Reading Roars!

Following on from my last post, another new development that may face difficult months ahead is Sakura.  I’m referring to the new bar/club combo in Reading’s Gun Street, rather than the dazzling Colombian singing sensation (who is, in fact, Shakira). 

Weak jokes aside, Sakura will be replacing The Fez, also owned by Eclectic Bars.  It is a little bit sad to see The Fez go.  I do think it has quasi-legendary status in Reading, as did its 1999 predecessor the Alleycat Live.   I remember thinking how exciting it was to have a North African-style venue in town.  That is, until I went to Morocco and saw the real thing (and I can assure readers who haven’t been that sipping cocktails in the souk simply isn’t possible).

Sakura, as you may have guessed, is a Japanese-themed establishment (I wonder what other possibilities the Eclectic Bars folk considered?  Russian - arguably taken by Revolution; Australian, likewise by Walkabout; Sub-Saharan African would have been interesting…). 

Will we see an exclusive zone where kimono-dressed geishas deliver sake to your table?  Will there be high-tech toilets?  Again, we shall see. 

There are growing concerns about our economy.  Retailers and consumers are feeling the squeeze.  There is much doom and gloom reported in the press (”Consumer crunch” was the solemn Times headline last Friday).  When will it end?  How bad can it get?  I don’t think anyone really knows. 

With this in mind, the timing of Reading’s new high-end property and retail development seems awkward, to say the least.  Brashly and cumbersomely described on its website as a “distinctive new high quality niche retail development”, the ambitious Market Arcade will consist of a 3 storey health club (”A new dimension in leisure and fitness”), 13 “cutting edge” (whatever that means) shops and 14 apartments.

The Market Arcade developers are hoping to attract Reading’s band of “discerning, affluent shoppers”, the kind who wine and dine at places like Malmaison, stating somewhat optimistically on their website that:

Broad Street footfall has recently been compared favourably to London’s Oxford Street at 7,900 -10,000 per hour - a sure sign of the potential waiting to be tapped at Market Arcade.

I’m seeing fewer shoppers in town these days.  I suspect that many of the discerning types targeted by the Market Arcade team are now seeing their credit limits slashed by card providers.  The situation doesn’t look rosy for homebuyers either, with the number of loans expected to halve this year.

I’m not an economist.  I could be very naive in my assessment.  There will be many, not just the hedge fund bosses and other top financiers who made eye-wateringly big gains last year, unaffected by the “crisis”.  We shall see what happens, right?  If things do get tricky, well, gyms (as health clubs used to be called) are a waste of money anyhow.  A cheap pair of trainers should do the trick and the weather is getting warmer…

I’ve been blogging for about 3 years now, covering topics such as Reading FC’s breathtaking first season in the Premiership, the town’s dating scene, pubs and pies, and so on.

It’s graffiti, however, that consistently attracts the majority of visitors (the term accounted for 78% of searches in the last 30 days), most of whom are American, and all because of an image I posted of a beautifully painted wall.

So, here’s something to gorge on, graffiti lovers: the same wall (exterior wall of The Turks pub) as it was and how it looks today. Banksy it ain’t. I prefer the original.

Actual wall

Previous wall

Nando’s has gone “chic”. The chicken restaurant at Reading’s Oracle Riverside has ditched its fun and friendly personality in favour of one sleek and sombre. On their website, they claim (somewhat incongrously, in my opinion) to be a place for:

people with an appetite for life - people who love to laugh and love to eat. We put the chic into chicken!

Chicken is not “chic”. Chicken is chicken. Boring, humble. Chicken can never be chic.

Nando’s formerly appealed because of two reasons:

• their famous zesty sauces, making fundamentally boring chicken exciting;
• the brand was fun, informal, honest and warm.

Nando’s was a cheerful, colourful and charming place. Now, following the refit, it looks dull, contemporary and pretentious, like most restaurants these days.

I suspect they’ve made a branding cock-up (excuse the pun). I won’t be going back.