JD-Wetherspoons- 99p a pint=A recipe for diaster!! (J.D. Wetherspoon in general)

Member Name: mummy2twogirls

Product:	J.D. Wetherspoon in general
Date:	10/01/09 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well the pubs look nice inside

Disadvantages: Cheap booze= trouble

Up until about two years ago i had never really heard of J.D Wetherspoons, i knew that it was a chain pub that had many pubs across the country but had never really stepped foot inside one before. I live in quite a relatively town that seems to have more pubs and charity shops than anything else!

About three years ago the local quick save in town closed it's doors for the last time which really wasn't a big shame as we have many other supermarkets doted around town to take it's place. Rumors spread all over the town about what was to take it's place some said a McDonald's, others a popular high street store shop (yeh right), others said a fancy nightclub. After months of speculation it was finally revealed that it would become a JD Wetherspoons, people who had never ventured any further than the next town didn't have a clue was that was, but the more younger generation where up in arms.

Anyway building work began and the building which used to be a old hippodrome and was used a a cinema way back many years ago, started to be restored back to it's old routes. Work took about 6-8 months and caused a lot of hassle in town with huge lorries causing havoc and traffic jams trying to get in to the center of town. From the outside it did look very nice and appealing and local people thought that it would become a real asset to the town and that it was somewhere fresh and new to eat or have a drink.

There was a lot of build up to it's opening and households within town and surrounding areas had leaflets drop through their door with a bunch of different offers on food, drinks and a invitation to the opening day. Studying the leaflet i could help but notice how low the prices where on both food and drink, something stupid like £3.99 for a burger and a drink.

I didn't go to the opening as quite frankly pubs weren't my scene at the time, i had just started settling down as a family and being heavily pregnant it wasn't my cup of tea. A lot of my friends went and said how great it was- cheap booze and cheap food- Great i thought just what we need for the town cheap drink to furl yet more violence and trouble in the town as if we didn't have enough of that as it is.

A few months later my mum suggested that we go and try out the food, so we went on a weekday lunch time, hoping that it would be quiet. Which it was apart from a few old gentlemen propping up the bar with pints in their hand and a few other people dining. On entering the building i couldn't quite believe how much the place had changed- the last time i had stepped in, there where aisles upon aisles of baked beans and frozen pizza's.

The place looked great and had a real old pub and cinema feel to it, the ceilings looked huge and old memorabilia of the old cinema huge on the walls- nostalgic pictures of the cinema from when it was open hung proudly on the walls. Stepping inside it felt a very warm and cosy atmosphere. There were masses of different tables and chairs to choose from and even big comfy sofas to relax on.

We found a seat, got in some drinks and started to browse the menu, everything seemed so plain and traditional, steaks, pies, lasagne's, curries etc, and where only half the price of what you would pay from the huge pub up the road. We choose our meals and sat waiting for them to arrive. After about 10-15 minutes they turned up and yes did look nice and appetizing to eat. I tucked into my chicken curry,rice, chips and nan bread but soon the taste made me stop. Well i say taste it was more like a bland texture in my mouth. There was no taste at all and the same with the rice which was over cooked and dry. My mum said the same thing her steak was rubbery and very tough, but we made the best of what we could.I mean we where stupid for expecting a five star meal for £4.99.

Soon after local papers where writing up reports of the food and it seemed like we weren't the only ones who disproved with the quality of the food. Reports suggested that most of it was frozen and then bunged into a microwave or had been already prepared before it came into the kitchens. When they clearly state on the menus and on various posters around the place that it is freshly home cooked.

Over the months the pub started getting a reputation for being the center of trouble amongst clubbers and pub drinkers. With their ridiculously low priced drinks, it seems that this was the place to go to get drunk, before heading to the local nightclub. Neighbors complained of the noise levels and fights that seemed to happen around the club and other pub landlords where complaining of the pub taking away custom. Because they couldn't afford to lower their prices of what wetherspoons had got them at.

Now i don't want to seem like a party popper or anything, but i really do think that since the pub was first opened that it has brought more bad then good into the town. If you happen to drive past on any night of the week you will find the place over flowing with drunks looking to cause a bit of trouble and what is the reason- all down to their low priced drink. I even read in the news this week that they where starting to sell pints for 99p!! which to me is a recipe for disaster. Yes they can afford to do and they know it will bring in more custom, but do they realize they long tern effects it will have on people and the communities in which they have pubs??

People will take advantage on the cheap deals and drinks twice as much, which will mean more trouble on the streets, a step up in policing will be needed to control that, more casualties will end up in hospital with drink related problems etc.

Yes some people will think it's a great idea, considering the economical state that we have today, cheap food and booze, but it think that wetherspoons really do need to step up their act and think of others before thinking of ways on how to line their back pockets.

Summary: I'd rather pay a little bit extra and dine in style thank you