Metro Vancouver Restaurant News thread

[PeterAKer]

Johnny Rockets at 755 Nelson Street has permanently closed.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by PeterAKer

Johnny Rockets at 755 Nelson Street has permanently closed.

same with the location on Oak and Broadway.

wow talk about poor execution of a business plan. but Johnny Rockets in Vancouver has been a downright DISASTER ....

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

same with the location on Oak and Broadway.

wow talk about poor execution of a business plan. but Johnny Rockets in Vancouver has been a downright DISASTER ....

Was there a plan? I went once and liked it... but somebody didn't do their homework.

[officedweller]

Tap & Barrel Bridges
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/tap-barrel-bridges-open

[Denscity]

Top restaurant in the country "award" has been given to Published on Main Street in Vancouver according to Daily Hive.

[SpongeG]

too bad about Johnny Rockets but two really bad locations. I went to each location, and neither was overly busy but steady and lots of delivery orders always going. Would have been better in the burbs or a high tourist location.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Was there a plan? I went once and liked it... but somebody didn't do their homework.

The Canadian expansion has been in the works for sometime; Johnny Rockets secured a minimum 40-restaurant master agreement for the country with Canadian-born Lewis Gelmon late last year. Gelmon was a key player in expanding Domino’s Pizza across Canada in the 1990s.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/johnny-rockets-vancouver-2016


Victoria locations closed also >> https://www.victoriabuzz.com/2022/05/thi...-closed-its-only-two-victoria-locations/

https://locations.johnnyrockets.com/site-map/CA


so thats a wipe for all 4 locations. well executed plan by them


UPDATE: there was a Windsor, Ontario location as well that is closed >> https://www.johnnyrockets.com/locations/caesars-windsor-ontario-east-windsor-ontario-canada/

[hollywoodnorth]

ALSO ...... Blenz Coffee Olympic Village has closed. for lease sign in the window

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Was there a plan? I went once and liked it... but somebody didn't do their homework.

How they raised over $10 million for that scheme is a mystery

https://www.franchiseinfo.ca/news/johnny-rockets-open-fourth-canadian-franchise-vancouver/

[zahav]

Too bad about Johnny Rockets, I liked their food but ya never really took off. That Howe St. office seems to be a death sentence... It was always kind of an odd retail mix, but I think everything in their originally has closed. Toll House (closed all locations now), Johnny Rockets (ditto), and Freshii. But looks like a wannabe Freshii is moving in. Wonder what the other spaces will bring

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

How they raised over $10 million for that scheme is a mystery

https://www.franchiseinfo.ca/news/johnny-rockets-open-fourth-canadian-franchise-vancouver/

Well if that guy brought Domino's here that's a pretty hard argument for.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

ALSO ...... Blenz Coffee Olympic Village has closed. for lease sign in the window

Blenz near Cambie and Broadway closed a few months ago too. They posted a really passive-aggressive note on the window about how they couldn't survive a Starbucks re-opening. Even though they were there pre-COVID with 3 Starbucks in spitting distance and now there's one.

There's another Blenz a few blocks down at Broadway and Heather(?) where I find the staff are really nice, it's cleaner, better run, etc.

It seems like it's a roll of the dice with whoever the franchisee is.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Well if that guy brought Domino's here that's a pretty hard argument for.

Well they already had 100 stores opened when he joined Dominos (left with 200 stores four years later). I think when Dominos opened in 1990s it was easier compared to them trying to launch the same thing now.

You either have a better brand to enter the market with or tons of money to dump into the experiment to make it work.

The head had an MBA and was working for mall lease negotiations and was still VP of Dominos Canada and then with JR he goes into Vancouver with one of the worst locations you could choose to sell hamburgers. I wonder how that Fatburger survives on Dunsmuir.

Wow Fatburger bought Johnny Rockets for $25 million in 2020. In 2007 they said the chain was worth $500 million

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/investing/fat-brands-johnny-rockets-merger/index.html

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Blenz near Cambie and Broadway closed a few months ago too. They posted a really passive-aggressive note on the window about how they couldn't survive a Starbucks re-opening. Even though they were there pre-COVID with 3 Starbucks in spitting distance and now there's one.

There's another Blenz a few blocks down at Broadway and Heather(?) where I find the staff are really nice, it's cleaner, better run, etc.

It seems like it's a roll of the dice with whoever the franchisee is.

I know the person who used to own the Robson and Bute Blenz ... the horror stories of dealing with the head office were crazy. there was actually a lawsuit etc. pretty sticky situation all around for many of the Franchisees

WAVES is taking that old Robson and Bute Blenz spot .... I imagine they will do well.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

I know the person who used to own the Robson and Bute Blenz ... the horror stories of dealing with the head office were crazy. there was actually a lawsuit etc. pretty sticky situation all around for many of the Franchisees

WAVES is taking that old Robson and Bute Blenz spot .... I imagine they will do well.

I think they used to have a website complaining about it.

Lawsuit back in 2014

https://biv.com/article/2014/03/former-blenz-franchisees-claim-company-stymied-att

[hollywoodnorth]

https://www.tricitynews.com/local-news/h...to-tempt-taste-buds-in-coquitlam-5331853

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, the American fried chicken chain, is headed for Coquitlam with a new store set to open in this summer.

A sign is already posted on a building located off Lougheed Highway and Westwood Street in Sunwood Square Mall.

[giallo]

Ever so slowly creeping closer to Vancouver.

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by giallo

Ever so slowly creeping closer to Vancouver.

The Bridgeport Richmond location has been open for some time.. and is basically next to Vancouver... much closer than this Coquitlam location.

Ron.

[invisibleairwaves]

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/natio...r-brand-in-vancouver-this-summer-5437380

VANCOUVER — A&W plans to open the first trial of UK-based chain Pret A Manger this summer in Vancouver after signing an agreement granting the restaurant chain with master franchisor rights in Canada.

A&W says it is introducing Pret's freshly made food and organic coffee as part of a two-year pilot where it will open the Pret brand within A&W restaurants in select Canadian markets.

If the trial phase is successful, A&W Food Services will have the exclusive right to expand the Pret brand across Canada based on an agreed upon development schedule.

A&W chief executive Susan Senecal believes Canadian consumers will respond "very positively and come to love the Pret brand and all that it represents."

The A&W Fund receives royalties equal to three per cent of gross sales at 1,000 A&W restaurants in the royalty pool. The royalty would also apply to Pret products sold in restaurants.

Pret A Manger, which opened in London in 1986, offers sandwiches, salads and wraps, along with organic coffee in more than 550 shops in the U.K., U.S. and several other countries.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/natio...r-brand-in-vancouver-this-summer-5437380

It seems weird that they will be inside of regular A&Ws.

They don't have the same vibe.