Patong is dead.

[billythehat]

My gf opened a hairshop on Nanai Mar 2014. Last month was the first month she made no money. She was able to pay rent, utilities and her staff but, had nothing left to pay herself. The Chinese tourist do nothing for common Phuket folk. Lets hope this isnt too much of a trend

No surprise there. Already more hair shops on Nanai than the market can support.

Actually your premise is incorrect.

If there were too many, how do you explain why she has been so successful for over two years?

Are there too many hair shops....probably a few. If there were "too many" they would be closing down often which, is not the case at all.

My point is that this low season is different.

I mean no disrespect, so please don't take it the wrong way, however your gf is either a very lucky lady or has found a way to make some money in a business which is "overrepresented" here.

A lady friend I have known for many years has had a hair/beauty salon for a number of years now and over a year ago she had to dispense with her worker because she was making no money. She is not faring much better now. Another lady friend was helping her sister in her hair salon in Nanai and that closed down over 12 months ago.

The newly opened hair salon at the bottom of Soi Nanai 6 lasted less than two months and is now closed and I bumped into another lady whom I remembered from the Guitar bar a few years ago and she was running a hair salon just off Nanai and said that business was extremely bad.

If you think back, then the last three high seasons have not been that high and the three traditional low seasons have been extremely low, and they have been getting progressively worse, so if your gf has been making money up to now, she has done extremely well, however I think these low times are here to stay, unfortunately for many small businesses.

Sir, furthermore, it could be suggested that a firm grasp of the idea of how a successful biznit model works has been sadly lacking and the ongoing consequences resulting therein. In the case of the lass who managed to keep her head above water longer than her rivals in the hair snipping biz may have been a result of that most unusual Thai quality, a good biznit plan coupled with exceptional customer care – any good biznit is worth nought without a firm and loyal customer base. I believe Simon the Copper has made that sermon in a number of posts relating to his hotels out in the boonies by the airport. However, the bottom line in biznit is that ability matters very little if you’ve chased all your main customer base outta town. The Thai defenders can huff and puff all they want; a dead buffalo is a dead buffalo. Concerning the running of a hotel; I’ve stayed at many hotels in Thailand and generally the best have been run by non-Thais and the worst have been Thai owned or farang owned and administered by Thais, I’m just saying. Its’ not that I’ve seen more brains in a chocolate egg, oh no, but more probably poor attitude and cultural issues coupled with the earlier point alluding to the original biznit model. Speaking to a number of expats who run businesses there always say that getting good staff is a major issue akin to trying to herd cats whilst juggling cobras. A reasonable observation and highlights the benefits of having a good crew onboard.

[2fishin2]

The Thais know and understand fully well what is going on with the Chinese and how it is negatively impacting the average Phuket small business. They dont like it either.

The snarling, unfriendly and thuggish attitudes of the locals sure aren't helping lure non Chinese customers back.

Since you quoted my response Ill respond to your nonsense post.

There are two groups of tourist in Phuket now, Chinese and everybody else.

"Locals" dont have the thuggish attitudes, thugs do.

Locals have great attitudes, that is until they meet cynical, better than everybody else people portraying your type of attitude. Are some of them jaded, yes of course because they are tired of people trying to rip them off for pennies and drunken people acting like idiots.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in another Thailand or country??

GF and I just went out last week had an awesome seafood BBQ, great attitudes and pleasant atmosphere all for the grand total of 450 baht....

Where was this seafood BBQ? 450 p.p.?

Kathu. On the road from Central Festival Mall to Patong. Right side as going towards Patong, just down from "the chicken restaurant". Just look for all the cars.

[xylophone]

My gf opened a hairshop on Nanai Mar 2014. Last month was the first month she made no money. She was able to pay rent, utilities and her staff but, had nothing left to pay herself. The Chinese tourist do nothing for common Phuket folk. Lets hope this isnt too much of a trend

No surprise there. Already more hair shops on Nanai than the market can support.

I mean no disrespect, so please don't take it the wrong way, however your gf is either a very lucky lady or has found a way to make some money in a business which is "overrepresented" here.

