Winnipeg Construction VIII

[Riverman]

Point is, there is not much parking around Earl's and the business would not likely be there without it.

Don't compare it with Moxie's, BP or Tavern, those are runner and sweatpant places. No one is going to walk to Earl's in the winter in heels.

Can't compare Hy's either, it has underground heated indoor accessible parking.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Point is, there is not much parking around Earl's and the business would not likely be there without it.

I don't doubt that the large surface parking lot is a big part of their success. But if they couldn't have that lot, then it's more than likely that Earls would just relocate closer to where the people are so that you didn't have to drive there. Or they'd just use existing parking structures like other restaurants do.

Can't compare Hy's either, it has underground heated indoor accessible parking.

Exactly. Hy's uses a public-use parking structure, it doesn't have a little surface parking on its own. Same for Sydney's and Prairie 360. Amici doesn't have a parking lot, nor do the good restaurants in the Exchange District.

If Earls didn't have their own lot, they'd use another parking facility like other restaurants. It's not like it's some do or die thing where if, for some reason, the city didn't let them have the parking lot they'd just close up shop. Not everyone gives up that easily.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by esquire

If Earls didn't have their own lot, they'd use another parking facility like other restaurants. It's not like it's some do or die thing where if, for some reason, the city didn't let them have the parking lot they'd just close up shop. Not everyone gives up that easily.

Earl's built there because of the parking, so yes, no parking no Earl's.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Earl's built there because of the parking, so yes, no parking no Earl's.

On that site.

[windypeg]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Don't compare it with Moxie's, BP or Tavern, those are runner and sweatpant places. No one is going to walk to Earl's in the winter in heels.

As someone who once worked in the kitchen of Earls (that particular Earls to be precise) it always amuses me that people fall for their marketing and think its some kind of high-class place. It's essentially an Applebees with a prettier dining room and overpriced food. Never understood why people get dressed up and go there before the club when there are so many unique lounges and pubs in the area.

[1ajs]

who likes dsancining? it's to nice to sit here this weekend and kevetch about parking lots and such get out to folkrama and meme this weekend go camping bike rdes injoy the summer while its here

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by windypeg

As someone who once worked in the kitchen of Earls (that particular Earls to be precise) it always amuses me that people fall for their marketing and think its some kind of high-class place. It's essentially an Applebees with a prettier dining room and overpriced food. Never understood why people get dressed up and go there before the club when there are so many unique lounges and pubs in the area.

That's funny. That's what I was thinking when reading that post. Earls is fancy?? Since when?

Earls is the only restaurant downtown with a surface parking lot. To suggest that it wouldn't exist without it is ridiculous. Personally I'd rather not have the Earls if it meant getting rid of those lots.

Rudy's, the Keg, Hy's, Biston Pizza, Carnaval, Moxies, Fox and Fiddle, Shark Club, Johnny G's, Hermanos, Pony Coral. The list is long. All do fine without a surface parking lot three times bigger than the building.

They should be held to the zoning by-law but they won't.

There are 40,000 parking stalls in downtown. To say a restaurant needs it's own lot to survive is not right. It should be taxed big time to make them re-think the need to offer free parking in an urban area.

If there is enough parking for a hockey arena a single restaurant should be fine.

[cllew]

We can blame this debate about what to do with the parking lot land on Main St. on Imperial Oil because they sold that parcel of land instead of converting their existing Esso service station to a 7-11 C-Store with pumps back in the 1970's

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by cllew

We can blame this debate about what to do with the parking lot land on Main St. on Imperial Oil because they sold that parcel of land instead of converting their existing Esso service station to a 7-11 C-Store with pumps back in the 1970's

I was just about to say that after a surface lot the next best thing to have there would be a gas station... Too bad they sold it.

