A Cafe At The Oval?

[linzibinzi]

do you think having a cafe at the oval is a good idea?

[Keith Scantlebury]

do you think having a cafe at the oval is a good idea?

Absoloutely, Linzi , just like the ones in Amsterdam, when you leave, you really do feel refreshed. Seriously though, there was a cafe of some sorts in the 70's it didn't last 5 mins as far as I remember.

[sizsells]

do you think having a cafe at the oval is a good idea?

What,s more to the point Linzi is........... DO YOU ?

I have always thought there are three criteria to opening up a new business location, location, location.

[Merlin]

which ones you on about Keith the ones you have a good time in, or, the ones you just think you had a good time in? :dribble:

[Keith Scantlebury]

which ones you on about Keith the ones you have a good time in, or, the ones you just think you had a good time in? :dribble:

Both of course, one stop satisfies all, that way all bases are covered. But if the latter is any good, you could be tricked into thinking you have enjoyed the former

I would just like to take this oppotunity to state that I do not condone the use of any recreational substances [legally or otherwise] nor would I enter a house of ill repute, without the permission of the Mrs that is. All knowledge of the aforesaid activities is purely the result of hearsay.

[Merlin]

hearsay hearsay errr I mean Here! Here! :dribble:

[Monsta®]

do you think having a cafe at the oval is a good idea?

there was one there about 2 years ago lasted two months then closed because no one used it! it is the oval most people down there are unemployed or chav's (sorry but its true!) so unless your offering it for free you'll have little business!

[sizsells]

there was one there about 2 years ago lasted two months then closed because no one used it! it is the oval most people down there are unemployed or chav's (sorry but its true!) so unless your offering it for free you'll have little business!

I was,nt as blunt as Monsta but I agree... remember location location location

[Andy Brown]

there was one there about 2 years ago lasted two months then closed because no one used it! it is the oval most people down there are unemployed or chav's (sorry but its true!) so unless your offering it for free you'll have little business!

But this then opens the argument, 'There's nowt to do in Bedlington'. Really we need a voice from the people who are crying out for something to do and let the council know what is wanted.

[linzibinzi]

the place that was open two yrs ago was an italian sandwich shop and the guy was an idiot. I think there may be the market for a small cafe. nothing too fancy tho. i live near the oval and all we have there is a corner convenience store,indian takeaway, small sandwich shop, piano repair shop and a hairdressers. to be honest its crap. maybe something for the teens would be better but we have been trying for years to gt a leisure centre or similar and all we got was a pile of soil which was then shaped for a bmx track. If not a cafe then what??

[Keith Scantlebury]

the place that was open two yrs ago was an italian sandwich shop and the guy was an idiot. I think there may be the market for a small cafe. nothing too fancy tho. i live near the oval and all we have there is a corner convenience store,indian takeaway, small sandwich shop, piano repair shop and a hairdressers. to be honest its crap. maybe something for the teens would be better but we have been trying for years to gt a leisure centre or similar and all we got was a pile of soil which was then shaped for a bmx track. If not a cafe then what??

Who would use use a cafe at the oval ? there is nothing at the oval to attract anyone there to use a cafe!! You cannot tell me people are going to go to the oval specially for a coffee and a bun, a cafe needs to be in a place which brimming with activity already. You ask, "if not a cafe, then what??" may I suggest a bulldozer. Before you suggest otherwise I grew up near the oval and remember how it was throughout the 60's and 70's. You say maybe something for the teens, The old clinic at the Oval, is that not a youth club? my 15 and 13 year old daughters go there 3 or 4 times a week. The Oval used to be a vibrant little community [Pete will certainly confirm that], the bulldozer that I suggested earlier is not a bad idea, either knock the place down and build a communty hall / leisure center or build more homes in keeping with the ones that have replaced the airey houses. The last thing that is needed at the Oval is another failed ,boarded up buisness that was started by someone with all the right intentions, as I believe you genuinely do. I could not begin to tell you how many different businesses have operated in the Oval since it was built in the 50's Is it not time for it to have a complete re-vamp?

[Monsta®]

Who would use use a cafe at the oval ? there is nothing at the oval to attract anyone there to use a cafe!! You cannot tell me people are going to go to the oval specially for a coffee and a bun, a cafe needs to be in a place which brimming with activity already. You ask, "if not a cafe, then what??" may I suggest a bulldozer. Before you suggest otherwise I grew up near the oval and remember how it was throughout the 60's and 70's. You say maybe something for the teens, The old clinic at the Oval, is that not a youth club? my 15 and 13 year old daughters go there 3 or 4 times a week. The Oval used to be a vibrant little community [Pete will certainly confirm that], the bulldozer that I suggested earlier is not a bad idea, either knock the place down and build a communty hall / leisure center or build more homes in keeping with the ones that have replaced the airey houses. The last thing that is needed at the Oval is another failed ,boarded up buisness that was started by someone with all the right intentions, as I believe you genuinely do. I could not begin to tell you how many different businesses have operated in the Oval since it was built in the 50's Is it not time for it to have a complete re-vamp?

couldn't agree more! its been crying out for a revamp before dennis's shut down! they tried putting seats and stuff there but people complianed because the kids sat on them! its definitly still stuck in the fifties. anyway theres busy bees and a cafe at sure start! far to much competition to start with!

