Metro Vancouver Restaurant News thread

[cairnstone]

Looking at the brands they own and franchise they definately dont grow the industry. Most of them have downsized or vanished that used to be here except the Keg and New York Fries

https://www.recipeunlimited.com/en.html

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by cairnstone

Looking at the brands they own and franchise they definately dont grow the industry. Most of them have downsized or vanished that used to be here except the Keg and New York Fries

https://www.recipeunlimited.com/en.html

Their quality control is terrible. Restaurants are run down, dirty, etc.

They're way more popular on the east coast... St. John's, NL (smaller than Victoria) has at least 15 RU/Cara restaurants.

Ron.

[SpongeG]

People in the Vancouver area have limited funds to eat out, presumably, and rather than spend it CARA brands they would rather spend it at better places like Joey and Cactus Club, love or hate them the food is always good at those places even if a little pricier. Even Browns is good. The new one in Coquitlam next to Superstore is always busy.

I went to Olive Garden in Langley twice in the last few months and the place is packed and long lines to get in, but the food is awful, they win you over with the endless salad and breadsticks which are pretty good.

And whats going on with the Swiss Chalet in Burnaby? Have gone there and they have a sign that they are doing renovations but there is never any activity there. The only Swiss Chalet I know of now is in Poco and it has an attached Harveys for takeout.

[cairnstone]

I never got Cactus club besides the servers. THe food is good but the price points are crazy unless happy hour

[SpongeG]

Vancouver's Ricky's Restaurant near BC place is closed and will be replaced by Famoso Pizza.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/rickys-a...iErfSEru7tbl1VtDeyUD7MzgYElxoyoyXdOyPkWQ

[WarrenC12]

The Keg is a reliable steak for a decent price. I hope it doesn't get ruined.

Apart from that I stay away from most chains, unless others choose them as a place to go.

[whatnext]

Colony group is opening their first location outside of Vancouver, in Steveston (controversial ONNI buildings):

https://biv.com/article/2019/11/major-vancouver-bar-restaurant-group-expands-richmond

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

The Keg is a reliable steak for a decent price. I hope it doesn't get ruined.

Apart from that I stay away from most chains, unless others choose them as a place to go.

It will. Everything Cara touches goes to garbage.

Every one of their brands is a complete mess or well on its way:

- Swiss Chalet
- Milestones
- Montanas
- East Side Marios
- Kelseys
- Harveys

It's food for people who hate food.

Their bread and butter business is airline catering... that should tell you all you need to know about the company.

[Tetsuo]

I was in Quebec recently and noticed that St Hubert has declined down to Swiss Chalet levels.

If they're smart they'll give David Aisenstat a long leash to run the Keg properly, and salvage Milestones.

I'm not sure if Joe Fortes was included in the purchase or David still owns it separately but it's gone downhill recently as well.

[whatnext]

Speaking of BBQ, just another example of how restauranteurs get screwed over by landlords. yes, there was a clause in their lease, but giving someone 90 days to pack up their livelihood is pretty harsh.

After 18 years, Memphis Blues’ flagship location on West Broadway to close

On the first Friday of November, Park Heffelfinger and George Siu, business partners who run Memphis Blues’ flagship location on Broadway near Granville Street, received the notice they were dreading — official termination of their lease.

Their restaurant is in a building at 1465 West Broadway — one of two older buildings being knocked down to make way for a new office building, which will also feature an entrance for one of the stops on the Broadway subway extension.
Due to a demolition clause, they were given 90 days to get out.

It’s been tough news to accept because they've operated the southern barbecue restaurant at that location for 18 years, and they initially thought the development and subway stop would only involve the four-storey office building on the corner, at 1489 West Broadway, where a Royal Bank branch was located....

...They could leave the West Side altogether and focus on their Commercial Drive operation, they could rent space in a commercial kitchen and operate what’s known as a “ghost restaurant” by sticking to a delivery-only service model or they could re-locate their Broadway site — a massive financial undertaking.

Along with storage costs, it would be months of work before they could re-open. They’d either have to lease a new space and build from scratch, forcing them to deal with construction, inspection and permitting headaches, all of which Heffelfinger estimates could cost as much as half a million dollars, or they could buy an existing restaurant — their preference — which would still require cosmetic changes and cost as much as $250,000.....

https://www.vancourier.com/real-estate/a...ion-on-west-broadway-to-close-1.24010051

[cyclinginvancouver]

As per Vancouver Magazine, Coquille Fine Seafood will be closing

https://twitter.com/vanmag_com/status/1196908990778638341

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by cyclinginvancouver

As per Vancouver Magazine, Coquille Fine Seafood will be closing

Never did make it there and I guess I wasn't the only person it looked too 'fine' for.

[SpongeG]

Japanese chain Kaneko Hannosuke is opening its first Canadian location in Vancouver on Robson street down by the Safeway area.

Famous Japanese tempura chain to open first Canadian location in Vancouver
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/11/20/hannosuke-tendon-tempura-opening-vancouver-canada/

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Japanese chain Kaneko Hannosuke is opening its first Canadian location in Vancouver on Robson street down by the Safeway area.

Famous Japanese tempura chain to open first Canadian location in Vancouver
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/11/20/hannosuke-tendon-tempura-opening-vancouver-canada/

There was that other place further up Robson that lasted a year making only tempura.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

It will. Everything Cara touches goes to garbage.

Every one of their brands is a complete mess or well on its way:

- Swiss Chalet
- Milestones
- Montanas
- East Side Marios
- Kelseys
- Harveys

It's food for people who hate food.

Their bread and butter business is airline catering... that should tell you all you need to know about the company.

Don't forget Bread Garden, they killed that too!

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Don't forget Bread Garden, they killed that too!

Cara never had anything to do with Bread Garden whatsoever. They bought Milestones from Spectra.. someone else took over Bread Garden.

Ron.

[officedweller]

Despite plastic straw ban, Vancouver bubble tea shops won’t have — it up for another year
https://www.vancourier.com/news/despite-...e-—-it-up-for-another-year-1.24018249

[Tetsuo]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

Cara never had anything to do with Bread Garden whatsoever. They bought Milestones from Spectra.. someone else took over Bread Garden.

Ron.

PBI Premium Brands

[SpongeG]

is Bread Garden the same as BG Urban Café? did they rename themselves?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

is Bread Garden the same as BG Urban Café? did they rename themselves?

Same thing but was one of their rebrands in 2011. $750,000 down the drain.

The $750,000 makeover includes a new interior design, logo and identity by Vancouver-based Thinking Box Media and Design.

“The Bread Garden has been around for a long time, but it was getting to be a tired old brand so we needed to pump some energy into it,” said Aamir Bharmal, senior director of marketing.

Compounding the problem was that when the Spectra Group of Great Restaurants sold off the Boathouse and Bread Garden brands in 2006 it sold the Bread Garden catering division and Bread Garden Express in 70 Chevron Stations to different buyers.

http://marketingmag.ca/brands/vancouvers-bread-garden-rebrands-as-bg-urban-cafe-28196/