The Cosy Nook Cafe Port Erin

[Chef Raekwon]

The Cosy Nook is ALL about the brilliant location.

If there's a way to retain the main cottage bit then fine, but inside it is not a particularly pleasant place to eat.  The outside is literally just a concrete patio with plastic tables and chairs and some very badly placed skanky outside toilets.

Anyone could make something work in that location and I feel that people massively overstate the quality of the food and service there.

The righteous anger displayed by some of the people wanting to keep it is absolutely ridiculous.  People who've lived on the island for 5 minutes berating locals who think that redeveloping the site might actually be worth exploring.  I don't necessarily think what was being planned was right, but something needs to be done.

[TheTeapot]

Completely agree with the Chef. 

[SleepyJoe]

14 hours ago, Non-Believer said:

If the building is truly Donald Ducked, demolish it and rebuild sympathetically in keeping but change a few things to modernise and adhere to any relevant regs? That would help retain some of the character. Rather than what is proposed.

How much trade is there in PE 365 to support the wholesale change that is proposed?

There isn't - it'd just put existing traders out of business

Wonder what they think of the Commissioners . . . 

[Neil Down]

51 minutes ago, Banker said:

Yes went to P Erin for a walk and lunch, Bradda glen shut, Station shut , Bay shut, all prom cafes shut only place open the fish & chippy until 1.45 ! 
Hardly encourages visitors and you would think one of them would open Monday or Tuesday 

Unfortunately, in the winter months it is just not viable. We did try on the basis that if everybody else is closed then they would come to us. Didn't work. You end up paying staff to do nothing. So better to give the staff their two days off and have them fresh and ready for when you need to open

[Roger Mexico]

22 minutes ago, Chef Raekwon said:

The righteous anger displayed by some of the people wanting to keep it is absolutely ridiculous.  People who've lived on the island for 5 minutes berating locals who think that redeveloping the site might actually be worth exploring.  I don't necessarily think what was being planned was right, but something needs to be done.

Some of us have been here for rather longer than 5 minutes, but it's worth even listening to those who are recent arrivals because this sort of charm is the reason why people are attracted to come or visit here.  No one is saying it shouldn't be improved, but what we have here is the usual pattern of skimping on maintenance and then being happy to spend millions on some new capital project that will probably be a disaster.

The main objection to the plans for the replacement from locals has as much to do with the amount of money being spent that will add nothing extra to the amenities of the village and possibly just take business away from other things the Commissioners own.

[Declan]

58 minutes ago, Banker said:

Yes went to P Erin for a walk and lunch, Bradda glen shut, Station shut , Bay shut, all prom cafes shut only place open the fish & chippy until 1.45 ! 
Hardly encourages visitors and you would think one of them would open Monday or Tuesday 

Cafe Red is open.

Lack of places lunch options open is a pain for those of us still working from home.

 

[Declan]

2 hours ago, Banker said:

Yes PEC own breagle glen & bradda glen with the latter open all year doing excellent food with great views etc, however shut Monday & Tuesday as I discovered after walking up from harbour!!

Commissioners haven't owned Bradda Glen in yonks. It's Defra now.

[TheTeapot]

5 minutes ago, Declan said:

 

Lack of places lunch options open is a pain for those of us still working from home.

 

Can't go wrong with beans on toast and a pot of tea man.

Edited December 16, 2020 by TheTeapot

[The Phantom]

I thought the whole reason the current tenants got booted out by the Commissioners was that the building was literally about to fall down.  It hasn't been maintained in years as it's never been in the tenants interests to do it themselves and the Commissioners couldn't be bothered. 

So, they'll have a protected building that is about to fall down.  Brilliant, that'll attract the tourists. 

Surely the only real option in attempt to placate all parties (and as mentioned elsewhere in the thread) would be to knock it down except the frontage and build a new 'back bit'. 

[hagar the horrible]

On 7/9/2020 at 10:31 PM, Uhtred said:

Well, in the interest of a broader church of opinion...no, don’t do that. The old Cosy Nook (Nosy Cook in our house) is a conventional little old Manx cottage. There are any number of those, including in PE and environs. So do replace it with something radical. I like the proposed design. The grotty old boarding houses on the top promenade were all replaced by modern apartments, not by like-for-like, so do the same fir the Nosy Cook. Build the proposed design I say!

Goliath.

[Chef Raekwon]

23 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

Some of us have been here for rather longer than 5 minutes, but it's worth even listening to those who are recent arrivals because this sort of charm is the reason why people are attracted to come or visit here.  No one is saying it shouldn't be improved, but what we have here is the usual pattern of skimping on maintenance and then being happy to spend millions on some new capital project that will probably be a disaster.

The main objection to the plans for the replacement from locals has as much to do with the amount of money being spent that will add nothing extra to the amenities of the village and possibly just take business away from other things the Commissioners own.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, my objection is to the aggressive nature of opposition to anyone who doesn't think the existing building should be saved at all costs.  The fact that I see it coming from recent little Englander arrivals makes it especially grating.

I agree that the Commissioners look to have handled this badly and left the building to fall in to a state of disrepair, and I also have reservations about the size and cost of the proposed replacement.

I suppose my main point is that what's there is nowhere near the amazing historic experience that people are painting it as.  You could stick a new roof on the building and do whatever else needs to be done, but it's still a bit shit inside.  And it's pretty shit outside too.  And I say that as someone who uses it regularly.

[Happier diner]

20 minutes ago, Chef Raekwon said:

Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, my objection is to the aggressive nature of opposition to anyone who doesn't think the existing building should be saved at all costs.  The fact that I see it coming from recent little Englander arrivals makes it especially grating.

I agree that the Commissioners look to have handled this badly and left the building to fall in to a state of disrepair, and I also have reservations about the size and cost of the proposed replacement.

I suppose my main point is that what's there is nowhere near the amazing historic experience that people are painting it as.  You could stick a new roof on the building and do whatever else needs to be done, but it's still a bit shit inside.  And it's pretty shit outside too.  And I say that as someone who uses it regularly.

Absolutely agree

[SleepyJoe]

55 minutes ago, Chef Raekwon said:

Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, my objection is to the aggressive nature of opposition to anyone who doesn't think the existing building should be saved at all costs.  The fact that I see it coming from recent little Englander arrivals makes it especially grating.

I agree that the Commissioners look to have handled this badly and left the building to fall in to a state of disrepair, and I also have reservations about the size and cost of the proposed replacement.

I suppose my main point is that what's there is nowhere near the amazing historic experience that people are painting it as.  You could stick a new roof on the building and do whatever else needs to be done, but it's still a bit shit inside.  And it's pretty shit outside too.  And I say that as someone who uses it regularly.

Great project for someone to improve the existing site for perhaps £100,000 or so

What's the projected cost of the Commissioner's proposed bunker complex?

[TheTeapot]

 

[Roger Mexico]

1 hour ago, Chef Raekwon said:

I suppose my main point is that what's there is nowhere near the amazing historic experience that people are painting it as.  You could stick a new roof on the building and do whatever else needs to be done, but it's still a bit shit inside.  And it's pretty shit outside too.  And I say that as someone who uses it regularly.

I don't think anyone is calling it an "amazing historic experience", but characterful, modest, vernacular buildings like that do add to the atmosphere of the place and attract people to use the place. 

It's only ever going to be a fair-weather destination because of the lack of parking.  You'll see no cars in those pretty pictures and the same thing will stop it being a destination restaurant.  Something imaginative and attractive could be done with it with not much money, but I'm afraid the Commissioners are all set on doing their own Manxonia House, but for a lot more money.