[Malcolm Robinson]

the place that was open two yrs ago was an italian sandwich shop and the guy was an idiot. I think there may be the market for a small cafe. nothing too fancy tho. i live near the oval and all we have there is a corner convenience store,indian takeaway, small sandwich shop, piano repair shop and a hairdressers. to be honest its crap. maybe something for the teens would be better but we have been trying for years to gt a leisure centre or similar and all we got was a pile of soil which was then shaped for a bmx track. If not a cafe then what??

Linzibinzi,

Nothing wrong with a bit of entrepreneurial flair, in fact it is exactly what is needed! If you are thinking about opening a small business with wide market appeal you need to get out and ask people on the street what they think is missing and what they would support in terms of them actually using it with their cash! If you are talking about doing it with a target clientele, like teenagers, you have to go and ask them what they want and think about just how much disposable income this group might have. You can't underestimate the location neither, what works in one place might not in another.

Do your market research, write a realistic business plan, include an honest SWOT analysis and then get someone independent to look it over for you,

and genuinely best of luck to you.

[Malcolm Robinson]

But this then opens the argument, 'There's nowt to do in Bedlington'. Really we need a voice from the people who are crying out for something to do and let the council know what is wanted.

Andy,

I think this depends on what you are talking about. If we are talking about the need for a business opening then council have a role to play but not in the actual opening up of a business. I think this is a common misconception and one a lot of people hereabouts assume. The council's role is in making the infrastructure attractive for private sector investment not in taking over the mantel of the business sector. We don't live in a communist state. Without the right sort of public investment our local economy, even county wide, has been left to wither and we end up with a 50% reliance on public sector for employment and high unemployment, that's unsustainable but at last it has been recognised.

Anyone interested in this stuff look at ''Northumberland Economic Strategy (Final 2010-2015)'' here:

http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5712#0

If you are talking more generally along the lines of some sort of Leisure facility then I am completely with you on this. Being the wallet for these facilities in neighbouring towns and never having one within our boundary is really inexcusable and anyone associated with WDC in its heydays, and I am talking Bedlington WDC councillors, is to blame! Having said that it would have to be with the proviso that it was actively managed so as not to be a drain on local taxpayers, but then that is something so foreign to councils whose only response to tightening budgets is to increase payments and cut services.

[mercuryg]

piano repair shop ......

How, pray, does a piano repair shop exist there? I mean, it's not as if the town has a surfeit of Baby Grands needing fixing.....

[Keith Scantlebury]

How, pray, does a piano repair shop exist there? I mean, it's not as if the town has a surfeit of Baby Grands needing fixing.....

I would have thought anyone having a piano repair/tuning business most of their work would be in situ ie onsite The shop in the Oval would mainly be a base/small workshop.

[Keith Scantlebury]

Linzibinzi,

Nothing wrong with a bit of entrepreneurial flair, in fact it is exactly what is needed! If you are thinking about opening a small business with wide market appeal you need to get out and ask people on the street what they think is missing and what they would support in terms of them actually using it with their cash! If you are talking about doing it with a target clientele, like teenagers, you have to go and ask them what they want and think about just how much disposable income this group might have. You can't underestimate the location neither, what works in one place might not in another.

Do your market research, write a realistic business plan, include an honest SWOT analysis and then get someone independent to look it over for you,

and genuinely best of luck to you.

Malcolm, I do not doubt for one moment this young lady's enthusiasm to make a success of running a cafe. The question asked was " Do you think having a cafe at the Oval is a good idea " My answer to that question is "no", then I continued with my reasons. A cafe needs to be situated in a place where people frequent for other reasons, ie. shopping centre/town centre, leisure centre, public parks or beach front and so on etc. A cafe/coffee shop operates on passing trade , people "taking the weight off" for 10 minutes ,nipping in for a quick coffee and a sandwich .A restraunt, on the other hand, is a different matter. You could set up and run a restraunt almost anywhere. A restraunt relies on reputation. People will travel miles to a good restraunt and unlike a cafe its situation is not as important. Linzi should take your advice and ask all the right questions of all the right people , because if she gets it wrong it will be as I said, another failed, boarded up business in the Oval. I know of, for instance, a cafe in the north of the county, close to a town centre. It does a roaring trade through the day, and at night, "the good stuff" comes out and it becomes a restraunt with an excellent reputation. I really do wish Linzi all the luck with her ideas and applaude her nouse and determination to do something for herself, just not in the Oval eh, after all the business does need a chance to succeed

[threegee]

Sadly I've had to vote no. Reasons already stated by others.

I'd add that the first question in starting any enterprise shouldn't be what or even where, but who. By that I mean you need a flair for any individual business (a service differentiator in modern parlance). If you're simply seeing cups of tea simply as 50p pieces then you're probably in the wrong biz. Sounds like you're looking around for something to start; sounds like you see a cafe as some sort of public service. The first question is what would really get my interest? What could I stick out low (and likely negative) returns and l-o-n-g hours in for quite some time until I get it right? When you get that right in your own mind then the practical questions like location kick in.

