Otherworldly Being

[Moonface]

The Safari place was a drive through zoo, and the only restaurant that place had was human sacrifices if you got out the car.
Also it seems that maybe the one you went to in London isn't connected directly to the rest of them because it isn't on the Rainforest Cafe website, and instead has a separate one just for itself which I found interesting to see. When did you go to the one in London?

[Mr EliteL]

I was remembering the Safari place because I got two tiger plushes from there in their shop afterwards. At least I think it was there, I have a bag from there.
I went to that Rainforest Cafe a few years ago, before I went to Florida I believe. I probably have it in a year diary that I started doing since 2015, but don't remember which year...possibly '17 or maybe even mid '18, wouldn't have been in a colder time of year. Went specifically for monkey soft toys (sister) and to try the food, well a part of a London visit anyway with my sister and friend.

[ShiraNoMai]

Is there any kind of food you'd like to try again when you visit the States again?

[Mr EliteL]

Nothing really in particular, just an american pasta dish, er....a full on sandwich/burger, anything! Just not like a cheese & onion savoury type thing and I should be good. Oh that's right I didn't have a pancake breaksfast, I know Moony's mum did. I shall have one next time!

[Moonface]

Yeah I feel like the breakfasts here are one of the few things that would actually be unique to eat here. Burgers and stuff could be self made to resemble an American one whereas the pancakes and waffles and such are harder to mimic or find.

Here's a random one. Did Asda ever change the way people can sit in the break room upstairs when Covid was first about? I ask because I randomly remembered my store moved every chair and table six feet apart but we're lucky to have more than 4 people in there at a time whereas I know your store has dozens in there multiple times of the day.

[Mr EliteL]

Yes they did, and it remained like it for two years roughly only until the full restrictions begun to lessen earlier this year. Can't remember if you were here when they removed all the kitchen appliances, well for cooking an such and swapped for only vending machines, microwave, fridges and sink, most of which were from the older cafeteria apart from one fridge and new sink. There's a roundtable with 8 seats on, only four people were allowed sit there. One person was allowed on each couch that were from the old cafeteria. The other seating were a small table with a single seat spread out from each other (used to be multiple put together to form a larger table so people could sit next to each other), ending up with something like 12 table/seats, about 18 areas to sit in total.

[Moonface]

When I still worked there the kitchen was fully intact albeit not used outside of Christmas for the big Christmas dinner everyone got to be part of. The vending machines and microwave were there too but they were like in the middle of the room where the TV was at the time (you should recall since you worked there at this point).

Not surprised they tore the kitchen out fully to make more seating room though. It was a waste of space otherwise. Couches were not a thing while I worked there and neither were round tables; everything was just the rectangular ones and that was it. If you wanted a couch you went to the quiet room like a plebian.

[Mr EliteL]

Ah yes the couches were in the quiet room....that's no longer a quiet room now. That has a tall table now and is where the managers go to talk about what's going on, although don't think they do the set meetings anymore, no service call at 10AM where they all huddle in the room. Well I say "talk" whenever I go pass by, nothing's happening in there except writing on a whiteboard and some papers on the table. The couches were moved into the canteen, which really is just a break room not a canteen.

[Moonface]

I don't get why the managers would move to that room when the main office functioned just fine for meetings. Unless there's something else that happens in there that can affect meetings so it got moved to a more private space.

[Mr EliteL]

Ah that's right just remembered, where the old sink used be in the back room of the canteen. That's become more of a meeting room, recruiters to go in and also the room used now for training videos. Then also the GSM room which I tend to see smaller meetings between them, the deputy and a department manager/section leader/higher up take place, so there's essentially 3 places for them. I don't know why, they close the door most of the time too.

[Moonface]

Oh they didn't knock the wall down that divided that kitchen space? I just assumed they did but judging from your comments so far I should give up on expecting anything done to the upstairs area of that store to make sense at this point.

Has anything on the floor itself changed (excluding any revamp stuff like new freezers and whatnot) or are all the aisles pretty much still the same?

[Mr EliteL]

Your parents might have told you, but the fish counter has been replaced with a Sushi Bar, and that's mainly it so far. Well that and the photos I showed you a while a back. Oh perhaps the Travel Money area at the entrance, although that's not being used anymore thanks to Covid screwing that section up, so stuff like pallets of GM stock and George gets placed in front of the booth. Perhaps that'll eventually come back though.

[Moonface]

I did hear about the sushi bar and I question how much use it'll really see. Not that it matters since I'm sure they'll replace it in the next five years since nothing in that area manages to last very long.

If you could live anywhere in the UK other than our home town where would you pick?

[Mr EliteL]

I don't know how it's doing (the sushi bar) exactly, but yeah I'm not sure it'll last. Although I remember on the TV in the break room they have what's going on in other stores and what could be happening to them, as in there's a HUGE place somewhere that has a shed-tonne of more things in there which includes a KFC (doubtful for our store as we already now have a KFC just outside of town by the new M&S petrol station), Greggs, Claire's, another bakery, other like er...third party stuff, plus they also have the sushi bar which we did get, so I'm wondering what other new sections could be coming to our store. I'm thinking this new bakery thing will eventually to replace the old bakery....some stuff for George perhaps, as I think there were branded clothes in there too just can't remember what exactly. Wish I knew where the video was. If I find it I'll link it.

As for you question, at the moment nothing really stands out to me yet, except maybe in the Colchester area as I'm a bit familiar with the place as an older friend lives there that visit a number of times in a year. Although definitely not certain as I'm still open to almost anything, and would prefer knowing a place also beforehand, which in turn rules out London, Chelmsford, Southend, Clacton and some others as I don't want to live there.

[Moonface]

I doubt your store would get another restaurant even if the space was there for it since one is enough. Also, keep in mind that technically our town store extends to the buildings in the square outside because they own all that property and lease it to those businesses. That's why Costa gives us a discount; Asda basically let them pay less rent in return for giving the workers a discount even though it isn't attached to the store itself. Still, it's crazy to hear all those things being inside a store. I don't think even Wal-Mart here does that sort of thing, unless anyone else here reads this and has something to share on that. XD

Hmm. I've never really been to Colchester proper; it's just really been the zoo a few times and I once checked out their university before signing up for the nightmare that was Southend, but neither of those are really placed by anything to judge Colchester off of them. Is it the city/built-up area you tend to go to there or is it an area outside that's more suburban and less dense?