Poodle club

[Sydenham]

What a great opening night. No photos because lets keep it private. Good fun. Lots of laughs. Great bar and atmosphere. I enjoyed myself and laughed a lot.

Great addition to Sydenham scene. West end heading South.

Long may the club thrive. Beer Rebellion has left us - good on you Poodle Club.Ok

[DrowsyDaisy]

We had a wonderful time - let's hope it's here to stay. Thank you to all the wonderful comedians, bar staff and people who made it happen.

I want to keep it a secret so we can still gets tickets (it's TINY), but it's too good not to share

[Bovine Juice]

What beer do they sell?

[Sydenham]

From memory hop king ale. Some others as well. Not draught. And a single white, red and prosecco with regards to wine.

Simple choice. Red is Rioja and was good.

[Champion]

What a brilliant opening night! A great line up and amazing atmosphere.

The inside of the club is fantastic too, this is a special place!

[Pat Trembath]

Second night was sold out and great fun, too, with a lovely atmosphere. Long may The Poodle Club continue....

[Hissing Syd]

It's absolutely brilliant! Such a fantastic addition to Sydenham, love everything they've done with it and the care they've taken.

[Ria]

Sounds great. Anyone has any information about their plans? I was hoping that this is also going to be a bar place... not open only for the 'ticketed comedy events'. Any info on this?
Thanks!

[prince]

Great evening at the Poodle Club on New Years Eve. Highly recommended people. Acts were great, cute kitsch decor, drinks affordable and hospitality fun.

[Lord Summerisle]

So just to clarify, is the Poodle Club open other than the weekend as a bar? Whilst I support fully any local endeavour, if this s not the case then I feel it's extremely sad that we lost what was becoming a true community hub in the Beer Rebellion for something that's far from this. I (perhaps naively) thought they would take on the bar initiative and continue to provide the community with a great alternative bar environment. If not and particularly in the murky way they acquired the lease it leaves a feeling we've been had somewhat.

[Ria]

I completely agree with Lord Summerisle. What I really liked about Beer Rebellion was that place was genuinely open to everyone, great 'bringing together community' feel....
Me too, feeling sad for that community gathering opportunity lost and really hope that Poodle club is not staying just as a weekend profit driven comedy venue! If not everyday, they could easily have at least few afternoons,/evenings open just as a local bar. This is what Sydenham really needs!

[Sydenham Syd]

I completely agree with Lord Summerisle. What I really liked about Beer Rebellion was that place was genuinely open to everyone, great 'bringing together community' feel....
Me too, feeling sad for that community gathering opportunity lost and really hope that Poodle club is not staying just as a weekend profit driven comedy venue! If not everyday, they could easily have at least few afternoons,/evenings open just as a local bar. This is what Sydenham really needs!

But let's face it, the Beer Rebellion was hardly a success! It might have been a good place to go and the idea a pleasant one, but it couldn't keep the lights on it seems, due to not making any dosh...I would far rather the Poodle Club be there than nothing at all.
It might become a "destination venue", which I think would be an awful lot more useful to Sydenham than a failing local bar struggling to pay the gas bill, however good it was. (everything in the BR other than the beer was a bit of a shambles - didn't even have any ice!)

[parker]

I completely agree with Lord Summerisle. What I really liked about Beer Rebellion was that place was genuinely open to everyone, great 'bringing together community' feel....
Me too, feeling sad for that community gathering opportunity lost and really hope that Poodle club is not staying just as a weekend profit driven comedy venue! If not everyday, they could easily have at least few afternoons,/evenings open just as a local bar. This is what Sydenham really needs!

If there was profit to be made on weekdays surely it would open weekdays too. Perhaps the failure of Beer Rebellion was due to not being able to make enough money during the week.

[El Cid]

I can't help wonder how the Poodle Club is going to make much money if it's closed during the week when it could open as a bar. I think a bar that provides comedy at the weekend would stand a better chance of succeeding than a comedy bar. Comedy is very subjective, unlike drinking.

The posts about it have also got me thinking about food and drink venues in Sydenham. Here's my take. I'd like to know what others think.

Trattoria Raffaelle - still excellent
On the Hoof - only been there once, and was underwhelmed by both the food and service
Blue Mountain - great coffee, friendly staff, and an excellent full English breakfast (soon to be renamed Cobbs Corner)
The Golden Lion - nice atmosphere, no long queues at the bar, like at The Dolphin
The Dolphin - long queues, staff always seem stressed, food okay but pricey
Hibagon (the sushi place on KIrkdale) - alway seems virtually empty
Harbour 21 - see above
161 KIrkdale - always seems busy, although it is quite small
Sugar hill - again, very small, and they now market themselves as "vegan"

[Lord Summerisle]

If there was profit to be made on weekdays surely it would open weekdays too. Perhaps the failure of Beer Rebellion was due to not being able to make enough money during the week.

The BR plan had been to continue as a non-profit making community concern because Matt owned the brewery. They had met their investment targets. The BR didn’t fail - the landlord of the premises simply decided to offer the lease to the Poodle Club instead.

This is the nub here. As stated before this is not anti Poodle Club, not entirely anyway but the fact remains quite clearly that the BR could and would have continued as a seven days a week local enterprise which was not beholden to vast profit. It could have continued its development. Instead and to my mind in a duplicitous manner it's been replaced by a weekend only venture and I'm not counting some occasional toddlers mime and Gregorian chanting afternoons as anything of significance I'm afraid. If there had been no BR and Poodle Club came along I would be very happy but when it replaced a growing community initiative that opened 7 days a week with a niche weekend only club I think we're way in the negative.

[sugahill cafe]

Sugar hill - again, very small, and they now market themselves as "vegan"

It's Sugahill and we do not have a problem with our size.... we do not market ourselves as vegan either.

[Miss0]

If there was profit to be made on weekdays surely it would open weekdays too. Perhaps the failure of Beer Rebellion was due to not being able to make enough money during the week.

The BR plan had been to continue as a non-profit making community concern because Matt owned the brewery. They had met their investment targets. The BR didn’t fail - the landlord of the premises simply decided to offer the lease to the Poodle Club instead.

This is the nub here. As stated before this is not anti Poodle Club, not entirely anyway but the fact remains quite clearly that the BR could and would have continued as a seven days a week local enterprise which was not beholden to vast profit. It could have continued its development. Instead and to my mind in a duplicitous manner it's been replaced by a weekend only venture and I'm not counting some occasional toddlers mime and Gregorian chanting afternoons as anything of significance I'm afraid. If there had been no BR and Poodle Club came along I would be very happy but when it replaced a growing community initiative that opened 7 days a week with a niche weekend only club I think we're way in the negative.

Lord Summerisle, et al. This is getting ridiculous. We are not some sinister corporation, we are just a local couple who opened a business in a vacant property in their community. These are the actual facts:

1.We live nearby and noticed that BR had shut.
2.We found the owner through the BR website.
3.We offered him the asking price for his lease.
4.We never attended any of your meetings, nor sent any representatives. The assertion that we did on this forum was a falsehood.
5.He informed us at that time of our offer that some other people were interested in the property, but that the freeholder was not inclined to accept their offer.
6.We met with the freeholder, who confirmed that he had no intention of accepting your offer.
7.We took over the lease, spent six months and many thousands of pounds renovating, and opened our dream business last month, which has already been enjoyed by hundreds of happy Sydenhamites treated to great comedy from the London circuit right here on their doorstep.

Please explain how any of this is ‘duplicitous’ or ‘murky’. If you think you have any evidence of any sort of ‘duplicity’, you are invited to present it live to our faces down at the club. We will happily open up on a weeknight and serve craft beer to all wishing to attend, including the freeholder and the previous leaseholder.

If you cannot provide evidence, you may wish to consider letting it go and moving on with your community project. There are several storefronts currently vacant - one even has a liquor licence (the jerk restaurant a few doors down). Best of luck with your project!

[Miss0]

Hi Dom, we have a rather splendid show on that night but will make every effort to pop down for one before we open. Thanks for your support, it is much appreciated! x

[Miss0]

Hi Rod Taylor, we were made aware of a group of people interested in taking over the lease, but not for an orphanage, library, or food bank. As far as we knew, It was just an entitled hipsters' boozer. We thought our neighbours might rather have diverse entertainment at the weekends.

[Columbus]

Longtime lurker, infrequent poster. But feel compelled to write something as find the way the direction this thread has been turned somewhat depressing.

I just want to say how delighted I am that that some people have decided to pour not a small part of their heart and soul into opening such a brilliant and exciting venue on our doorstep. Welcome Poodle Club, it's absolutely brilliant you are here and I intend to return to your doors often. And please don't take too much notice of the odd negative person.