[Spocket]

Earl's is a high class place ? I've worked in a lot of restaurants that use that format...they're all the same. The menus usually have a few things that are slightly different but essentially the only things that change from one place to another are the prices. Calling Earl's fancy is odd.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by Spocket

Earl's is a high class place ? I've worked in a lot of restaurants that use that format...they're all the same. The menus usually have a few things that are slightly different but essentially the only things that change from one place to another are the prices. Calling Earl's fancy is odd.

Earl's really pioneered the formula that others now emulate (e.g. Joey, Moxies, etc.). They cultivate a more upscale image (typified by hiring attractive young female waitresses sometimes from local modeling agencies) yet their core market is the middle class suburban resident who wants to be able to go out for a night on the town in the parking lot of a suburban shopping mall. There is absolutely nothing 'urban' or downtown about Earls. They know their market and they appeal to it -- hence the parking lot at the Main St. location. Personally, I find the food quality average, the atmosphere phoney, and the wait staff generally vacuous. But the format is popular in Winnipeg.

[cheswick]

The main st earls is often frequented by visiting NHL teams. So I could see where the "fancy" rep comes from when millionaires in their 20s eat there.

In terms of the parking situation couldn't the new location be built on the furthest north side of the adjoining lot with there then being parking lot between the old and new buildings?

I'm not that familiar, Does earls currently use both those lots for parking or is it only the smaller lot immediately north of the building.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

Earl's really pioneered the formula that others now emulate (e.g. Joey, Moxies, etc.). They cultivate a more upscale image (typified by hiring attractive young female waitresses sometimes from local modeling agencies) yet their core market is the middle class suburban resident who wants to be able to go out for a night on the town in the parking lot of a suburban shopping mall. There is absolutely nothing 'urban' or downtown about Earls. They know their market and they appeal to it -- hence the parking lot at the Main St. location. Personally, I find the food quality average, the atmosphere phoney, and the wait staff generally vacuous. But the format is popular in Winnipeg.

I guess but having been in that business for decades I can tell you that they neither pioneered it nor were they even the first to do it in Winnipeg. Actually, it's the oldest trick in the book.

In any case, I've never seen anything special about Earl's or even considered it any more than a casual dining place (that's what this style of restaurant is called in the industry) That's what it looks like to me and to be honest I don't know anybody who actually views it any differently. I see now that such people obviously exist, I'm just saying that this is the first time I've ever heard of it.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Earls is the only restaurant downtown with a surface parking lot.

That's probably why it does so well.

Originally Posted by trueviking

Personally I'd rather not have the Earls if it meant getting rid of those lots.

And doing what with them, just closing them off? No one will build anything there except maybe a few imaginary skyscrapers.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Riverman

And doing what with them, just closing them off? No one will build anything there except maybe a few imaginary skyscrapers.

Or maybe something like the real skyscrapers that will be going up across the tracks?

[Riverman]

I doubt I will live to see that.

[Only The Lonely..]

I still remember those ceramic parrots at the old St.James Avenue Earls in the 80's.

Now that was a classy place.

I can recall watching my uncle dressed in suit and tie sucking the marrow out of his chicken bones, telling me about his big government job at the post office, and how important he was to the system and the four other posties he 'controlled'.

Afterwards, I'd follow him to a Jets game at the old arena and watch him get pathetically wasted from our 'premium' standing room only seats.

Still one of the better babysitters I ever had.

[1ajs]

lol only

my baby sitters took me to art galleries and left me to become apart of installs happening at them to dancing in the fringe parade in the early 90's talk about contrast heck i used to spend hours hanging out with the elevator operator in the bates building before he died in the early 90's

[headhorse]

a couple of Sandhu updates:

373 River Ave - 30 units

from http://sandhudevelopments.com

Stables on Adelaide - 51 units

from http://sandhudevelopments.com

[headhorse]

has anyone seen any work going on int he Porter building recently? Shindico's MLS listing for the building next door at 171 McDermot mentions that re-development is underway on the Porter Building and Prairie Architects updated their website with this: http://prairiearchitects.ca/residential?project=Porter-Condos&id=203