Sam Smiths pubs

What's the craic there then? Stumbled upon the Magpie last night. 2 pints a total of £4.60. Big signs everywhere saying it was a digital free premises so phones not allowed (apart from when paying) no Tvs or music on etc. Maybe 20 older Carlisle fans in the entire place about 75 mins before kick off. Nice place - 2 log fires, darts board etc - but how on earth do their pubs keep going? Is Sam Smiths a not for profit company?

 

Should be a few more places like that.Go into a lot of pubs where there is no conversation and they look like zombies looking at their phones.

 

Presumably it's because they only sell their own beer, and therefore have really refined distribution networks. They don't spend any money on entertainment, or marketing, and I reckon they own all their own premesis, so aren't hamstrung by rent. Overheads generally lower, so are able to pass the benefit on to the consumer.

Though if you Google why they're so cheap, the majority of their pubs have hiked their prices in the last few years, so you may have just got lucky.

The Angel Inn tucked away on the main high street in Leeds was always my favourite.

 

I like the Shoulder of Mutton - Bradford Centre. I'd go so far as to say my favourite pub ever. That is phone free too ........ which I always took to be a pub specific policy.
But I'm sure that is Sam Smiths, come to think of it

 

Used to regularly frequent the Angel late 90s. Happy days.....

 

I'm slightly surprised that you could use your phone to pay. Until very recently only cash was accepted. I really like the interior and comfort of Sam Smith's pubs and I also like the old-fashioned atmosphere, but I must say that the rules re phones, laptops, music etc. seem designed to put off the vast majority of potential customers. I've heard that conditions imposed by the owner, a certain Humphrey Smith, I think he's called, on managers, also make it hard to attract people to run the pubs. I'm told that only married couples are acceptable for that role. I can think of three Sam Smith's pubs in York that are closed because there are no takers to run them. One, the York Arms, is situated about 40 metres from the entrance to York Minster. Multitudes of people walk past this closed pub every day. Surely premises in such a location could be a proverbial goldmine, if the owner were seriously interested in making a lot of money, rather than sticking to his principles. I believe that the owner is fabulously wealthy anyway, so he doesn't really need the money.

 

By the way, swearing is also banned in Sam Smith's pubs, and I was told that one manager was sacked for tolerating inappropriate language on his premises.

 

Not been in a Sam’s pub for ages then been in two in the last week. King’s Arms at York last week and then the Magpie last night in Carlisle. Cost me £3.60 for a pint and a half in York but last night £3.40 for a pint of Taddy lager. Cheap as chips but not sure how they can survive in the modern age with their policies.
Good luck to them….

 

Windmill in Pontefract boarded up.

 

The pillock who owns them all has been sued countless times for unfair dismissal because he just strolls into pubs and sacks the landlords. He's a grade a you know what

 

Covert arsehole.

 

I bet it's identical to how it was when I used to frequent it between 2014 and 2017.

 

The local pub to the office in London is a Sam Smiths. Proper old fashioned place - https://www.londonpubexplorer.com/central-classics/the-princess-louise

Been there 3-4 times when I've visited the office and enjoyed the visit, but generally we've been stood outside on the street enjoying the atmosphere.

 

Sam Smiths mmmmmmmmmhhhmmmmmmmm

 

This. His reputation is such that he can't find anyone willing to run his pubs and loads of them are vacant. It might change when someone else eventually takes over.

He's also phenomenally rich, beyond what you'd expect. Likely a billionaire.

 

When I was drinking I did a Sam Smiths pub crawl in London before seeing Muse at the Olympic park, I don't remember much of the gig, but all the pubs were brilliant, and cheap! Just for its amazing inside the Cittie of York in Holborn is an absolute must. Think we managed 7, or was it 8? Things got a bit hazy.

https://www.samsmithschallenge.co.uk/

 

https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2022/11/30/the-strangest-brewery-in-the-world

Seems the other famous Sam Smith would not be welcome.

 

"I believe that the owner is fabulously wealthy anyway, so he doesn't really need the money."

You are correct in that - I believe that he once bought some waste land in London and sold it on for a profit a few years later for development. It's now known as the Docklands!

 

Was going to say the same, tell them your gay & see if they serve you, Bstards.