The Dubliners - Stockton

[On The Bob]

Or “The Dubs” for most that used to go there, has announced its closing as of the 18th August.

When I used to work full time in the office (based in Teesdale) we used to go in quite regular on Fridays after work or at lunch time.

The last few times we’ve been in the office, we’ve popped over for a bit of lunch. It seemed the writing was on the wall. Stopped stocking 80% of their draught beer and were starting to sell cans. The place was also becoming very run down.

It’s a real shame. Rising costs and reducing footfall they say are to blame. Hardly surprising given the changes to working from home and them being heavily reliant on trade from office workers in the surrounding area.

Another one bites the dust.

 

[SmallTown]

Sad times to lose another pub.

Although I have distinct memories of it stinking in the summer of, I would say 2001. It smelt like there was a dead body under the pool table

 

[Fat_Dragon]

No surprise. Pub industry been in decline ever since the turn of the century.

 

[SilentProf]

The writing was on the wall after lockdown when a lot of the surrounding businesses started allowing work from home and then Barclays closed their offices.

 

[TheYorkshireTerrier]

Good times in there after work on a Friday, bet it lost a lot of business once most of the offices started working from home.

 

[Colgates_shaving_foam]

I've never been a fan of it but a shame for the staff and another empty building now.

 

[Fat_Dragon]

There are many factors why pubs are closing at the rate they are:

Expensive at pubs
Young don’t drink much
Cheaper to drink at home
High business rates and rent
Many people now work at home

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

Youngsters do their socialising online.

 

[asredastheycome]

Can't afford cocaiine and booze

 

[junos_boots]

Hopefully the one in Thornaby is stsying open?

 

[On The Bob]

Hopefully the one in Thornaby is stsying open?

Stockton / Thornaby. It did cross my mind which one to put. It never quite feels like Thornaby to me - although appreciate, it’s over the road from The Train Station.

 

[BigAl76]

Sad times to lose another pub.

Although I have distinct memories of it stinking in the summer of, I would say 2001. It smelt like there was a dead body under the pool table

There possibly was...

Shame this like. I too used to frequent The Dubs on a Friday lunch time when working on teessdale. Whenever anyone left the company we used to all pile in there for send off drinks.

 

[Matlex71]

Very sad - another unforeseen victim of the lockdowns, I read over 250 have shut this year

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

Very sad - another unforeseen victim of the lockdowns, I read over 250 have shut this year

Lockdowns finished a long time ago. There's pubs that have reopened since.

 

[Matlex71]

And there’s a lot more closed - it’s obviously not just the lockdown, the young uns have healthier habits than my generation but people did get used to drinking at home and the price of supermarket beer doesn’t help the pubs.

 

[Priv]

Used to be our Friday lunch time treat when I used to work in Stockton, though 12 years since I left that job.

Durham uni cutting the queens campus back to international students doing foundation degrees will of killed it as well, as when ever I went it was mostly just students in there.

 

[ThatFragranceGuy]

simple fact is it's in a weird location for passing trade. Their isn't much in the way of housing apart from a few flats / student digs, and it's not somewhere you would take a trip to.

Similar to OP, i spent a lot of time in there when I worked at teesdale - work lunches, drinks after work, leaving do's etc. most team nights out started in there. it used to be fairly small but then it extended several times and built a large beer garden, over time though many of the large tenants at Teesdale business park have left - Barclaycard and Churchill insurance, Barclays premier, swiftcover, not sure if santander are still there? Each of those big businesses is a lot of people having lunches and leaving do's so I'm not surprised at all they're struggling, I'm surprised they extended etc tbh as teesdale been struggling for a while - but they've been building some new units I think?

Plus the uni switched from it being its Durham campus to having it as its International student base.

It's way too big a building to serve that business park as it stands - everything has to let signs up.

However I am sure I read the councils new office at Dunedin house on the teesdale side. Hopefully this starts a bit of a revitalisation as having a busy teesdale business park will help with town centre footfall as well as businesses like the Sainsburies local, food vans etc.

 

[thornabyred]

Used to frequent it in my youth when it was the Cleveland many moons ago. Old Juke box in the backroom.
Originally it was a busy pub when the old housing was there pre the A66 being built and the industry on Teesdale. Used to be a good pub crawl on a weekend with all the old pubs on Mandale road and George st areas . 15 pubs and a couple of clubs.

 

[Transitarmy]

We went for Sunday lunch at thre .Dubliners, and it was pretty poor to tell the truth.

 

[HarryVegas]

Used to frequent it in my youth when it was the Cleveland many moons ago. Old Juke box in the backroom.
Originally it was a busy pub when the old housing was there pre the A66 being built and the industry on Teesdale. Used to be a good pub crawl on a weekend with all the old pubs on Mandale road and George st areas . 15 pubs and a couple of clubs.

Yep. There was a guy who sort of worked there who I can only assume was an alcoholic. He was a cellar man who they appeared to pay in ale. Everyone called him Blue, presumably because of the colour of his face.