Winnipeg Restaurants

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by drew

I have heard it will include a brew-pub

I heard it would serve various craft beers but nothing about a brewpub.

[WJG]

This is a little OT, but does anyone remember back when there used to be a bakery inside Polo Park mall, outside of Sears? I have a vague recollection, but I cannot remember the name.

[tedtim]

I always thought the bakery was part of Sears.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by Riverman

I heard it would serve various craft beers but nothing about a brewpub.

They are currently hiring a brew master.

[The Unknown Poster]

I actually thought the Round Table had closed as well. I really enjoyed their food when I was in the mood to spend some money.

I saw quotes from the owner and didnt realise the "Grapes" family still owned it. I remember when Viking (the owner quoted in the Round Table story) was a bartender at Grapes on Main when I worked there. They had quite a restaurant footprint at one point in this city and then Grapes just collapsed.

I was also wondering if it had been sold. The quotes from Viking almost indicated he was getting out of the business but it wasnt clear.

[esquire]

^ Now that you mention it, whatever happened to Grapes? They were a fairly big deal in the late 80s/early 90s and then they just faded out before disappearing altogether.

Their demise seemed to coincide with the arrival of Earls which has a fairly similar "casual dining" concept although some of the Grapes locations had a nightclub feel later in the evening.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by WJG

This is a little OT, but does anyone remember back when there used to be a bakery inside Polo Park mall, outside of Sears? I have a vague recollection, but I cannot remember the name.

Yes I remember this. It was part of Sears and baked goods were sold in a kiosk in the mall adjacent to the Sears entrance, but the baking was all done by the Donut House in the North End.

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Now that you mention it, whatever happened to Grapes? They were a fairly big deal in the late 80s/early 90s and then they just faded out before disappearing altogether.

Their demise seemed to coincide with the arrival of Earls which has a fairly similar "casual dining" concept although some of the Grapes locations had a nightclub feel later in the evening.

I was 18 when I started at Grapes and worked at Main and Pier 7. I was there during its decline. Earls had opened up across from Main and certainly was way "cooler" than Grapes.

But Grapes was passe. I recall one of the chefs telling me he'd put their food up against anyones. But I dont recall how good/bad the food was.

They were huge on Sunday nights as they had dance floors and DJ's. Main did an awful renovation that killed the character of the place and relocated the dance floor.

Pier 7 had it's own issues with being over-packed in the bar, rowdy customers and minimal security. The way I heard it, and this could be wrong, they began a renovation and discovered bigger problems than they anticipated, didnt have the money to finish and that was that. Many of us were confused by the renos since they were so busy in the bar.

I recall many nights working Sunday at Main and having having the manager say he just got a call and the bar needs to make X amount of dollars that night to cover payroll for the week and we'd basically open the floodgates and pack the bar to try and make as much money as possible.

They seemed to have trouble finding the right management too. They'd often re-hired managers they had previously fired. If I recall, one of the partners in Grapes opened Mondetta World Cafe.

And I think Round Table was sort of spun off to protect it from Grapes' demise. I also seem to recall there being a Grapes in BC which went out of the business and the "franchisee" came back to Manitoba and became Director of Operations to try and whip the chain back into shape but he was an unpleasant person and several good staff quit.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by The Unknown Poster

They had quite a restaurant footprint at one point in this city and then Grapes just collapsed.

Not sure if it is the only factor but Grapes used to be a very popular place to go out to on Sunday night as places licensed as a bar could not open however Grapes offered a similar environment but under a restaurant license they could open on Sunday. Around the mid 90s laws changed to allow bars to open on Sundays and Grapes seemed to disappear quickly after that.

[esquire]

^ Too bad, they had a good thing going for a while. Sounds like better-run chains came in from out of province and ate their lunch, so to speak. I remember Branigan's was another local chain from that era that did well for a while before meeting a similar fate.

Restaurants are a fickle business.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Now that you mention it, whatever happened to Grapes? They were a fairly big deal in the late 80s/early 90s and then they just faded out before disappearing altogether.

Their demise seemed to coincide with the arrival of Earls which has a fairly similar "casual dining" concept although some of the Grapes locations had a nightclub feel later in the evening.

Good observation. Earl's is essentially the new Grapes. Similar concept and similar customer base. Casual dining, but with the strong emphasis on the lounge. I think the gradual demise of Grapes coincided with the introduction of Earl's/Joey/Moxie's to the local market. I think one Grapes location in Thompson survived after the closure of the Winnipeg Grapes locations, but they are all gone now.

