Starbucks in Dorking - It's good
I would be all for a Starbucks opening in Dorking. I am sick of empty units littered throughout the High Street and St Martins Walk - Beggars can't be choosers!
posted by The Cockerel @ 11:21 PM
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
About Me
- Name: The Cockerel
- Location: Dorking, Surrey, United Kingdom
This Blog covers many current issues and topics which might be of interest to anyone living in the town.
Previous Posts
- London Road Lights - Taken out!
- Woolworths smash and grab!
- 'Lights on' at Pump Corner
- Interesting visitor post on the Dorking Blog
- The East of the Dorking High Street
- Vincent Lane, Dorking and other roads!
- A tribute to the 'Chicks'
- Costa Coffee, Dorking
- The Bulls Head - Saturday Night
- The current state of Dorking - 19 shops vacant!
6 Comments:
Starbucks has to be a good thing for Dorking, what on earth are some of the contributors on here thinking of!! the past comment that Starbucks is going to under cut the independents is laughable, everyone knows you need a small mortgage to afford a coffee in Starbucks, the quality of their coffee isn't anything spectacular and there is no personal service that an independent trader CAN offer you, if the independent coffee shops can't cope with that they're better off not being in business. Come on now everyone think rationally and welcome Starbucks as a contributor to Dorking retail sector. Otherwise that massive shop is going to sit empty for another decade!!
The town looks bloody awful at the moment. It is look very tired and rundown - the pavements are covered in grease, vomit and weeds. The shops generally look rundown and I hate to hazard a guess at what the vacancy rate is in terms of empty shop units! Apparently, there are more shops to close in the very near future ie. a ladies clothing shop is closing down, another restaurant is due to close as well as one of the sandwich shops. Anyone, what to take a guess at the ones are due to close?
As for Starbucks, I don't think this coffee shop will help revitalise Dorking. Dorking has lost of independent shops this year - ie. The Linen Shoppe, Music4U and a host of others. In its place, along has come another charity shop, Costa Coffee and The Lemon Tree. This is terribly sad, as the landlords are only after the chain who can afford their extortant rent demands! Town Centre Management are no-where to be seen. They are obviously massaging the vacancy rates and seem to have given up promoting the town. In my opinion, Adrian White (he owns Denbies and Biwater) should step in to keep the town alive. At the moment, Dorking is on life support and is one step away from death!
Also seen on the Martin Brown website www.martin-brown.uk.com, under the commercial heading, that Robert Barclay Photography has also just gone on the market. The annual rent is a whopping £23,950 for a 510 square foot shop plus a first floor and a basement. This does not obviously include business rates, utilities and paying your staff. No wonder Dorking is in a deep recession with outrageous rents and landlords who would rather have a unit sit empty that come down to a realistic level of rent. ~AP~
Talking about restaurants closing, overnight all activity has stopped in the 'just opened' italian restaurant 'Gusto'. Can anyone fill me in? Also have seen a for sale board above Age of Elegance. Are they going also.
Yes...Gusto has stopped trading. After all the fanfare when it first opened, it really was just a very average Italian which could not compete with the likes of Cafe Rialto and Viva. As for Age of Elegence, this shop is also on the market with Martin Brown. Gradually, the stock has been dwindling down in this shop and will be missed when it disappears from the High Street. As it has been said numerous times before, Dorking is dying and nobody in the Council, Chamber of Commerce, Town Centre Management etc. seems to care and admit that there is a crisis in our shopping centre.
Walked by Pump Corner and South Street and noticed yet another independent shop is closing -- Human Nature, which is opposite The Bulls Head and next to the St. Catherines Hospice charity shop. This is an absolute scandal, that we are losing so many independent shops in Dorking! Have heard that Jane Elliot is closing in the very near future. That is the independent ladies clothing / shoe shop that is down the eastern end of town whose frontage is in pink. Apparently, they have been suffering big time from the slowdown in Dorking and town centre management has been no help at all.
Anyone else notice that Burger King has disappeared from the side of the Little Chef on the Reigate Road. Yes, I know it was really expensive but, at least the whopper, fries etc. were cooked while you were waiting rather than sitting under the hot plate for hours!! Does that mean that BK might attempt to get into the town centre? It is very evident to see that KFC, Subway, the kebab shop etc. attract a huge share of the food / takeaway market in Dorking.
DORKING Dan
That is a great shame to hear J. E. is closing does that mean they are going to close both shops? if so that will be another huge blow to that side of the high st. Also Human nature i had never been in there and actually don't know what they sell, nevertheless it is still a shame. cant say i am the slightest bit bothered about B.K. i went in there once and that appearance of the staff was shocking, absolutely filthy shirt, hair everywhere and just general messing around by the staff, in my opinion, they deserve to close.
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