Welcome To Wetherspoons

Now a 900 strong pub chain, with an annual turnover of £1.6 billion, J.D. Wetherspoon is a big name on the British high street. But when entrepreneur Tim Martin flung open the doors of the first branch in London’s Muswell Hill on 9th December, 1979, it was known as ‘Tim’s Free House’ - and closed down on its opening night.

He built up the business by taking over leases at old buildings such as churches and cinemas, and converting them into pubs - meaning they weren’t tied to any particular brewery, guaranteeing lower prices for customers. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly interrogate Martin’s ‘man of the people’ image, reveal why Wetherspoon’s famous carpets are so expensive; and ask if the ‘paltry chip count’ meme explains why they came off social media…

Further Reading:

• How Wetherspoon's Conquered Britain (Esquire, 2018): https://www.esquire.com/uk/food-drink/a19129642/how-wetherspoons-conquered-britain/

• ‘Did Wetherspoons See The Pandemic Coming?’ (Channel 5, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDQl21ZoMEw

• ‘Wetherspoons Paltry Chip Count: How the counting chips page went sour’ (JOE.co.uk, 2021): https://www.joe.co.uk/uncategorized/inside-the-wetherspoons-paltry-chip-count-how-the-last-wholesome-corner-of-facebook-turned-sour-303164

For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors

Our supporters on Patreon* and Apple Podcasts get extra material from the show every single week. In today’s bonus content, the team discover how Tim Martin has claimed the inspiration for Wetherspoon's came from George Orwell's 1946 essay The Moon Under Water - but that the full text reveals some particularly un-'Spoons'y details...

* top two tiers only

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.

#70s #Invention #Food #Person #UK

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices