For ages Chill Grill's been doing just fine on Hollway Road. Then the Emirates Stadium opened, and about a day after, this did too:
Not all that far away, all told...
Feel a but sorry for Chill Grill. You can talk about cluster effect all you like, but it's not like you'd go for a grilled food spree the way you'd head off for, say, a big old shoe spend-up on Neal St. Although most Gunners (me included) are a funny bunch.
Since the Arsenal stadium opened just round the corner from us, the population has started turning a shade of red at the weekends. Like an alien invasion. Even if I am an Arsenal fan. (I'd never wear red though.)
El Comandante is one reason Seven Sisters Road area is one of my favourite places to have lived. It's a South American sitting room of a bar so far off the beaten track it's lost, with peeling walls, cheap rum and the most charismatic owner (William) you could hope to meet. He's like everyone's big Bolivian rum-pushing uncle. There are lots of communist undertones, and plenty of Che pictures but we love it.
And it's in trouble. You can see the new Arsenal stadium from the front porch.
For 10 happy years William has tended his faithful and moderate (in number) flock, and now he's in danger of being overrun by Gunners. He's having sleepless nights / dreams where he drowns in a sea of red shirts. He's even wondering whether he should hire bouncers.
It struck me as a peculiar problem for a business - how to deter customers. Praps more common than you'd think - lots only want certain kinds of customers I suppose. And I was at a loss. As an Arsenal fan myself I should know what would make me go away. But then I'm not the kind of Arsenal fan he minds I guess (this isn't really fair as he doesn't even know I am one. Kept that one under my hat.) I'm going to have a think. Maybe some kind of collapsable bar setup so everything folds into invisibility as soon as an Arsenal fan appears.
The picture above is in the interests of keeping El Commandante the place a secret, of course. Not that I'm showing off my handsome nephew. (He's a human throwback, if you're wondering about the muppet genes.)
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