A lady friend I have known for many years has had a hair/beauty salon for a number of years now and over a year ago she had to dispense with her worker because she was making no money. She is not faring much better now. Another lady friend was helping her sister in her hair salon in Nanai and that closed down over 12 months ago.

The newly opened hair salon at the bottom of Soi Nanai 6 lasted less than two months and is now closed and I bumped into another lady whom I remembered from the Guitar bar a few years ago and she was running a hair salon just off Nanai and said that business was extremely bad.

If you think back, then the last three high seasons have not been that high and the three traditional low seasons have been extremely low, and they have been getting progressively worse, so if your gf has been making money up to now, she has done extremely well, however I think these low times are here to stay, unfortunately for many small businesses.

I agree - the market has been saturated to the point no one can make any real money. The thing is, when the owners realize that there's no money to be made, the don't close the shop - they just sell it on to someone else and the cycle begins again. While living in the US, I saw this phenomenon over and over with the Vietnamese nail salons. It got to a point that there was a shop every couple of hundred yards or so, new ones kept opening and they were all dying. None ever closed, but instead they just changed ownership. There was always someone at the ready to realize their dream of business ownership thinking that somehow they'll make it work. In almost every case, they failed.

It's been interesting to watch the same pattern repeat itself here in Patong with bars, guesthouses, hair salons and I suspect we'll soon see Thai BBQ buffets fall in line with the same outcome.

So true about the shops Dr Dave and I have just this minute come back home after a trip along Nanai Road and I've noticed a few more empty shops, a couple of them massage shops. Most surprising was a small guesthouse called "Family Guest House", opposite "Jake's bar" which has the metal roller blinds down on the front, so it very much looks like it's closed.

The same with a couple of shops just south of the Green Mango, now empty. And the little clothes shop at the bottom of my Soi which has only been open for a couple of months is advertising a "seven-day sale", and this I suspect is to drum up some business because I've seen very little take place in the shop and I fear for its future.

Again, back to your point about the shops being recycled, I noticed that a couple of empty ones in Soi Banzaan have suddenly sprang to life again, however the Indian food/sports bar (yes that's true) has its blinds down and this seems to have been closed for about a month or more now.

Nanai Road is certainly having a tough time of it and when you think about it, it's not really a place for tourists, more a place where expats used to gather, but even that seems a thing of the past now.

[schlog]

The Thais know and understand fully well what is going on with the Chinese and how it is negatively impacting the average Phuket small business. They dont like it either.

The snarling, unfriendly and thuggish attitudes of the locals sure aren't helping lure non Chinese customers back.

Since you quoted my response Ill respond to your nonsense post.

There are two groups of tourist in Phuket now, Chinese and everybody else.

"Locals" dont have the thuggish attitudes, thugs do.

Locals have great attitudes, that is until they meet cynical, better than everybody else people portraying your type of attitude. Are some of them jaded, yes of course because they are tired of people trying to rip them off for pennies and drunken people acting like idiots.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in another Thailand or country??

GF and I just went out last week had an awesome seafood BBQ, great attitudes and pleasant atmosphere all for the grand total of 450 baht....

Where was this seafood BBQ? 450 p.p.?

Kathu. On the road from Central Festival Mall to Patong. Right side as going towards Patong, just down from "the chicken restaurant". Just look for all the cars. ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1468668039.390009.jpg

Thanks! Saw it many times but never tried. Will give it a go next time.

[2fishin2]

The Thais know and understand fully well what is going on with the Chinese and how it is negatively impacting the average Phuket small business. They dont like it either.

The snarling, unfriendly and thuggish attitudes of the locals sure aren't helping lure non Chinese customers back.

Since you quoted my response Ill respond to your nonsense post.

There are two groups of tourist in Phuket now, Chinese and everybody else.

"Locals" dont have the thuggish attitudes, thugs do.

Locals have great attitudes, that is until they meet cynical, better than everybody else people portraying your type of attitude. Are some of them jaded, yes of course because they are tired of people trying to rip them off for pennies and drunken people acting like idiots.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in another Thailand or country??

