miss him, he was horse racing mad.

 

[editor]

Well, I was there for the send off!