Humphrey Smith of Sam Smith’s
Discussion
garyhun said:
I have many friends who have had the misfortune to experience his bizarre behaviour.
One was in Scarborough where he found customers still ordering drinks after last orders. He sacked the entire staff on the spot.
He’s closed many places on a whim.
Interesting and pertinent. However, even allowing for real estate price rises, especially in ‘good’ areas, you would think it would make more commercial sense to be trading. There are few things worse for the fabric of a building than emptiness.One was in Scarborough where he found customers still ordering drinks after last orders. He sacked the entire staff on the spot.
He’s closed many places on a whim.
Mad as a box of badgers.
One pub near us has been shut for 18 months or so. Lights still on, car park locked up. No explanation or change.
I remember in Tadcaster, when the big flood hit in December 2015, the town bridge was partly washed away. He owned the land next to the bridge and refused to allow it to be used for a temporary one to be installed.
Another local story is that he objected to a local house being built, to the extent he bought it for an obscene sum and knocked it down.
It's true about his arbitrary no swearing, no mobile rules. I was in the Admiral Duncan a while ago, a rough wet ale house in central Leeds, and the staff were handing out b
kings to anybody seen with their phone out.
One pub near us has been shut for 18 months or so. Lights still on, car park locked up. No explanation or change.
I remember in Tadcaster, when the big flood hit in December 2015, the town bridge was partly washed away. He owned the land next to the bridge and refused to allow it to be used for a temporary one to be installed.
Another local story is that he objected to a local house being built, to the extent he bought it for an obscene sum and knocked it down.
It's true about his arbitrary no swearing, no mobile rules. I was in the Admiral Duncan a while ago, a rough wet ale house in central Leeds, and the staff were handing out b
kings to anybody seen with their phone out.Lester H said:
garyhun said:
I have many friends who have had the misfortune to experience his bizarre behaviour.
One was in Scarborough where he found customers still ordering drinks after last orders. He sacked the entire staff on the spot.
He’s closed many places on a whim.
Interesting and pertinent. However, even allowing for real estate price rises, especially in ‘good’ areas, you would think it would make more commercial sense to be trading. There are few things worse for the fabric of a building than emptiness.One was in Scarborough where he found customers still ordering drinks after last orders. He sacked the entire staff on the spot.
He’s closed many places on a whim.
I wouldnt claim to know him him well but I have met him and spoken to him at length. I would say that he is a man of principle but many of his principles would be less-fashionable now I suppose which might explain the urban myths.
I grew up on Sam Smiths and it remains my favourite pint. The pubs are plain and simple but the beer and prices more than compensate for that IMO.
I grew up on Sam Smiths and it remains my favourite pint. The pubs are plain and simple but the beer and prices more than compensate for that IMO.
lockhart flawse said:
I wouldnt claim to know him him well but I have met him and spoken to him at length. I would say that he is a man of principle but many of his principles would be less-fashionable now I suppose which might explain the urban myths.
I grew up on Sam Smiths and it remains my favourite pint. The pubs are plain and simple but the beer and prices more than compensate for that IMO.
Thank you for that.I have visited the brewery tap in Tadcaster and ,more often, the Hare and Hounds, Boston Spa. I found both excellent; similarly the Dyneley Arms near Bramhope. Some nearer to home are closed, it seems a real shame as there was a demographic for just this type of pub: not just middle aged.. my daughter loved the Dyneley...open fires an’ all. Plain and simple , maybe ,but with excellent quality workmanship and a respect for tradition these were and are and should be excellent houses with the top quality pure brewed (vegan) lager and their wonderful bottled ales which encouraged craft brewing in the US. To the west, off the A59 is the Petre Arms, Langho, currently closed...never a rowdy, boorish or foul mouthed clientele. Also, on a positive note, yes Sam’s food was ‘a la ping’ but it was fit for purpose for the price.I grew up on Sam Smiths and it remains my favourite pint. The pubs are plain and simple but the beer and prices more than compensate for that IMO.
Edited by Lester H on Monday 14th June 18:22
Edited by Lester H on Monday 14th June 20:33
I like the product, Alpine lager and their cider is decent and I like the kwirkiness of the pubs. I used to go to the one in Cheltenham quite a lot until the landlord asked me to give him some legal advice. If 10% of what he said was true I would never run a Samuel Smith pub. He was gone within weeks and it sat empty for at least 6 months and has changed hands several times in rapid succession since.
They were allowed pretty much zero waste. And froth over the top came out of their pocket. That was just the start.
They were allowed pretty much zero waste. And froth over the top came out of their pocket. That was just the start.
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