Another closure

The new shop opens on May 11th

NEW STORES OPENING:
PENICUICK (sic)
Tuesday 11 May 2010

http://www.theoriginalfactoryshop.co.uk/locator.aspx




Now revised so opening on Saturday 8th May (though they still have the same spillung missteak!)

They seem to be a rapidly expanding and profitable company according to this article:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1238657_original_factory_shop_sets_500_stores_target

Nice big sign going up today.
Already the usual suspects are having a whinge about how "out of keeping" it is with the town centre.
Has nobody told them that the days when artisans sat outside their hovels making shoes and clothes and pots and pans by hand while the friendly blacksmith plied his manly trade at the end of the village are long gone. If they ever existed in the first place.
Turning Penicuik into an 18th century English idyllic village is not the way forward, people.

Hi

Anyone know whats happening to the Italian Deli/cafe that opened next to the tower chippie.?

The last few weeks the chairs have been on the tables in the window.

Someone said it has been taken over hence the change of name but i cant remember what it was called before or infact if the name has changed....

bumble wrote:

Hi

Anyone know whats happening to the Italian Deli/cafe that opened next to the tower chippie.?

The last few weeks the chairs have been on the tables in the window.

Someone said it has been taken over hence the change of name but i cant remember what it was called before or infact if the name has changed....

It seemed to change overnight a few weeks ago although I have yet to see it open under the new name of "Pia's Italian Deli" which suggests that it is owned by the same people as all the chip shops. A similar thing happened with the Olympia Cafe in the square which suddenly became McTalys. Who knows what is going on!

I noticed that McTalys the other day. At first I thought that McDonalds had opened up instead

Ingmans has now closed BUT we have the Indian takeaway by Tesco which should open soon then the kebab shop in the Square plus the Tesco petrol station to look foward to.
It certainly seems busier in the precinct now so let us hope this is a the start of an improvement in Penicuik's fortunes.

SamTyler wrote:

BUT we have the Indian takeaway by Tesco which should open soon then the kebab shop in the Square

I'm bewildered by these "down market" eating places and takeaways that keep opening in Penicuik.

I was in Le tout p'ti a few Saturdays ago. It was reasonably busy. When I went outside for a smoke, I glanced through the window of the Peni Deli. They had two customers. The Food Lodge had none. Same story at McTaly's. (In fact - though maybe I've just been there at the wrong times - I've never seen customers outnumbering staff at McTaly's). By the time I'd finished my smoke, McTaly's was closing for the night..... at 9.00pm. I'd have thought they'd hang on until the pubs shut. It makes no sense to me.

They've built a kitchen in the basement and installed a dumb waiter. The basement there, when I was last in it, was a cramped wee hole I could barely stand up in, so they must have lowered the floor. Then the floor, ceiling and walls would have had to be brought up to standards acceptable to the Fire Department and Health and Safety. We must be talking several tens of thousands of quid.

Opening a food outlet isn't like opening a normal shop where you can just redecorate, shove in a few shelves and away you go. Turning shop premises into places where you store, cook,sell and serve food costs a freaking fortune!

And yet, none of them ever seems to be busy.

So, what's going on?

I can only make sense of it one way....... but I'm not going to say it out loud.

rubbereye wrote:

So, what's going on?

I can only make sense of it one way....... But I'm not going to say it out loud.

I would guess that you are thinking what I have wondered too - perhaps? There is certainly no logic to it and I cannot see that any bank would lend them money for these projects, especially in the current circumstances.

I noticed today that the Countryside is due to re-open soon as the Copperbowl so good luck to them.
It would be nice if something was done about the derelict Papa McGills hut thing at Gowkley Moss as it hardly enhances the look of the place. The Callyr Inn is another eyesore which could do with being removed from the landscape.

Seems that Penicuik is proving to be a lucrative place for the companies who board up broken windows! I see that L'Amitie have had a window smashed and the former newsagents seem to have more boards up every week.

I see that the Blue Banana takeaway is for sale / to let this week along with the Roadhouse. I hope someone comes along to keep them going as we certainly don't need any more empty places in the town!