Winnipeg | Exchange District | Developments & Discussions

[buzzg]

Does anybody know what's happening in the vacant spaces on William across from PSB?

1) Former Subway space has been leased and renos are happening.

2) The space beside Subway (same building) has been papered-up for years, but there are (worker) people going in there all the time and there's a sign that says something about deliveries and water meter checks to the back door.

3) The derelict building to the left is SLOOOOWWWWLLLYYYYY being refurbished. I believe there was some sort of LC application on it a while back, but this building is a mess and I'd be surprised if a rest/bar was footing the bill.

*Side note, what's going in beside/under the new Subway location on Princess?

[esquire]

^ Those buildings are weird. For years it has looked like something was on the verge of happening, but nothing ever does except for the few years that Subway was located there. Given the proximity to a large number of students, cops (well, for now) and civil servants, you'd think those would be a pretty desirable location.

[steveosnyder]

Not only has Porter/Galpern been having work done this week, but according to Shindaco's twitter account the old Coyote Club on McDermot has been sold... Look for a bit more work to happen on McDermot me thinks.

[CoryB]

Didn't an off-campus book store run out of the space next to the former Subway for a period of time? I think it might have even had the name Outlaw. Basically bringing in text books for RRC students and selling them at less than the campus bookstore price.

[Riverman]

Outlaw has been out here by the Notre Dame campus for years, didn't know about a downtown location.

[esquire]

CoryB's right, they were there for several years. It looks pretty ramshackle though.

You definitely notice the RRC student presence in the Exchange District in shops and restaurants, but strangely it has had very little impact on the streetscape surrounding the campus itself... buildings like the former Outlaw and Subway locations have been mostly vacant, and there are other vacant spaces nearby too that have been that way for years.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by esquire

CoryB's right, they were there for several years. It looks pretty ramshackle though.

You definitely notice the RRC student presence in the Exchange District in shops and restaurants, but strangely it has had very little impact on the streetscape surrounding the campus itself... buildings like the former Outlaw and Subway locations have been mostly vacant, and there are other vacant spaces nearby too that have been that way for years.

I think this only really highlights what we already know about students and that is that they don't have a ton of discretionary income. And what discretionary income they do have is just spent on campus. There are already good options that don't require anybody to walk anywhere in the winter. It all makes perfect sense. The U of W always had the same problem. They had no problem supporting the internal options, but anything that even required crossing the street was changing hands every couple years.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

It all makes perfect sense. The U of W always had the same problem. They had no problem supporting the internal options, but anything that even required crossing the street was changing hands every couple years.

That is not entirely true. U of W had an internally run café located in the Duckworth building with only an external entrance. Not surprisingly with an on campus Starbucks in a similar situation and both having similar prices the internally run operation struggled and eventually closed. This all happened within the last couple of years. I might add the Starbucks is an externally run franchise owned by CanadInns.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by CoryB

That is not entirely true. U of W had an internally run café located in the Duckworth building with only an external entrance. Not surprisingly with an on campus Starbucks in a similar situation and both having similar prices the internally run operation struggled and eventually closed. This all happened within the last couple of years. I might add the Starbucks is an externally run franchise owned by CanadInns.

The storefront cafe in Duckworth was run by the UW Student Association and bled money from the start. It was only a matter of time before it closed. It was, however, part of a vision to have storefront businesses along the Spence Street pedestrian mall. That vision never came to fruition (there are no storefront units in the new Recplex building), and now even the cafe is gone.

It certainly does seem odd that more student oriented businesses can't survive in the immediate area around the UW or RRC. Students don't have a lot of money to spend, but they do buy food, coffee, entertainment, etc.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

The storefront cafe in Duckworth was run by the UW Student Association and bled money from the start. It was only a matter of time before it closed. It was, however, part of a vision to have storefront businesses along the Spence Street pedestrian mall. That vision never came to fruition (there are no storefront units in the new Recplex building), and now even the cafe is gone.

It certainly does seem odd that more student oriented businesses can't survive in the immediate area around the UW or RRC. Students don't have a lot of money to spend, but they do buy food, coffee, entertainment, etc.

This is largely symptomatic of how students treat the campus. The U of W has never really been a campus that people hung out on. You went to class, and left. If you had two periods in a row, you'd grab a coffee or something, but it wasn't really the sort of place you spent all day and night at like the U of M was. There are exceptions of course, but that wasn't the case with the larger student body.

