I just noticed tonight that one of Spring Garden's vacancies is about to be filled. The old Dairy Queen's windows are papered up and signs are announcing that Eastlink will be moving in.
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Thu, Jun 9 - 4:54 AM
The burgers and the grill are gone. The chickens and the rotisserie next door will be next.
Harvey’s Restaurant on Kempt Road was gutted this week and the wrecker’s ball will fall on the 30-year-old building within days. The last burgers were served Saturday.
The demolition of the well-known burger spot is part of a major overhaul of the site by Cara Operations Ltd. that will include a new Swiss Chalet this fall and a new Harvey’s in the spring of 2012.
"These are both older properties that were due for replacement to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction," Ron Cecillon, a vice-president with Cara, said Wednesday from Toronto.
The Harvey’s building will be demolished first to allow for the immediate construction of a new Swiss Chalet.
"All staff at Harvey’s were laid off, but get first rights on positions at the new location when it opens in the spring," said Cecillon.
"There was lots of advance notice of the closure and about 17 full-time and part-time workers were affected. We expect to hire significantly more associates for the new Harvey’s."
Cecillon said the older Swiss Chalet will remain operating until the new building is ready for occupancy and a new Harvey’s will then be built at that location after it is demolished.
Both the new Harvey’s and the new Swiss Chalet will be slightly smaller than existing locations to reflect the new model for these operations used by Cara Operations.
Swiss Chalet on Kempt Road is a franchised operation with local owners. The Harvey’s was a corporate operation, but the plan is to convert it to a locally owned franchised operation when it reopens in the spring.
The new Harvey’s on Kempt Road will feature a drive-thru window. Drive-thru service will not be available at the new Swiss Chalet.
The Harvey’s building was scheduled to be demolished Monday, but had to be rescheduled after delays with electrical disconnections.
Cara Operations is anxious to bring more Harvey’s locations to the region.
"The Maritimes has been a great market for the franchise," said Cecillon.
There are about 250 Harvey’s restaurants across Canada and more than 200 Swiss Chalets.
If you look under the "Future Store Expansion-US and Canada" for Hollister's Wikipedia page, they have not only the HSC store listed (August 2011), but a store coming to Mic Mac Mall in 2013. The same thing is on the Abercrombie & Fitch Wikipedia page:
Am I the only one who finds this odd? I figured it would be a one-or-the-other type of deal (HSC VS MMM), I never thought that both malls would get a store. I guess we are lucky to have two very nice shopping malls
A friend mentioned to me that he saw an A&F sign at HSC, but I never expected a similar announcement for Mic Mac. Great news!
Very good news indeed! Obviously our malls are doing something right if Halifax will be alone with Toronto as the city with more than one Hollister in Canada. I think an A&F must be opening as well because on their Wikipedia page, Halifax is listed amoung only the Canadian cities with A&F locations. (Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton)
I heard it through the grape vine that a Red Lobster Restaurant is planning to open in Dartmouth Crossing soon.
I hope you're right (I love Red Lobster), but I would be somewhat surprised if this is the case. Red Lobster tends to avoid markets with an abundance of "fresh fish options". I think they are worried about the competition from quality local seafood restaurants. For example, Red Lobster pulled out of Maine about 10 years ago.
I hope you're right (I love Red Lobster), but I would be somewhat surprised if this is the case. Red Lobster tends to avoid markets with an abundance of "fresh fish options". I think they are worried about the competition from quality local seafood restaurants. For example, Red Lobster pulled out of Maine about 10 years ago.
I hope I'm right too. I bet they get a lot of contact from people in this region asking for a restaurant to open.
I'm not sure how much the whole 'Real Seafood" thing would affect a Red Lobster here. If it's in the right area (DC) then it shouldn't at all. I don't think very many shoppers will want to drive downtown as opposed to just stopping in Dartmouth Crossing. I mean if you think about it, we have good quality ice cream shops (Sugah, Cow's) and yet DQ and Coldstone seem to do just fine. There are also plenty of good burger's available in Halifax, but yet McDonald's does just fine. I know there is a difference but I just don't really think having good quality restaurants near a well known chain restaurant selling similar food will have that big of an impact; I'd even say that Red Lobster would do just fine downtown.
I'm not sure how much the whole 'Real Seafood" thing would affect a Red Lobster here. If it's in the right area (DC) then it shouldn't at all. I don't think very many shoppers will want to drive downtown as opposed to just stopping in Dartmouth Crossing.
Don't say that too loud. Sloane might insist they open a satellite store downtown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by icetea93
I mean if you think about it, we have good quality ice cream shops (Sugah, Cow's) and yet DQ and Coldstone seem to do just fine.
Have you been by the corner of Spring Garden and South Park lately? No more DQ, and I don't know where the next nearest one is.
Have you been by the corner of Spring Garden and South Park lately? No more DQ, and I don't know where the next nearest one is.
I don't know about DQ but Coldstone has at least two Peninsula locations that I know of, one on Quinpool and one in the old Perks next door to the ferry terminal.
I was in Mic Mac today and saw the new American Eagle location (old Eclipse and Disney Store). Construction looks well underway and the new store looks like it is going to be HUGE.
According to the Mic Mac Mall website, the relocated American Eagle store is scheduled to open on August 3rd. It will be on the second level next to The Body Shop and be over twice the size of the old AE store.
According to ANS the Barrington St Superstore is becoming 24 hours Monday-Saturday. This normally wouldn't be news but the way they are conducting this is comical. They are hiring ONLY one cashier to work the back-shift (9pm-630am). The cashier will be kept company by a security guard.
According to ANS the Barrington St Superstore is becoming 24 hours Monday-Saturday. This normally wouldn't be news but the way they are conducting this is comical. They are hiring ONLY one cashier to work the back-shift (9pm-630am). The cashier will be kept company by a security guard.
... and they say they're doing it to service students in the South End. By running the extended hours from the July long weekend through to Labour Day long weekend. You know, when school is out.
... and they say they're doing it to service students in the South End. By running the extended hours from the July long weekend through to Labour Day long weekend. You know, when school is out.
You'd be surprised how many students are still living in the south end right now. Although my program is an exception, it is running full-time classes from May-August. Lots of the international students from Dal and SMU didn't go home after school ended, so they're living and consuming just like they would from Sept. to May.
According to ANS the Barrington St Superstore is becoming 24 hours Monday-Saturday. This normally wouldn't be news but the way they are conducting this is comical. They are hiring ONLY one cashier to work the back-shift (9pm-630am). The cashier will be kept company by a security guard.
I work at Sobeys North and Windsor and we often have only one cashier overnight. Two at the most and they are only busy for the first two hours of their shift or so.
I work at Sobeys North and Windsor and we often have only one cashier overnight. Two at the most and they are only busy for the first two hours of their shift or so.
Yes, it's fun to shop there at 3AM - you have your own personal shopper (a security guard) to accompany you as you move through the store.