Downtown Update

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Beside Dalina's, right?

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Beside Dalina's, right?

It's right where Dalina used to be. Same address.

In between Culantro Peruvian Cookery at 47 King William, and Made for you by Madelaine at 51 King William.


http://culantro.ca/

http://www.bymadeleine.ca/contact.html#.Uvq8XGJdWdV

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Oh man, I'm outta the loop. I never thought Dalina's would close - it seemed it would go on forever.

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Oh man, I'm outta the loop. I never thought Dalina's would close - it seemed it would go on forever.

I likely missed something really good? I'm looking forward to going to the new bakery.

In other news, The owners of Rapscallion and 2 Black Sheep are looking for a location for their 3rd restaurant! Excellent news. It would be gratifying if they opened on King Street E, but I can imagine some hesitation. That whole stretch from James east to Wellington seems to be a really challenging location, despite inroads being made. I'm hoping Cafe Oranje is thriving.

[matt602]

Every time I pass Cafe Oranje, theres at least a few people in there, so I think they're doing alright.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Oh man, I'm outta the loop. I never thought Dalina's would close - it seemed it would go on forever.

For many years that was my wife's favourite restaurant. Run by an Egyptain woman (serving Egyptian food), it was named after her 2 daughters, neither of which had any interest in the restaurant business.

When she retires a few years ago, she sold to one fo the women she employed and she ran it for a few short years, moving on to other endeavours.




More recently, it was It's a Food Thing (Jamaican)

[movingtohamilton]

So moving west from King William to James and then north...has anyone been to The Stowaway Pub recently? Is it still open? No recent tweets or FB updates. Drove past a while ago and saw some sign in the door but didn't stop to read it. Hope it's not gone

[mattgrande]

Originally Posted by movingtohamilton

So moving west from King William to James and then north...has anyone been to The Stowaway Pub recently? Is it still open? No recent tweets or FB updates. Drove past a while ago and saw some sign in the door but didn't stop to read it. Hope it's not gone

I heard it's gone, unfortunately. I liked it, but I'm too lazy to get that far up James in the winter, so I haven't been since it got cold.

I guess it never seemed to catch on, though. There were a couple times I would go in and it would be empty.

[matt602]

It's gone? Really? I find that pretty weird. I went a couple of times over the fall and even a month ago and it was packed a few of those times. There didn't seem to be anything that indicated they would be closing up. They had only just gotten a liquor license for the patio some time in the fall, I believe.

[Jon Dalton]

Sign says closed due to rent arrears, up for lease. Don't know any details, but the rent there was pretty expensive.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

I seem to recall seeing some pics of a freshly opened Bank of Montreal pavilion looking really colourful. I don't remember if it was the interior or the exterior of the building.

Found it!

link

[mattgrande]

So was the entrance of Jackson designed to look like a WW2 bunker?

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Found it!

link

From Birks to Club Monaco to Urban Planet. So it goes.

[thistleclub]

Cash Store and Instaloans Denied Payday Lender Licences

February 13, 2014 4:00 p.m.Ministry of Consumer Services

Ontario's Registrar of Payday Loans today issued a proposal to refuse recent applications for payday lender licences from Cash Store and Instaloans - both owned by The Cash Store Financial Services Inc.

Separately, on February 12, the Superior Court of Justice issued a decision that the basic line of credit Cash Store and Instaloans has been offering is a payday loan and subject to Ontario’s Payday Loans Act and Regulations. Cash Store and Instaloans are prohibited from acting as a loan broker of the basic line of credit without a licence and they have been ordered to pay $50,000 in costs to the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services.

The Court’s decision resulted from an application filed on June 7, 2013 by the Ministry. As a result of the decisions by the Registrar and Superior Court of Justice, Cash Store and Instaloans cannot offer payday loans or their basic line of credit product in Ontario.

In February 2013, the Ontario Registrar of Payday Loans issued proposals to revoke Cash Store’s and Instaloans’ licences. In the same month, Cash Store and Instaloans indicated they would no longer offer payday loans in Ontario, but would offer lines of credit instead. In July 2013, the companies did not renew their payday lender licences.

Under the Payday Loans Act, the Registrar may propose to refuse a licence if the applicant’s past conduct “affords reasonable grounds for belief that the applicant will not carry on business in accordance with law and with integrity and honesty.”

Past conduct the Registrar alleges includes:

• The November 2013 convictions of Cash Store and Instaloans operating as unlicensed payday lenders
• Charging more than the Ontario maximum of $21 per $100 borrowed for a payday loan
• Not providing consumers with their payday loans immediately

Both Cash Store and Instaloans have the right to request a hearing before the Licence Appeal Tribunal to dispute the proposal.

[CaptainKirk]

A bowling-themed entertainment complex is poised to roll into downtown's Hamilton City Centre.

Thunder Alley will cover about 40,000 square feet of the lower level of the former Eaton Centre, long considered a key piece in downtown revitalization.

Prospective bowling kingpin Martin Dorie said the $3.5-million project will include 20 "cosmic" 10-pin lanes, two bars, a video arcade, a roadhouse-style restaurant and a stage for live music.

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4367973-bowling-complex-coming-downtown/

[matt602]

Looks good but I think they're gonna be fighting an uphill battle to try to even get people into the mall without a lot of signage from the outside and advertising. Gotta start somewhere though.

[thistleclub]

FWIW, Thunder Alley was first announced seven months ago.

At the time there was no no fixed grand opening date, but the City Centre tweeted that there would be "updates on the first phase of construction in the next few weeks."

The project sounds basically identical, though it's now 20 rather than 22 lanes.

Will be curious to see how they navigate the City Centre's hours, and where their exterior entrance will be.

[oldcoote]

Joey Coleman tweeted that a World's Gym is also coming to City Centre.

"Hamilton City Centre, a multi-tenant retail centre located at the heart of Hamilton's business district in Hamilton, Ontario. Originally built in 1990, Hamilton City Centre comprises approximately 423,900 squar feet of gross leasable area. The property has been well maintained, and its more than 50 tenants include Hart Stores, a branch of Sun Life Financial, Worlds Gym, Thunder Alley Entertainment and the City of Hamilton."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/partner...014-02-11-141731713?reflink=MW_news_stmp

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

FWIW, Thunder Alley was first announced seven months ago.

At the time there was no no fixed grand opening date, but the City Centre tweeted that there would be "updates on the first phase of construction in the next few weeks."

The project sounds basically identical, though it's now 20 rather than 22 lanes.

Will be curious to see how they navigate the City Centre's hours, and where their exterior entrance will be.

It's likely they are now submitting site plans to the city. They'll need committee of adjustment to approve.

[SteelTown]

Glad to see City Centre is getting some action. Things have really drastically changed over the last five years.