GF and I just went out last week had an awesome seafood BBQ, great attitudes and pleasant atmosphere all for the grand total of 450 baht....

Where was this seafood BBQ? 450 p.p.?

Kathu. On the road from Central Festival Mall to Patong. Right side as going towards Patong, just down from "the chicken restaurant". Just look for all the cars. ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1468668039.390009.jpg

Thanks! Saw it many times but never tried. Will give it a go next time.

Its a dive, kinda set up in a field but the locals love it. Specials are salt grilled fish, oysters and small clams. Really relaxed atmosphere with chickens walking around. Staff are friendly, food plentiful, and cheap. Now I know why there are always so many cars parked there.

[xylophone]

Postscript to my post # 1295....the small guest house Happy Family Guesthouse (or similar) on Nanai is open today. Customers today, none before perhaps?

[fforest1]

Dub 15 and Xylophone great posts...

Some reasons for the Downfall of Phuket...

1.About 10-15 years ago Phuket began to scare

off the Budget travelers and Cheap Charlies

through rising prices...

2.Loads and loads of westerners have been dumping Phuket for many years over the taxi situation...Many people dont want to drive and also dont want to

be ripped off on a daily basis..

3.People could at least look forward to a relaxing day on the beach lounging around on a sunbed..

Removing the umbrellas and sunbeds from the beach alienated huge chunks of the retired older well to do free spending tourist Thailand says they love

so much...

4.Sure the beach clubs may have been on public land..But they were unique and attracted many high dollar free spending tourist...The beach clubs were

far from cheap but many many tourist liked them..

And these tourist spent a lot of money other places.

Phuket has been working hard to find ways to get rid of the well off free spending westerners and replacing them with the zero dollar Chinese package tours,

whos free spending with the locals might consist of buying a ice cream cone or maybe some bottled water from 7-11.....

Good luck Phuket your going to need it.....

Edited July 19, 2016 by fforest1

[KarenBravo]

The beach clubs at Surin were not popular with residents who had paid millions for their houses. Then the beach clubs came and the booming bass could be heard for kilometres late at night.

Not only unpleasant for the locals, but, I'm sure it made houses more difficult to sell.

Good riddance, I reckon.

[schlog]

Also have to see the positive side about Patong's downside trend. Now you can smell the atmosphere of Baghdad and Guangzhou within 5m at Patong beach. ?

[2fishin2]

Also have to see the positive side about Patong's downside trend. Now you can smell the atmosphere of Baghdad and Guangzhou within 5m at Patong beach. [emoji41]

Huh? What are you spouting off about?

[Sharp]

Also have to see the positive side about Patong's downside trend. Now you can smell the atmosphere of Baghdad and Guangzhou within 5m at Patong beach.

Huh? What are you spouting off about?

+1

[NamKangMan]

Also have to see the positive side about Patong's downside trend. Now you can smell the atmosphere of Baghdad and Guangzhou within 5m at Patong beach.

Huh? What are you spouting off about?

+1

I think what the member is getting at is, as the main tourists coming to Phuket / Patong now are Chinese and Arab, you now have the "atmosphere" or feeling that you are in Baghdad or Guangzhou.

[xylophone]

Well something on a positive note now – – it seems like a restaurant in Jungceylon has struck paydirt because the new restaurant which replaced the poorly performing Chinese restaurant, which replaced the poorly performing Absolute Bar and Restaurant, opened a couple of days ago and has been packed to the gunnels ever since!

It's a Japanese restaurant called "YaYoi" or similar and according to a friend it is part of a chain of Japanese restaurants which seem to do well wherever they are opened? From what I could see, the prices were very reasonable indeed and needless to say the place was packed with Chinese.

On a not so positive note, the little guest house/apartments next to the Green Mango (Nanai Road), called South Mansion, has closed and is now up for lease and the Thai massage parlour "Mayraya" has also closed and just 20 m past that a bar has closed and is up for sale.

Having said that, if that restaurant had opened in Nanai Road, then it wouldn't be doing any business at all, because at the moment it's surely a question of location, location, location............ and anyway, the Chinese don't really seem to venture into Nanai much.

