ring ring... hi cactus club, this is downtown edmonton, you could make a killing. thank you!
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Cactus Club returns, looking sharp
20th restaurant for Vancouver-based chain
BY BILL MAH, THE EDMONTON JOURNALAPRIL 24, 2009 7:26 AMBE THE FIRST TO POST A COMMENT
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UNCOMMON CAFE: The Vancouver-based Cactus Club Cafe opened its first local location on Thursday in a West Edmonton Mall building formerly occupied by Sears automotive.
Photograph by: Shaughn Butts, The Journal, The Edmonton Journal
On one wall hangs a screen print by pop-artist Andy Warhol. Across the room, there's a modern Canadian piece by Edmonton-born artist Tony Baker.
A metre-wide hammered steel and aluminum lamp by German designer Ingo Maurer hangs from the ceiling.
And while you're admiring those, a young woman in a snug black dress and pointed heels brings your sake-soy marinated sablefish -- a culinary vision by celebrity chef Rob Feenie.
It's not a swank gala at the art gallery. It's the Cactus Club Cafe, a 7,500-square-foot, 300 seat, 150-employee restaurant which opened Thursday adjoining West Edmonton Mall.
It's the 20th restaurant for the Vancouver-based chain since president and owner Richard Jaffray set aside sailboating and surfboard to open an 89-seat eatery in North Vancouver in 1988.
Two Cactus Clubs are in Calgary, and the rest in British Columbia. Edmonton was the next logical spot in the march towards becoming a national brand, Jaffray said.
"I look at a market like Edmonton and I think certainly up to three locations and maybe four," said Jaffray, outlining a five-year plan for Edmonton during a visit to the city.
He took the competitive field of casually chic restaurants already here as a good sign.
"We are competing for the same customer base, but there are some unique elements to Cactus that seem to have us doing very well. In fact, the best news I have is there's an Earl's or Joeys or Moxie's or Keg in a marketplace because I know the market is there and we can create our niche.
"I like to believe we're pushing that envelope a little further than a lot of my competitors are." To that end, Cactus Club hired high-profile chef Rob Feenie last year as its "food-concept architect."
The opening is actually a return to Edmonton for the chain. A Cactus Club Cafe on Jasper Avenue at 121st Street that featured denim-shirted servers, a cow motif and peanut shells on the floor closed in 1996 after a 21-month run. Another outlet on Calgary Trail closed in 1995 after 13 months.
The new restaurant is all grown up.
To make his eateries more comfortable and stylish, Jaffray collects authentic art and invests in high-end furnishings like imported tile and uncommon design touches -- press a button in the washroom and a fresh seat cover spins around, while flat-screen TVs entertain users in every stall.
After meeting West Edmonton Mall president Don Ghermezian at a Toronto shopping centre conference, Jaffray said he chose the site because of the lure of a virtually free-standing, exterior location with high traffic. "There's only two places that I would consider opening a first location -- it would either be downtown or West Edmonton Mall."
It's also located away from the mall's Bourbon Street restaurant strip to cater to customers who don't want to deal with crowds.
The restaurant cost "north of $7 million."
With its price points in the $15-to-$20 range for lunch and $20 to $40 for dinner, Cactus Club aims at 25- to 40-year-olds. "It's generally that group that's a magnet for the rest of the demographic."
Jaffray is working on opening three more restaurants in the chain in 2010.
As for opening in an economic downturn, Jaffray said that's due to the 18 months it takes to plan new restaurants. "Frankly, we have not experienced the same downturn in our sales that perhaps some other people in the sector have. We are off slightly this year versus last year, but if you factor in the weather that we've had ... we're actually up in sales over last year.
"For the vast majority of people, (recession) is more of a fear than a reality."
The company projects sales of more than $100 million this year, about 20-per-cent higher than last year, including new units, he said.
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