Your Gazette
Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting 'WILTS GAZETTE' to 80360 or email »
Wetherspoon eyes up town centre bar
11:24am Thursday 4th September 2008
Bargain price pub chain J D Wetherspoon has set its eyes on opening a new venue in the heart of Chippenham.
Representatives for the company have already looked at Bar Reva, in Borough Parade, which is currently up for sale.
The chain recently opened the Silk Mercer in Devizes after a six-year wrangle and a £1.6million conversion of a former ladies' clothes shop.
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "We are very keen to break into Chippenham and we have already been to look around this venue.
"At this stage we are just looking through the particulars on the pub. This is as far as we have come but watch this space."
The chain, which has 692 pubs in the UK, has also expressed an interest in the H M Furniture store in Church Street, Calne.
The news that the pub giant is vying for a spot in Chippenham town centre has brought mixed reactions from other bar and restaurant owners.
Sandie Webb, who owns Revolutions on New Road, said: "To be quite frank they are very different to us with a different formula. They have been saying they have wanted to come to Chippenham for a number of years now.
"Back in 2000 they were keen to transform an old bank on the High Street but that never came to fruition."
Others have said it will drag the whole atmosphere of the town down.
One town centre landlord, who wished to remain nameless, said: "This is bad news for every pub in the town and I can see a lot more trouble for the police and door staff.
"The company sells alcohol so cheaply that it will undercut everyone's prices and that is just unfair."
Chippenham Chamber of Commerce president Adrian Whitbread said he had not heard of the planned move.
He said: "All I can really say is that I personally think J D Wetherspoon is a reputable chain and so this is good news for the town centre of Chippenham."
The company will make a decision on Bar Reva in the next few months.
Your Say YourGazette
chipper, chippenham says...
12:53pm Thu 4 Sep 08
Others have said it will drag the whole atmosphere of the town down.
No - only in the places that have been overcharging us for drinks for years.
The company sells alcohol so cheaply that it will undercut everyone's prices and that is just unfair.
No more unfair than the over-inflated prices we've paid for too long.
Wetherspoons will also give us a pub with a good choice of ever-changing Real Ales, something that you struggle to find if you visit the majority of pubs in Chippenham.
Bring it on, the sooner the better :)
PIPSTER, CHIPPENHAM says...
1:04pm Thu 4 Sep 08
chipper wrote:
Others have said it will drag the whole atmosphere of the town down.No - only in the places that have been overcharging us for drinks for years.The company sells alcohol so cheaply that it will undercut everyone's prices and that is just unfair.No more unfair than the over-inflated prices we've paid for too long. Wetherspoons will also give us a pub with a good choice of ever-changing Real Ales, something that you struggle to find if you visit the majority of pubs in Chippenham. Bring it on, the sooner the better :)
The company sells alcohol so cheaply that it will undercut everyone's prices and that is just unfair.
How can competition be unfair? IF the other town pubs want more customers then they should stop charging stupid prices.
Come on Wetherspoons you more than welcome & will make a killing.
Good food, great real ales & great prices.
dem_x, Chippenham says...
1:06pm Thu 4 Sep 08
PIPSTER, CHIPPENHAM says...
1:17pm Thu 4 Sep 08
mc, Bath says...
2:17pm Thu 4 Sep 08
"Food" - hmmm...
clarence81, Chippenham says...
4:23pm Thu 4 Sep 08
brian, chippenham says...
5:07pm Thu 4 Sep 08
I am looking forward to good local real ales in reasonable surroundings and at good prices.
The existing local pubs offer little in the way of real ales, are overpriced and often blast out music
Wetherspoons will offer some thing different to the town for all age groups and I am sure they will be very successful
Tax Payer, Chippenham says...
9:37pm Thu 4 Sep 08
posh-bird, chippenham says...
11:14pm Thu 4 Sep 08
I've been saying for months it was an ideal spot for a wetherspoons, must admit if I had the funds I would love to have done something similar.
PIPSTER, CHIPPENHAM says...
8:29am Fri 5 Sep 08
moonraker1, chippenham says...
11:40am Fri 5 Sep 08
PIPSTER, CHIPPENHAM says...
12:03pm Fri 5 Sep 08
dem_x, Chippenham says...
1:11pm Fri 5 Sep 08
moonraker1 wrote:Shut up.
why not make the most of this building, Coffee Bar and all that by night, during the day it can be charity shop, in the afternoons a shoe shop. we will all be happy then.
Philippa, Devizes says...
4:25pm Fri 5 Sep 08
lordbuckethead, chippenham says...