A lot of this was due to pay parking. Students would drive down, pay to park or find a free two hour spot, and be forced to leave after. There was also always the very unattractive prospect of having to walk into the core after dark to find your car. This issue even begot a 'safe-walk' program.

Maybe things have changed, but it doesn't really seem so. The place has always been a ghost town after 4:30...

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by CoryB

That is not entirely true. U of W had an internally run café located in the Duckworth building with only an external entrance. Not surprisingly with an on campus Starbucks in a similar situation and both having similar prices the internally run operation struggled and eventually closed. This all happened within the last couple of years. I might add the Starbucks is an externally run franchise owned by CanadInns.

There are a only a few classrooms in Duckworth. I was referring to the internal options supported by classroom traffic in Riddel, Lockhart, and Centennial. The one in Duckworth is after my time, but obviously a Starbucks will put another coffee shop in close proximity out of business...

[buzzg]

Having been to both UW and RRC on Princess, Simplicity is completely right about UW, most ppl I knew never stayed longer than they had to other than exam time.

RRC EDC is actually interesting because the student body there is very young, you don't see a lot of ppl in those programs going back for Continuing Education like at UW/UM. But I think the students support the quick take-out places pretty well.

RRC students have a pretty hectic schedule, it's rare to get more than a 1 hour break every day, so the restaurants (Fox & Fiddle, WFP Cafe,etc) probably don't get many students. Also, as for late-nighters, it's pretty hard to beat Dominos' student deal — 50% off everything and free delivery.

Interestingly, Subway was ALWAYS packed when it was on William, but since it moved around the corner it's dead, there's never a line... it is pretty nice though. The fact they don't have a sign probably isn't helping either.

Maw's has almost become the unofficial campus bar, taking a lot away from Kings Head. The food is way better, the drinks are cheaper, it's way nicer, and they embrace the students rather than get annoyed by them. It's been a great addition.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Interestingly, Subway was ALWAYS packed when it was on William, but since it moved around the corner it's dead, there's never a line... it is pretty nice though. The fact they don't have a sign probably isn't helping either.

The other interesting piece is when that Subway moved around the corner it changed formats slightly to a "Subway Café". From what I have heard the menu is slightly expanded over the normal outlet. This is actually a concept format the chain is working to further develop and is actually unique to all of Winnipeg.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by CoryB

The other interesting piece is when that Subway moved around the corner it changed formats slightly to a "Subway Café". From what I have heard the menu is slightly expanded over the normal outlet. This is actually a concept format the chain is working to further develop and is actually unique to all of Winnipeg.

"Subway Cafe" is not unique to Winnipeg, they are common in Toronto.

[bomberjet]

Unique to all of Winnipeg, being it is the only one in Winnipeg.

[Riverman]

^ Gotcha.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by CoryB

The other interesting piece is when that Subway moved around the corner it changed formats slightly to a "Subway Café". From what I have heard the menu is slightly expanded over the normal outlet. This is actually a concept format the chain is working to further develop and is actually unique to all of Winnipeg.

The menu is the same, the only difference is that it's a bit nicer and they have an automatic espresso machine. They also have some snacks like croissants and cinnamon buns, but judging by the fact they put 2 of each in the display case a day, they're probably not fresh (ironic).

The Winnipeg one was the first one outside of Toronto and Chicago, they've pegged Winnipeg as one of their new test markets.

[1ajs]

ive seen people buying the buns and them being replaced

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The menu is the same, the only difference is that it's a bit nicer and they have an automatic espresso machine. They also have some snacks like croissants and cinnamon buns, but judging by the fact they put 2 of each in the display case a day, they're probably not fresh (ironic).

The Winnipeg one was the first one outside of Toronto and Chicago, they've pegged Winnipeg as one of their new test markets.

In terms of menu, pretty sure I saw a sidewalk sign advertising smoothies, something other Subways do not have. Add in the espresso, croissants and cinnamon buns you mentioned and you have a pretty good sense of how the menu is different while still being a Subway.

From what I had read earlier about this new format including a piece on how Regina was one of the very first locations, long before Winnipeg or Toronto, as the franchisee there heard of the concept at the early development stage and aggressively pursued being a test location. Overall though the changes do not sound really exciting to me, just thought it was worth mentioning when the Exchange location relocated they also changed the format they were running.

[Kris22]

There's work happening in the basement commercial space at 370 Donald (the Bell Building, apartments). I asked one of the workers what's up and he said he was installing things for a kitchen, so looks like we are getting a restaurant, cafe, or pub there.