[DrDave]

I noticed the new Yayoi restaurant a couple of days ago. The Yayoi chain is owned by the same company as MK restaurants, so generally wherever you see an MK, there's a Yayoi nearby. After seeing the sign announcing Yayoi inside near Big C, we took a walk over to check it out and see if the prices were the same as their other locations. As suspected, prices are a little higher at this location, although still not expensive for decent food by most measures.

I've noticed quite a few closings of shops near the southern end of Sai Kor over the past couple of months. An entire row of shophouses was recently renovated (cosmetically, on the exterior it seems) on the west side of the road. The woman who operated both of the 40 baht Thai food places ("Mama Bear" and "Baby Bear" one on each side of the road) has now consolidated into a single triple newly-renovated unit on the west side. Word is that 8 shophouse units in the not-yet-completed guesthouse at the corner of Sai Kor and Prachanukhro have been rented by a Russian for some unknown purpose.

It seems that the landlord(s) along the southern end of Sai Kor is/are slowly squeezing out the existing businesses by raising rents. We know of one shop where the rent supposedly has been raised to over 30K/month, and they've been forced to look for a new location. About 10 years ago, we rented one of those same shophouses for a family member, and if I recall correctly, the rent was around 4K/month (but that was when Sai Kor was just a dirt and rubble road). The little Japanese restaurant (which never had any customers) across from Baby Bear closed some months ago, with a for rent sign outside. No takers, apparently. A little further to the north, the Lux hardware shop has closed, and its space is now for rent.

On the bright side, there's a newish restaurant on Sai Kor just a little south of Soi 8, named "Moo Dee @ Soi Tan". Not sure when it opened, as I just noticed it a few weeks ago. A very comfortable, clean place with an extensive menu. Very reasonable prices with simple Thai fare starting at 50 baht.

One Nanai business that seems to be thriving is the Da Moreno pizza/Italian restaurant. They closed it for a couple of weeks to do some remodeling, but as of last Sunday, I noticed it's open again.

Edited July 20, 2016 by DrDave

[xylophone]

Thanks for the info on that new restaurant DrDave and it was that full, there were people queueing outside when I looked yesterday!

I've also noticed some new shop houses at the end of Sai Kor and also going round into the road which leads down to the Honda dealer, and although couple have been occupied, the others have been empty for some time.

As regards the Da Moreno restaurant, well it makes fabulous pizzas (sister restaurant of La Capanina in Soi Nanai 2) and I am a fairly regular customer there, however the pizzas are too big to demolish in one sitting so they get cut up and put in the freezer for another day!

[LivinginKata]

<snip>

As regards the Da Moreno restaurant, well it makes fabulous pizzas (sister restaurant of La Capanina in Soi Nanai 2) and I am a fairly regular customer there, however the pizzas are too big to demolish in one sitting so they get cut up and put in the freezer for another day!

Brother of the Italian of the Palma resort on Nanai 2. Bruno runs Palma resort and La Capanina - excellent Italian food ... recommended.

[SooKee]

Thanks for the info on that new restaurant DrDave and it was that full, there were people queueing outside when I looked yesterday!

I've also noticed some new shop houses at the end of Sai Kor and also going round into the road which leads down to the Honda dealer, and although couple have been occupied, the others have been empty for some time.

As regards the Da Moreno restaurant, well it makes fabulous pizzas (sister restaurant of La Capanina in Soi Nanai 2) and I am a fairly regular customer there, however the pizzas are too big to demolish in one sitting so they get cut up and put in the freezer for another day!

Da Moreno is the one that's ON Nanai right? Bit like having a meal in the pit lane at Brands Hatch with all the traffic noise

[xylophone]

Thanks for the info on that new restaurant DrDave and it was that full, there were people queueing outside when I looked yesterday!

I've also noticed some new shop houses at the end of Sai Kor and also going round into the road which leads down to the Honda dealer, and although couple have been occupied, the others have been empty for some time.

As regards the Da Moreno restaurant, well it makes fabulous pizzas (sister restaurant of La Capanina in Soi Nanai 2) and I am a fairly regular customer there, however the pizzas are too big to demolish in one sitting so they get cut up and put in the freezer for another day!

