In 1968 Victoria Pier was purchased by Entamatics Ltd (part of what became known as the Trust House Forte Group). The shore end of the pier was stripped of decking and the steelwork was repaired prior to a large new building being erected. This large steel space-frame building with its distinctive fibreglass multi-pyramid roof was to be the Golden Goose Amusement Arcade.

 
Workmen stripping the front of the pier of decking before building the Golden Goose

This dramatically altered the look of the pier both from along the promenade, and more significantly from the approach under the railway bridge directly opposite the pier entrance: you could no longer see directly down the pier, instead being confronted by a rather large and ugly building.

The Golden Goose Arcade in the 1970s

Later in the 1970s the building was extended further forwards toward the promenade, which meant the demolition of the original pair of entrance kiosks with their amazing 'pineapple' shape roofs.

The new entrance building continued in use as one large amusement arcade when the pier changed ownership in 1979 to Parker's of Rhyl.

When the Paxmans bought the pier in the mid 1990s, they converted the entrance building internally to a shopping arcade in the Victorian Style, and over the years many different shops have come and gone in the various units that were created.

When I bought the pier in December of 2003, the only unit that remained trading was the Angling Centre. I have also tried various different shops, some rented out to tenants and some run 'in house' to try and determine what will and won't work. It is absolutely essential for the long term future of Victoria Pier to have thriving businesses on board that will not only do well during the short 'season' but which can also stand on their own two feet for the rest of the year. This is no easy task, and various things have come and gone.

What we have now is a core of 4 good businesses that work well in the summer and manage to thrive all year round. These being the Angling Centre, Amusement Arcade, Bar and Cafe. These 4 core areas of trade have been enlarged both in terms of their turnover and physical size over the past couple of years. 

The new Cafe under construction winter 2006/7

By the 2008 season we hope to have the entrance building fully internally refurbished which should see it through until such times as it can hopefully be replaced by something a lot nicer! The plan is to eventually build a brand new building on the end of the pier which will contain a Family Entertainment Centre. Catering and Bar facilities will be provided in the Pavilion and the new FEC building, and a new home found for the Angling Centre. This will allow for the entrance building to be demolished and replicas of the original entrance kiosks recreated, along perhaps with a much smaller building on the front of the pier.