Cafes need a high paying customer turnover, and the location to facilitate that, to make a go of it. You want them in and out pretty fast. If you attract lots of kids sitting around because it's somewhere warm for them to go, then the sort of clients you need to keep the operation going will simply avoid. That's the sad truth of it! Providing a sustainable public service has to be seen as a side-effect of catering to the market, otherwise you are running a charity and should register the enterprise as such.

The Oval

Just starting something to see if you can make-a-go-of-it helps no one, and is what most of the people who have taken these units have done. The units are there because someone who knew very little about people's behaviour, and even less about economics, drew them on a map because it looked like good "planning" at the time. They weren't relevant to the local economy in the car-less 1950's and are even less so these days. They took a bit of business away from the traditional shopping areas in the town and traditional corner stores - which were already too spread-out, and helped no one in the long run - let alone the Bedlington rent/ratepayer who ultimately had to pick up the bills for the folly. A bulldozer was mentioned!

And, congratulations having the very good sense to ask local people what they think!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Malcolm, I do not doubt for one moment this young lady's enthusiasm to make a success of running a cafe. The question asked was " Do you think having a cafe at the Oval is a good idea " My answer to that question is "no", then I continued with my reasons. A cafe needs to be situated in a place where people frequent for other reasons, ie. shopping centre/town centre, leisure centre, public parks or beach front and so on etc. A cafe/coffee shop operates on passing trade , people "taking the weight off" for 10 minutes ,nipping in for a quick coffee and a sandwich .A restraunt, on the other hand, is a different matter. You could set up and run a restraunt almost anywhere. A restraunt relies on reputation. People will travel miles to a good restraunt and unlike a cafe its situation is not as important. Linzi should take your advice and ask all the right questions of all the right people , because if she gets it wrong it will be as I said, another failed, boarded up business in the Oval. I know of, for instance, a cafe in the north of the county, close to a town centre. It does a roaring trade through the day, and at night, "the good stuff" comes out and it becomes a restraunt with an excellent reputation. I really do wish Linzi all the luck with her ideas and applaude her nouse and determination to do something for herself, just not in the Oval eh, after all the business does need a chance to succeed

Keith,

I wasn't really replying to the initial 'Café at the Oval', that was always going to be done to death, but more the last sentence on the post I highlighted, 'if not a café then what?'

It shows a willingness to at least enter into the process and consider opening and running a business as a serious career option. With horrendous failure rates, for some of the reason's GGG highlights, someone might have to try half a dozen start up's before they hit on one which will stand the test of time. Much better to do the market research first!

[Keith Scantlebury]

Keith,

I wasn't really replying to the initial 'Café at the Oval', that was always going to be done to death, but more the last sentence on the post I highlighted, 'if not a café then what?'

It shows a willingness to at least enter into the process and consider opening and running a business as a serious career option. With horrendous failure rates, for some of the reason's GGG highlights, someone might have to try half a dozen start up's before they hit on one which will stand the test of time. Much better to do the market research first!

I agree with everything you say Malcolm and GGG has more or less echoed what I said [he just used posha words coz he's cleva and I'm fick] The very fact that Linzibinzi has posted the idea on bedlington.co.uk is proof in itself that she [i presume "she"]is trying to find out if the idea is a "goer" before she moves any further with it . I just have an opinion on most things and will always voice it, while trying not to sit on the fence. You and GGG are far more switched on, it seems, in these matters than I am and Linzibinzi would do well to listen to what advice you and GGG have given her

[Keith Scantlebury]

Just one thing though, Linzibinzi has asked an opinion of the regulars to this forum. Could she not in turn have the decency to tell us a little about herself, by introducing herself to her fellow members or adding a little to her profile. It is good manners after all to show a little courtesy to those who's opinion she seems to value

[Malcolm Robinson]

I just have an opinion on most things and will always voice it, while trying not to sit on the fence.

That is exactly what this part of the site is about..........keep them coming keith.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Just one thing though, Linzibinzi has asked an opinion of the regulars to this forum. Could she not in turn have the decency to tell us a little about herself, by introducing herself to her fellow members or adding a little to her profile. It is good manners after all to show a little courtesy to those who's opinion she seems to value

Some might find it a little daunting to put into the public realm some of the info you talk about keith. I don't know who linzibinzi is but they have only just joined and immediately started a valued topic, so well done. Maybe as confidence builds and they are treated seriously………..

[Keith Scantlebury]

A little bit of information would not go amiss though Malcolm, it would be nice to at least know something about who we dealing with. I do understand that some people are a little slow/shy about giving information about themselves, but a rough age group and wether they are male or female is not a lot to ask is it?

[Brian Cross]

A little bit of information would not go amiss though Malcolm, it would be nice to at least know something about who we dealing with. I do understand that some people are a little slow/shy about giving information about themselves, but a rough age group and wether they are male or female is not a lot to ask is it?

Fair enough Keith.