PERRANUTHNOE is a small village on the South Coast of Cornwall, just East of Marazion, there is a Car Park and sloping access to a safe sandy beach and the beachside Cabin Cafe. It has The Victoria Inn a superb multi award winning pub, which serves super food both lunchtimes & evenings, - a Church dating back as far as 1160. The Lynfield Centre which houses The Cowhouse Gallery, The Peppercorn Cafe and a hairdressers.
You can have your fill of cholesterol in Burger King and get flown to Treliske in the Air Ambulance in later life .... neat !
ReplyDeleteSo sad to see places like Subway in Causewayhead with queues when the lovely local cafes etc are struggling. Thought it must be a company with money who had taken it as they have had to get Historic Buildings Advisors in and I bet they will cost. The lease is £200,000 a year - again so I was told ! Sue
DeleteI don't think some of these comments are fair really. Not everyone is a junk food eating glutton machine. A lot of people do have self control. :D
ReplyDeleteA lot of the bakeries that I see in town have multiple shops/locations open. I would be hard pressed to be able to name an independent baker in Penzance anymore(not since the Oven Door literally closed its baking door ages ago).
Long gone are the days when business people were content making a small profit and ensuring job security for their employees, but I digress.
As far as local businesses are concerned: Subway and Burger King is a franchise (just like McDonalds, KFC, and Dominos). This means that a local person has stumped up the money for the business loan, or even provided their own personal cash without the help of the bank, to buy their own franchise. Yes, this does mean a yearly payment is made to each of these companies in order to maintain their membership in the franchise. However, I do believe the benefits of the jobs that they create outstrip the apparent negatives.
This,also, means that each person who buys into a franchise has to scout out their own location, provide the plans to Burger King along with a hefty check (cheque), and show them that they are responsible enough to maintain their branch of the restaurant to the standards required. This doesn't sound to me like an irresponsible person looking to kill our community. Running a business is a full time job, and usually, a life long dedication. I've personally seen quite a number of new shops open and suddenly close (usually within just a few months of opening).
Furthermore, the business size you choose to buy into dictates the amount that you pay to the corporation responsible for these businesses. As they say, you have to have money to make money and someone who is willing to sink the cash into the community by creating a new business is a good thing.
The local community will benefit from the money that will be generated from this business venture by providing jobs. So why are we complaining? Penzance has been declining for many years and it's high time that people accept that towns and villages do and will change.
A lot of the local cafes are expensive for something as simple as a sandwich and a drink.
DeleteI've been to Renaissance Cafe twice. The first time we couldn't even order food because all the 'chefs' were on break and could we come back later. In my opinion, that's not how you run a business.
The second time that we visited and actually could order food, the wait staff had a bit of an attitude and rarely checked in. When they did check in, it was because the manager was actually pushing them to do their job. So..when they food did arrive, it was pretty lack luster.
Two burgers and two drinks were excess of £25. That's not value for money.
Sure, this could be a complaint that should be directed directly to the Cafe, but it's been my experience that most provide the same kinds of service.
Perhaps Perranlady would be happy if another pasty shop opened its doors to the weary Penzance locals, or maybe another hair salon? Variety as they say, is the spice of life and I for one would gladly welcome Burger King with open arms should they open in the Penzance high street.
ReplyDeleteLet’s talk for a moment about the Penzance high street in its current incarnation. As I have already mentioned, there are hair salons as far as the eye can see! Fancy a pasty? No problem, just close your eyes and walk blindly in any direction with your mouth open and I can almost guarantee within a couple of minutes you will be feasting on a pastry parcel full of tasty loveliness.
Who would possibly want a cholesterol laden burger from Burger King? Well, I would quite like one once in a while, because when deciding what form the cholesterol and calories I am about to put into my body take, it would be nice to have something other than a Pasty (which is certainly not a healthy option). Don’t get me wrong, I do love a pasty!
Maybe Perranlady would rather another charity shop opened in the former Currys premises. Yes, another charity shop! Why not indeed, as the recently opened Air Ambulance furniture shop really adds something to the look of the store fronts in Market jew Street. In fact, I was recently astounded by the sight of a nicely soiled mattress and bed set proudly displayed in the aforementioned shop window. Where’s my wallet!!
But, I digress… This blog post is about the possibility of a Burger King opening in our failing high street. It would bring jobs to our area, an alternative to the usual food fare and it would rejuvenate a tatty decomposing building into something that actually looks like a proper business is running it. What’s not to like?
Oh.. I know what it is, Burger King isn’t a local company or business. Well, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but there isn’t a lot of money in the local area now is there!
So, In my humble opinion as a local Penzance resident, Burger King is JUST what Penzance needs. A proper business with proper money willing to invest in our little town. Might I suggest that those who aren't keen on burgers patronise one of the many fine café's in the area. I'll be savouring that burger with fries once in a while and I'll enjoy having been able to buy it in my home town!
And by the way Anonymous, people do like sandwiches you know! If Subway has queues maybe they are doing something right and maybe the local cafes would be better off taking note!
No idea where these very long overly worded comments have suddenly appeared - for goodness sake the original post was 2nd August - I moved on a long time ago !
ReplyDeleteI think that the Currys shop was in fact of far more use, especially to the elderly folk who travel on the bus - I know because my son worked there and many were upset at it closing.
As for burgers - I've never had one in my life and don't expect that fact to change - I merely point out that the more of the Burger King/Subway/Costa Coffee you get in Penzance, then the character of the town is lost - Cities have already become like this - all look the same - It's nice to be different ! Must admit that our quest for somewhere to have an evening meal in Pz has been a disastrous failure - with the standard of service being truly awful same as the letter in the Cornishman last week. - so we'll save up and go to The Victoria again. With two superb cafes and an award winning gastro pub perhaps I am somewhat spoiled in Perranuthnoe.
I do agree with you Perranlady, it is nice to be different! However, I do believe that it has to be better to have a tidy store front than non at all... empty shops look far worse!
DeleteThe real problem here is that there is no incentive for new businesses to set up shop, and those that are brave enough go about it completely wrong (and thus end up closing their doors prematurely).
Another point I completely agree with you on is the quality of restaurants in the area. My wife and I don't drink and so pubs are not where we want to go for a nice evening meal. Where does that leave us? Vastly over priced restaurants that intimidate you before you even enter the premises with their menus promising locally caught seafood at a price that is quite frankly, insulting! I can see Newlyn from here, does the fish really need to be quite so expensive?
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to pay good money for good food and attentive service but I refuse to patronise a restaurant that charges the earth because it has a minimalistic logo and a reality distortion field surrounding the premises.
We hope for a nice people friendly restaurant in Penzance one day!