I have a predisposition against shopping centres that charge me to park my car just to go shop or eat but won't give me a couple of hours parking credit for, say, stopping long enough for a Starbucks coffee or other food. So I'm predisposed to disliking this shopping centre for this reason. The wonderful Lowry Outlet in Manchester, an altogether nicer place, allows for free generous parking up to four hours if you go for a coffee or have something in their food-court. I'm predisposed to dislike Sainsbury's too, it's one of the 'flagship' stores in this place. I rarely go there. There's really no logic to this at all, nor any sense about it I just much prefer M&S. There's a recently opened Eddie Rockets in the centre. It has a barrier outside for crowd control. Dear help us, crowd control for a fast food joint. No thanks this business model relies on mostly industrially made food, they pay staff minimum wages with few employment rights, this chain also relies on freezers, microwave ovens and deep fat friers and they are at their most imaginative when it comes to maximising shareholder/franchise profit from pricing mass produced food. I'd say if they knocked 50% off the menu prices that would be realistic and I might go but I certainly wouldn't queue. So I'm not so opposed to this type of business model that I'd never go and I have twice gone to the subway outlet in this centre but only because the price better reflects the industrial pre (factory) made food on offer. The Subway coffee is awful and I'd only pay more and go here more if staff were paid living wages, after all we all have to live. So the chances of Eddie Rockets halving their prices are as realistic as my going to eat there. There's a Starbucks here and I walk to it quite often for good coffee, parking free elsewhere. There's a cinema in this centre too again I go occasionally - it reinvested in comfy seating and is pretty good cinema experience but again their food prices like popcorn and ice cream are just outrageous. This centre also has the usual suspects Debenhams, Boots, Car Phone Warehouse, a Pound Shop, a juice bar on the concourse (so no seating) a BurgerKing, Deli - Lites and so on, lots of places I haven't the remotest interest in ever visiting. The centre is kept clean the toilets are in the central part of the shopping centre although the two flagship stores at either end also have toilet facilities. read more