Da Moreno is the one that's ON Nanai right? Bit like having a meal in the pit lane at Brands Hatch with all the traffic noise

55555..........a bit like the new "Dons BBQ". That's why I get a takeaway SooKee!!

Although Nanai is a lot quieter these days!

[Yahooka]

Well something on a positive note now – – it seems like a restaurant in Jungceylon has struck paydirt because the new restaurant which replaced the poorly performing Chinese restaurant, which replaced the poorly performing Absolute Bar and Restaurant, opened a couple of days ago and has been packed to the gunnels ever since!

It's a Japanese restaurant called "YaYoi" or similar and according to a friend it is part of a chain of Japanese restaurants which seem to do well wherever they are opened? From what I could see, the prices were very reasonable indeed and needless to say the place was packed with Chinese.

On a not so positive note, the little guest house/apartments next to the Green Mango (Nanai Road), called South Mansion, has closed and is now up for lease and the Thai massage parlour "Mayraya" has also closed and just 20 m past that a bar has closed and is up for sale.

Having said that, if that restaurant had opened in Nanai Road, then it wouldn't be doing any business at all, because at the moment it's surely a question of location, location, location............ and anyway, the Chinese don't really seem to venture into Nanai much.

Pity about South Mansion.I used to stay there a couple of years back and it was nice and for a cheap price,too.It was run by some greeks.

[metisdead]

A profane post has been removed.

[xylophone]

Have been meaning to post this for quite a few days now, however I have been sick and am just getting back into the swing of things.

Was in Starbucks last week and met up with a guy I know and we were talking about Patong and he said, "Patong is biting its own arm off" and I didn't think much about it at the time, however later it came to me that he might be more right than he knows. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you, well that's one option, then there is the fact that Patong is feeding on itself, of course leading onto the fact that it will eventually consume itself and so on.

Anyway I decided to hit the town on Thursday evening and what surprised me was the huge amount of people sitting and milling around at the back of Jungceylon, by Rat-U-Thid and of course they were accompanied by the usual amount of taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers and at least around 10 ping-pong touts, this even before they had hit Bangla Road!!

Actually, Bangla Road itself was buzzing (this at about 9:30 p.m.) and had more people walking around than I had seen for some time. I did hit my usual Smiley Bar and even though it was sparsely populated initially, it did fill up a bit later, probably to about 60% full or more, then I popped down to see a friend in Soi Freedom and although he had a few folk in his bar, he said it had been very quiet for a few weeks now, and looking up and down that Soi I could see what he meant.

Meandering home at about 1:30 a.m. I noticed that there were still quite a few people on Bangla and that the Monsoon bar was absolutely packed and patrons were spilling out onto the road, New York bar still busy but less so and the two Tiger complexes being sparsely populated. Someone did tell me that Illuzion can get up to 3000 people there in an evening!!!! Maybe that's where everybody goes?

I caught a motorbike taxi home and I have to put in a good word for these guys that sit at the top of the road, because many times I have used them and they have always been very good, inquiring after my welfare and when they drop me off, asking me if I am okay to get home, to take care, etc. one in particular is always jovial and smiling and wishes me well and asks if I am okay to get up the hill on my own?

Moving along, Nanai still has a life of its own and I have noticed that the recently opened Amigo bar has been shut for about a week now and this seems strange because it hasn't been open long and I believe quite a bit of money was spent in the fit out? Word on the street is that a lot more of the small businesses are struggling and it wouldn't surprise me to see more closures sooner rather than later.

[DrDave]

<snip>

Actually, Bangla Road itself was buzzing (this at about 9:30 p.m.) and had more people walking around than I had seen for some time. I did hit my usual Smiley Bar and even though it was sparsely populated initially, it did fill up a bit later, probably to about 60% full or more, then I popped down to see a friend in Soi Freedom and although he had a few folk in his bar, he said it had been very quiet for a few weeks now, and looking up and down that Soi I could see what he meant.