According to the WFP article below, the last Winnipeg Grapes closed in 2010:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/loc...-98094749.html

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

Yes I remember this. It was part of Sears and baked goods were sold in a kiosk in the mall adjacent to the Sears entrance, but the baking was all done by the Donut House in the North End.

As a PSA, Donut House's bagels are awesome. I get them at a restaurant but one of these days I'm going to drive to their shop on Selkirk, buy a bunch and just gorge myself on them

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

According to the WFP article below, the last Winnipeg Grapes closed in 2010:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/loc...-98094749.html

I'm kind of surprised they lasted until 2010, I think they sort of faded from the public consciousness by around 10 years ago. Although as I recall, that last location on Pembina wasn't one of the originals, it was a "comeback" attempt that opened after nearly all the others had already closed.

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm kind of surprised they lasted until 2010, I think they sort of faded from the public consciousness by around 10 years ago. Although as I recall, that last location on Pembina wasn't one of the originals, it was a "comeback" attempt that opened after nearly all the others had already closed.

Pier 7 was an original as far as I recall. I know I worked there in...1996, I think. And my brother worked there when I was a kid so that had to be the 80's.

I think Grapes just didnt have the money for the needed updates to their restaurants and made bad decisions. the Main St renovation which completely changed the bar looked terrible. That was a lot of money they spent. I think Main and Pier 7 basically became weekend bars that were also restaurants as opposed to restaurants that were also bars.

There were always rumors of fishiness going on too... But I can tell you, being 18-20 years old and working there was FUN.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by h0twired

They are currently hiring a brew master.

This is interesting. How many brewpubs/craft breweries are now on the horizon? PEG, Barn Hammer, Torque/Onyx, ??? now this? Has Winnipeg finally caught on to the hottest trend of the previous decade?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by The Unknown Poster

Pier 7 was an original as far as I recall. I know I worked there in...1996, I think. And my brother worked there when I was a kid so that had to be the 80's.

I think Grapes just didnt have the money for the needed updates to their restaurants and made bad decisions. the Main St renovation which completely changed the bar looked terrible. That was a lot of money they spent. I think Main and Pier 7 basically became weekend bars that were also restaurants as opposed to restaurants that were also bars.

There were always rumors of fishiness going on too... But I can tell you, being 18-20 years old and working there was FUN.

This wasn't Pier 7, this was in the big box mall by Pembina and Bishop Grandin. My memory is foggy but I think it may have been a Red Lobster at one time?

Speaking of chain restaurants, does Olive Garden still pack'em in with out of towners? That place had a devoted clientele of people from cities without one, like Brandon and Grand Forks. Literally lineups out the door some nights. GF got its own a few years back so they don't have to come here anymore for the delights of the all you can eat pasta bowl. It's almost comical to think that anyone would go out of their way for Olive Garden.

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

This wasn't Pier 7, this was in the big box mall by Pembina and Bishop Grandin. My memory is foggy but I think it may have been a Red Lobster at one time?

Speaking of chain restaurants, does Olive Garden still pack'em in with out of towners? That place had a devoted clientele of people from cities without one, like Brandon and Grand Forks. Literally lineups out the door some nights. GF got its own a few years back so they don't have to come here anymore for the delights of the all you can eat pasta bowl. It's almost comical to think that anyone would go out of their way for Olive Garden.

Drive by PoloPark on any given Friday or Saturday night, and witness the line ups out the door at both Olive Garden AND Red Lobster.

People love their pre-packaged, reheated food!

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by esquire

This wasn't Pier 7, this was in the big box mall by Pembina and Bishop Grandin. My memory is foggy but I think it may have been a Red Lobster at one time?

.

I had completely forgotten that they did a Grapes there. Short lived for sure. And a silly idea.

[rkspec]

Originally Posted by esquire

This wasn't Pier 7, this was in the big box mall by Pembina and Bishop Grandin. My memory is foggy but I think it may have been a Red Lobster at one time?

I think Pier 7 was open in the days of red lobster. Did lobster not close and then turn into a grapes that eventually failed and turned into another lounge that failed again?

If (drunken) memory serves me rite, i used to go to Strawberries on Sunday, then once that closed we went to Pier 7.

[BigG]

*