City Centre Retail

Would make a pleasant change from your hot air we've become accustomed to.

For God sake Karl - they were supposed to be MY retail exclusives for the forum and you've gone and broken both stories....

Yep I can confirm EXCLUSIVELY REVEAL HERE AND NOW that both are true. Saw the windowlened panes earlier today at £stretchers and the signs are up on the vinyl shop! Funky times indeed.

Retail reporting is a dog eat dog world. You snooze, you lose. I make no apologies for bringing news to the masses as it breaks. I can also exclusively reveal that a collection of wooden sheds bedecked with tinsel and fairy lights and selling what appears to be handcrafted knick knacks and speciality jams have materialised in the central Cardiff area, predominantly around the Old Library.

BREAKING NEWS: I can reveal that Top Gun Fish and Chips have occupied one of the new huts by the Hayes Island Snack Bar adding a finishing touch to a new continental-style alfresco dining precinct.

I didn't know this was inside the Burger King. What a waste!

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local ... ok-8155434

We've discussed the 'waste' of the upper floor on the forum a few years back (in particular the stained glass windows). This is the first time that I have seen photographs of the wooded/mosiac interior - very ornate and a much higher spec than I had ever imagined.

I managed to blag my way in there once and it is extraordinary. To be fair to BK, it's immaculately maintained. It is a wasted space though.

I've been in that room, a mate of mine is a friend of the manager/franchisee of the BK and he arranged for me to visit. It's an extraordinary waste. A beautiful room with a lot of history attached just sitting empty.

I'd love to see the Green Dragon pub resurrected in that building. A bar on the ground floor with a decent restaurant in opulent surroundings up above. I think it would be a flyer. Just need funding from Jantra (non interest bearing) and we are almost there.

On a related note there is a framed re-creation of the premises licence from the late 19th century in the Rummer Tavern. It makes reference to all of the licensed premises within a certain radius including the Green Dragon and the Tennis Courts (now the Owain) plus a whole host of other pubs that have now long gone.

On retail related news and before Wizard can gazump me Hawkins Bazaar appear to have opened/re-opened in SD1 (next to Barclays). In Royal Arcade there are 2 imminent openings - We love Italy (some sort of deli I think) in the unit facing St Mary Street and Drone Boy which I think is a Cardiff based designer. They have had pop up shops all over the place.

I stumbled into Capitol Arcade by mistake yesterday (took the wrong exit from Tesco Metro) and was pleasantly impressed. Most of the shops are in use, albeit some of them temporarily or for odd things like laser eye surgery. The Jaeger outlet is a particularly good thing and there is an odd little stand which seems to be selling Spanish/Mediterranean food hampers.

Betfred on Church Street is closing for good on Sunday. Quite a few units vacating Church Street recently