Meandering home at about 1:30 a.m. I noticed that there were still quite a few people on Bangla and that the Monsoon bar was absolutely packed and patrons were spilling out onto the road, New York bar still busy but less so and the two Tiger complexes being sparsely populated. Someone did tell me that Illuzion can get up to 3000 people there in an evening!!!! Maybe that's where everybody goes?

<snip>

Moving along, Nanai still has a life of its own and I have noticed that the recently opened Amigo bar has been shut for about a week now and this seems strange because it hasn't been open long and I believe quite a bit of money was spent in the fit out? Word on the street is that a lot more of the small businesses are struggling and it wouldn't surprise me to see more closures sooner rather than later.

I think that as another poster mentioned a while back, the level of activity on Bangla seems to vary from one night to the next.

We had an early night out Sunday, and Bangla wasn't busy at all. At about 9pm, the band was playing at Smiley bar to a decent sized crowd, so it appears that having a band start a little earlier in the evening is a good idea. The Filipino band at Soi Freedom just started playing after we arrived, and I have to say the the entire soi was deserted. Neither Island Bar or Wave Bar (the 2 bars nearest the band) had a single customer, and things didn't improve much for the hour or so we stayed. The band at Soi Freedom had a second female singer, who has an exceptional voice - I don't know if that's temporary or permanent. Passing by Smiley Bar on the way out a little after 10pm, I saw it was absolutely packed - a very good sign for an otherwise dismal turnout on Bangla. Walking down Bangla, I noticed that the U2 bar was closed, with their roller blind down. Not sure if this is a permanent closure, but U2 has been a fixture on Bangla as long as I can remember.

Speaking of Nanai, Amigo is someplace I've been meaning to check out ever since it opened, but still haven't made it there. I'm hoping it's not closed for good, as a nice bar with Mexican food seems like something unique in an otherwise same-same landscape. We've recently stopped in at Da Moreno pizza restaurant, and they've done a nice job with the remodel, re-configuring things a bit to add what seems like quite a few more seats. Should really help on their busy nights.

Looking down Soi 8, I've noticed a guesthouse promoting rooms for 400 baht, or just 7,500/month. There can't be any profit in that - probably just enough to pay the bills and keep a minimal staff.

Over at Banzaan, work has begun on what looks to be a permanent canopy over the "restaurant" area at the night market. Those little pop-up places (along with the former Hemingway's restaurant at the front) look to be very popular with the Chinese tourists that seem to have overrun Banzaan in the evening.

[xylophone]

<snip>

Actually, Bangla Road itself was buzzing (this at about 9:30 p.m.) and had more people walking around than I had seen for some time. I did hit my usual Smiley Bar and even though it was sparsely populated initially, it did fill up a bit later, probably to about 60% full or more, then I popped down to see a friend in Soi Freedom and although he had a few folk in his bar, he said it had been very quiet for a few weeks now, and looking up and down that Soi I could see what he meant.

Meandering home at about 1:30 a.m. I noticed that there were still quite a few people on Bangla and that the Monsoon bar was absolutely packed and patrons were spilling out onto the road, New York bar still busy but less so and the two Tiger complexes being sparsely populated. Someone did tell me that Illuzion can get up to 3000 people there in an evening!!!! Maybe that's where everybody goes?

<snip>

Moving along, Nanai still has a life of its own and I have noticed that the recently opened Amigo bar has been shut for about a week now and this seems strange because it hasn't been open long and I believe quite a bit of money was spent in the fit out? Word on the street is that a lot more of the small businesses are struggling and it wouldn't surprise me to see more closures sooner rather than later.

I think that as another poster mentioned a while back, the level of activity on Bangla seems to vary from one night to the next.

We had an early night out Sunday, and Bangla wasn't busy at all. At about 9pm, the band was playing at Smiley bar to a decent sized crowd, so it appears that having a band start a little earlier in the evening is a good idea. The Filipino band at Soi Freedom just started playing after we arrived, and I have to say the the entire soi was deserted. Neither Island Bar or Wave Bar (the 2 bars nearest the band) had a single customer, and things didn't improve much for the hour or so we stayed. The band at Soi Freedom had a second female singer, who has an exceptional voice - I don't know if that's temporary or permanent. Passing by Smiley Bar on the way out a little after 10pm, I saw it was absolutely packed - a very good sign for an otherwise dismal turnout on Bangla. Walking down Bangla, I noticed that the U2 bar was closed, with their roller blind down. Not sure if this is a permanent closure, but U2 has been a fixture on Bangla as long as I can remember.

