Looking at the trendy area from High Street to St. Mary's Street there's still no sign of action for the so called "coming soon" Juniper Place (Formerly Seafood Shack). (This from 2018
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/ ... f-15455032)
I popped in to the bar next door (same owners) Old Havana to ask what the situation was and they said that the refurbishment had stalled and that Juniper Place was no longer scheduled to open this summer, but now October instead.
So, even if that October date is true, that's the Summer gin tippling outdoor business for 2019 lost. I'm sure the gin trend won't last for ever, there are already signs that it's starting to wane.
Meanwhile opposite, The Libertine has been closed during the daytime for the last few days (no idea if it's opening in the evening). I remember when this first opened and I enquired about drinking outside, they told me that they hadn't thought of that with the original licence application, so were hastily trying to get their licence amended. It looks like it took a year for them to succeed with that amendment so too late for Summer 2018, and now it looks like it's now not open to take advantage of Summer 2019.
What is it with businesses? It reminds me of that Baskin Robins ice cream franchise on Castle Street that closed for refurb during the Summer, and opened during the Winter. It didn't' survive the Winter, and during the subsequent Summer spent its time being refurbed into another ice cream outlet/café which opened during the following Winter, and then obviously didn't survive it. I guess the problem is that plans are always made "just in time" without enough contingency built in, and as we all know, these sort of things are never complete on time.