10:57am Sat 6 Sep 08
Does no-one in Chippenham understand irony?!
Most of us do, but not dim_x
TC, Chippenham says...
5:48pm Sat 6 Sep 08
Philippa wrote:Irony tends to need to have a certain wit content. I'll leave it at that.
Does no-one in Chippenham understand irony?!
As for JDW - I didn't know they offered real ales so I guess that's a plus; the food however, will be awful, please don't try and convince anyone that pub chain food is anything other than rubbish.
Grumpy, Chippenham says...
11:19pm Sat 6 Sep 08
TC, Chippenham says...
9:52am Sun 7 Sep 08
donteventhinkit, Corsham says...
10:50am Sun 7 Sep 08
As for food well i know someone who works in a weatherspoons kitchen who says everything comes in prepacked vacume sealed and all they do is open and microwave the only things actually cooked are steaks and chicken thats why its reasonably priced food but its hardly the best in the world. Still it is about time they did something with that place its been on the market for ages but then if you see the price tag and get the details with a tiny bit of business sense you can understand why!
walter, wilshur says...
5:48am Mon 8 Sep 08
cindy, darkest Corsham says...
7:16am Mon 8 Sep 08
walter wrote:That's true for most towns around here Walter. Most (not all) of the men are just a load of beer-swilling layabouts. Pity Chippenham is unlikely to have an earthquake or a sunami.
So many comments on this matter, you'd almost think that people in Chippenham have nothing to do but go into pubs. Sad.
lordbuckethead, chippenham says...
12:40pm Tue 9 Sep 08
Most (not all) of the men are just a load of beer-swilling layabouts.
Thats abit like me saying "Most of (not all) of the women in Chippenham are just a load of ****"
Slight generalisation?
I think what you mean is 'most of the men you meet in pubs drink (maybe too much) beer'
Perhaps you should start hanging round with different men?
Grumpy, Chippenham says...
7:38pm Fri 12 Sep 08
Alot of places use pre prepared food which is easily cooked there is nothing new there.
As for beer prices there is more than 10p a pint profit for the landlord unless he is doing something rather strange!!!
Weatherspoons will use bulk buying power to get it cheaper and that allows a cheaper price whilst still making a decent profit.
The town needs some more modern bars there may be many pubs but quite a few are a little run down and out dated and in some cases are more for underage drinkers.
The brunels popularity shows that the modern bar is where people want to be.
Pubs need to move with the times and become more user friendly for a older and female market which wants a different experience to what we had 20 years ago
Your sayYourGazette
Add your comment
Register for a FREE The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.
Please register now or sign in below to continue.
Wetherspoon has expressed an interest in Bar Reva in Borough Parade
In this section
- Chippenham's lights fantastic
- Woman leapt to death from M4 bridge
- Hollywood star films in Wiltshire
- TARDIS up for sale in Wiltshire
- Marlborough school has wow factor for careers advice
- Awards for Wiltshire lifesavers
- Litter campaign play makes its debut at Wiltshire school
- Joy as long lost moggy returns home
- Calne group's £1,000 boost for hospital
- Corsham widower admits underage sex charges
Sponsored Links
Sports round-up
'Shape up or ship out' warns Pewsey Vale boss
Pewsey Vale travel to Trowbridge Town this weekend and joint manager Steve Wootton has told his players to shape up or ship out in an effort to improve their stuttering form.
Chippenham Town 1, Hitchin Town 1
It had been billed as a must win game but Chippenham will settle for a point after an entertaining end-to-end game at Hardenhuish Park.
Bristol Rovers 2 Swindon Town 2
Chris Lines struck an injury-time equaliser to grab a share of the spoils for Bristol Rovers in Town's 2-2 draw at the Memorial Stadium.
Corr could replace suspended Cox for Swindon Town at Rovers
The loss of suspended top scorer Barry Cox will give Dave Byrne food for thought as he ponders his team for Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
England outclassed by Springboks
Five years to the day after Martin Johnson lifted the World Cup, South Africa served his England team a punishing reminder just how far they are from reaching those heights again.
West Wilts hosts showdown
West Wilts Equestrian Centre has again been chosen as a venue for the 2009 JAS Championships qualifiers, which get under way in January.
Rovers' hit man doesn't scare us says Swindon Town's Morrison
Swindon Town's Sean Morrison has raised the temperature on tomorrow’s derby clash with Bristol Rovers by claiming there are better strikers in League One than Pirates front man Rickie Lambert.
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
mc, Bath says...
12:18pm Thu 4 Sep 08