Speaking of Nanai, Amigo is someplace I've been meaning to check out ever since it opened, but still haven't made it there. I'm hoping it's not closed for good, as a nice bar with Mexican food seems like something unique in an otherwise same-same landscape. We've recently stopped in at Da Moreno pizza restaurant, and they've done a nice job with the remodel, re-configuring things a bit to add what seems like quite a few more seats. Should really help on their busy nights.

The second female singer at the band in Soi Freedom does have a great voice and her name is Donna and I think she's pretty much a permanent fixture now.

Just been past U2 bar and the name has disappeared and work is being done on it so who knows what's happening there.

As for Amigo, DrDave, well I don't think it ever did sell Mexican food, so maybe you haven't missed out on anything!

Speaking of businesses closing, I have just been speaking to the owner of the Deli who is clearing out his stock and has the building up for lease. Business has been on the decline for at least five years now so it's no surprise that it is going.

The owner suggested it might be a good location for an Italian restaurant or even an Irish bar with a restaurant attached and it certainly has enough room to do just about anything anyone wants, however it is in the wrong part of town.

Just down from the Deli a bar and guesthouse which seems to have been called Baan Phil, is empty as is another double fronted shop opposite and down the way a little.

I also notice that a small bar that opened up about three months ago, at the south end of Soi Nanai just metres along from Soi Nanai 6 is for sale.

[LivinginKata]

^

I had wanted to check out that Amigo place as i like Mexican food. And you tell me no Mexican food served. I passed by yesterday about 14.00 ... closed.

Surprised you report that the Deli is still open. He has been trying to sell for years. Very nice man ... downfall started when Carrefour opened ... the one way road system did not help much. This was my main shop for my first 10 years in Patong. Aways busy way back then.

[KarenBravo]

Surprised you report that the Deli is still open. He has been trying to sell for years. Very nice man ... downfall started when Carrefour opened ... the one way road system did not help much. This was my main shop for my first 10 years in Patong. Aways busy way back then.

Yes, he had the monopoly on exotic cheeses for years. Used to make us pay through the nose for it, too.

[LivinginKata]

Surprised you report that the Deli is still open. He has been trying to sell for years. Very nice man ... downfall started when Carrefour opened ... the one way road system did not help much. This was my main shop for my first 10 years in Patong. Aways busy way back then.

Yes, he had the monopoly on exotic cheeses for years. Used to make us pay through the nose for it, too.

Not in my experience - his cheese and cold cuts were cheaper (and nicer) than Carefour ...

[KarenBravo]

Surprised you report that the Deli is still open. He has been trying to sell for years. Very nice man ... downfall started when Carrefour opened ... the one way road system did not help much. This was my main shop for my first 10 years in Patong. Aways busy way back then.

Yes, he had the monopoly on exotic cheeses for years. Used to make us pay through the nose for it, too.

Not in my experience - his cheese and cold cuts were cheaper (and nicer) than Carefour ...

This was years and years before Carrefour opened.

[beechbum]

Surprised you report that the Deli is still open. He has been trying to sell for years. Very nice man ... downfall started when Carrefour opened ... the one way road system did not help much. This was my main shop for my first 10 years in Patong. Aways busy way back then.

Yes, he had the monopoly on exotic cheeses for years. Used to make us pay through the nose for it, too.

Not in my experience - his cheese and cold cuts were cheaper (and nicer) than Carefour ...

This was years and years before Carrefour opened.

Is the meat shop just sth on the other side that had the good ribs still open?

[KarenBravo]

If you mean Siam Meats, yes, still open and still have excellent pork sausages for BBQ.

[beechbum]

If you mean Siam Meats, yes, still open and still have excellent pork sausages for BBQ.

Yeah thats the one, supplied many a bbq on scumbag.