Winnipeg Restaurants

[DonaldSmith]

Originally Posted by cllew

Curry and Pint in North Kildonan posted on Facebook yesterday that this shutdown came at a bad time as the cooking oil they use for their fish and chips has gone up 40% plus increases in their other supplies.

If they don't see an increase in take out / delivery they may not be around much longer which is too bad as their food is good

Soybean Oil, which sets the price for edible oils, is up 150% YOY.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...bean-oil-price

[robertocarlos]

The government has given the restaurants 26,000 dollars in grants. That should pay for some oil.

[buzzg]

The owners of The Roost, Oxbow, and Forth Bar are opening a pizza and cocktails spot in the retail space of 221 Stradbrook.

[GreyGarden]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The owners of The Roost, Oxbow, and Forth Bar are opening a pizza and cocktails spot in the retail space of 221 Stradbrook.

I saw they were taking some sort of new space. That's fantastic news. I absolutely love that ownership group, they seem to really have their finger on the dial.

[Wpg_Guy]

It’s another restaurant space Fireside Design is working on, everything they’ve done has been fantastic.

[Intrepid-Poster]

The Second Cup on Edmonton has closed. The for lease signs are up. 20 years ago this location was fifth highest in sales in Canada

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Intrepid-Poster

The Second Cup on Edmonton has closed. The for lease signs are up. 20 years ago this location was fifth highest in sales in Canada

That place seemed like it was struggling even before covid. 20 years ago the only real coffee competition they had downtown was Robin's Donuts and The Fyxx, but that has obviously changed dramatically since then.

[buzzg]

Second Cup is undergoing a complete reorganization under its new owners, and they have aggressive expansion plans, would not be surprised to see another open around there down the road. Likely, that one was simply too big to justify – way too much seating to pay for considering the price of coffee and baking. It's why Starbucks is downsizing and you don't see too many larger coffee shops opening anymore.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by buzzg

[...]way too much seating to pay for considering the price of coffee and baking. It's why Starbucks is downsizing and you don't see too many larger coffee shops opening anymore.

Starbucks is trying to become exclusively take-away (drive thru and walk up counter with no seating) largely in response to the customers that would buy a single cheap item and loiter there for hours on end using the store's wifi and often power. Someone likely did an analysis on net revenue per customer and noticed they had three types of customers and one type that was running a significant loss.

I suspect Panera is going to have to face a similar choice soon, especially as that Starbucks crowd shifts to their second choice...

Heck one Panera I visited had a giant boardroom style table to encourage large groups to stay there for longer periods.

As for Second Cup they morphed from selling coffee beans to selling beans and being a Starbucks clone to being just a Starbucks clone and now they are changing direction again. They are basically the Robin's to Starbuck's Tims. I don't think we see them again in downtown Winnipeg even if the office crowd gets back to pre-pandemic levels. Reality is the Second Cup is a GenX type brand and the office works are shifting more to Millenials and GenZ that have different tastes for coffee (artesian for example).

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Starbucks is trying to become exclusively take-away (drive thru and walk up counter with no seating) largely in response to the customers that would buy a single cheap item and loiter there for hours on end using the store's wifi and often power. Someone likely did an analysis on net revenue per customer and noticed they had three types of customers and one type that was running a significant loss.

I suspect Panera is going to have to face a similar choice soon, especially as that Starbucks crowd shifts to their second choice...

Heck one Panera I visited had a giant boardroom style table to encourage large groups to stay there for longer periods.

As for Second Cup they morphed from selling coffee beans to selling beans and being a Starbucks clone to being just a Starbucks clone and now they are changing direction again. They are basically the Robin's to Starbuck's Tims. I don't think we see them again in downtown Winnipeg even if the office crowd gets back to pre-pandemic levels. Reality is the Second Cup is a GenX type brand and the office works are shifting more to Millenials and GenZ that have different tastes for coffee (artesian for example).

They get it out of wells in the ground? I jest. I actually don't mind the shift towards more independent or artisanal joints. They tend to put out a better product even if they're a little on the pricey side.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Starbucks is trying to become exclusively take-away (drive thru and walk up counter with no seating) largely in response to the customers that would buy a single cheap item and loiter there for hours on end using the store's wifi and often power. Someone likely did an analysis on net revenue per customer and noticed they had three types of customers and one type that was running a significant loss.

That is one thing that Tim Hortons and McDonald's figured out from the get-go... you can stop and linger at their stores if you want, and they even have free wifi. But they are uncomfortable enough that you probably don't want to stop there for any longer than it takes to eat your food. As compared with Starbucks locations and their living room feel with cushy-soft seats of the past.. no surprise that some people would settle in and take up space for a long time.

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Starbucks is trying to become exclusively take-away (drive thru and walk up counter with no seating)

Source for that? What I've read is that they're aiming for a mix of take-away and traditional locations: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline...ut-only-stores

CEO Kevin Johnson described a vision in which major metro areas have a mix of traditional and Pickup stores, some within walking distance of one another

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by GarryEllice

Source for that? What I've read is that they're aiming for a mix of take-away and traditional locations: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline...ut-only-stores

Yeah, the new starbucks going up on mcphillips/Jefferson certainly doesn't look like a drive thru or pickup only.

[Wpgstvsouth94]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Starbucks is trying to become exclusively take-away (drive thru and walk up counter with no seating) largely in response to the customers that would buy a single cheap item and loiter there for hours on end using the store's wifi and often power. Someone likely did an analysis on net revenue per customer and noticed they had three types of customers and one type that was running a significant loss.

I suspect Panera is going to have to face a similar choice soon, especially as that Starbucks crowd shifts to their second choice...

Heck one Panera I visited had a giant boardroom style table to encourage large groups to stay there for longer periods.

As for Second Cup they morphed from selling coffee beans to selling beans and being a Starbucks clone to being just a Starbucks clone and now they are changing direction again. They are basically the Robin's to Starbuck's Tims. I don't think we see them again in downtown Winnipeg even if the office crowd gets back to pre-pandemic levels. Reality is the Second Cup is a GenX type brand and the office works are shifting more to Millenials and GenZ that have different tastes for coffee (artesian for example).

I’ve been waiting for a Panera bread to come here for years. So good.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Yeah, the new starbucks going up on mcphillips/Jefferson certainly doesn't look like a drive thru or pickup only.

I think I see drive thru.

[cllew]

This proposed Startbucks is in a contentious location for a rezoning . Apparently the owners of the Thunderbird Restaurant on the corner of McPhillips and Jefferson think that they have some sort of right of use of the land that Sobey's wants to lease to Starbucks.

It's alleged there was an agreement regarding the lands with the RM of Old Kildonan which cannot be found in the post unicity records of the City of Winnipeg.

[Biff]

It’s definitely a drive through.

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by Biff

It’s definitely a drive through.

The point is that it's not a drive through *only* with zero indoor seating, as CoryB suggested. From the size of it there's clearly going to be space to sit inside too.

[trebor204]

I notice that The Captain's Boil has closed on Pembina and moved to a new location @ 667 Stafford. Someone was actually going to pick up a order at the old location. There was nothing on the door stating that their were moving to a new location.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by GarryEllice

The point is that it's not a drive through *only* with zero indoor seating, as CoryB suggested. From the size of it there's clearly going to be space to sit inside too.

Ahhh yes. It has both.