Dec. 30, 2022 "The brief life of The Gavel Pub, Edmonton's attempt at a courthouse-themed bar": Today I found this article by Jonny Wakefield in the Edmonton Journal and MSN.com:
For those returning to Edmonton’s court precinct after a pandemic-induced hiatus, The Gavel Pub is something of a mystery — a judicial-themed bar, just across the street from the courthouse, that either never opened or closed for good.
Kelly Savage is convinced that, had timing been on her side, the little pub would have been a hit.
“I loved it, instantly,” she said, recalling her husband Vern Savage’s suggestion to embrace its courthouse-adjacent location. “The whole interior of the bar was based off of court or legal (terms), including the menu.
We had signs up (above the bar) saying ‘Queen’s Bench.’
We couldn’t have a stage, so we thought, you know, we’ll put some railings up there and call it the holding cell.”
Kelly Savage had managed several Edmonton drinking establishments and found an inexpensive option for opening her own place in the old site of Bohemia, a nightclub and music venue that closed in the early days of the pandemic.
Savage envisioned The Gavel as a courthouse-adjacent watering hole where lawyers, judges and even accused could enjoy law-themed bar fare (at 1980s prices) in a colourful atmosphere replete with local news clippings and mannequins dressed in judicial robes.
The menu and decor blended legal Canadianisms (duty counsel french fries, for example), with American media like People’s Court and Judge Judy (where the judges actually use gavels, unlike their Canadian cousins).
After signing a lease in September 2020, Savage and her husband hired contractors to begin renovations, brightening up the “gothic” interior left over by Bohemia.
A menu was drawn up with items like drunk tank dry ribs, actus reus mozzarella sticks and attorney general kubasa (all available for under $7). Savage sought a painter who could make the interior look like a marble hall of justice but never found one who could match her vision.
‘People just didn’t know we were there’
Savage said that at the time she and her husband signed the lease, COVID case counts were low and many were confident the virus was on its way out. They opened on Nov. 5, 2020, but repeatedly had to curtail operations due to public health restrictions.
The fact that much of the courthouse’s foot traffic had moved online didn’t help.
“People just didn’t know we were there,” said Savage. “I had my husband out there dressed as a convict on the street. And a judge as well, you know, promoting us.”
Still, the pub managed a few regulars from nearby law offices, and the occasional person attending the courthouse for a case or to pay a fine.
But it wasn’t enough to make the business work, and COVID relief funds weren’t available because the pub opened during the pandemic. They closed for good on April 9, 2021, and continue to look for a buyer.
Savage doesn’t regret opening the bar, only the timing. She’s convinced the courthouse bar is still a niche that needs filling.
“I honestly believe that if somebody keeps the name, whoever buys it, if they keep the name, they (can) make a go of that,” she said.
The brief life of The Gavel Pub, Edmonton's attempt at a courthouse-themed bar (msn.com)
My opinion: The Gavel bar sounds interesting.
I thought this was a bad and stupid decision to open a restaurant during the pandemic because:
1. There were restrictions like restaurants can only sell take-out or dine- in at very limited capacity.
2. The restaurants that are opened before the pandemic are already struggling. They're closed either temporarily or permanently.
3. There wasn't a vaccine until 2021.
4. There are over 30 stores and restaurants that closed down in City Centre mall (that's 2 blocks away) in 2020- 2021.
If you go to ATB Place, there are like 5 restaurants that closed down.
I know hindsight is 20/ 20. However, in March 2020, when everything was closed down, I was looking for a work from home job constantly on the internet.
I didn't apply to any restaurants at all.
I was temporarily laid off from my Hotel Restaurant job and the Soup Place #2.
When the fall 2020 came, I called my boss at Soup Place #2 and asked if she planned on opening up. She said no, because she has visited there and the other restaurants there that are open aren't really making any money.
I like working at the restaurant industry, but I had to get a job either work from home or a call centre.
This is my Dec. 2021 blog post:
grey issues (Part 1)/ Justin Berry/ intervention/ abortions
Tracy's blog: grey issues (Part 1)/ Justin Berry/ intervention/ abortions (badcb.blogspot.com)
Feb. 17, 2023: The above blog post is a news article about a restaurants before the pandemic and there is a high risk of restaurants closing down.
I also wrote about my first hand experience of applying to restaurants that closed down within the first 2 years before the pandemic.
Feb. 24, 2023 Start side hustles: It's fine if you start a side hustle during the pandemic. There is less risk and money put into starting one.
Here are my Feb. 2023 blog posts:
"Millennial Money: 5 steps to level up your side hustle"/ "Reaching financial success through a side hustle"
"Pandemic spurs entrepreneurial boom in Canada: Poll"/ "Canadians seeking side hustles amid cooling jobs market: Nextdoor CEO"
"The best side hustles for earning extra money with little time"/ "How a little hustling on the side can help solve your budget woes as rates and inflation rise"
Jan. 22, 2023 "Missing your favourite lunch spot? How food courts are emerging from the pandemic": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on BNN Bloomberg:
As workers in Toronto's Financial District scurry through the Brookfield Place food court on their lunch breaks, the darkened Starbucks at the space's far end looms large.
The coffee shop's stainless steel coffee machines have sat lifeless and its shelves empty since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the building's denizens to work from home. Adjacent to the Starbucks, a closed Marché's is boarded up, but lines snake in front of McDonald's and Jimmy The Greek, and the building's property owner boasts of rising sales.
The scene is a sign of the crossroads at which food courts have found themselves since the pandemic upended work and shopping habits and stubbornly high inflation and labour shortages began rankling consumers.
Commercial landlords say they are slowly watching demand for their offerings tick upwards again, although the must still contend with vacancies from tenants that fled during COVID-19 shutdowns and with lower foot traffic due to fewer people in downtown cores amid the rise of remote and hybrid work.
"There's no doubt there's an immense amount of change that's taking place," said Casdin Parr, vice-president of commercial property manager JLL's retail advisory services.
For Brookfield Place, that includes Marché Movenpick ending Canadian operations and seeking creditor protection in 2020, and Starbucks. The coffee company says that location remains temporarily closed but it would not say when it might reopen.
Andrew Brent, a spokesperson for Brookfield Place's owner Brookfield Properties, said his company is confident both spaces will be reactivated because "food court traffic and sales have increased steadily and continue to climb."
How quickly that growth happens largely depends on how frequently people work from the office. After many desk jobs went fully remote in 2020, the return looks different from workplace to workplace – some employees are in the office full time, others for only part of the week, and some have stayed fully remote.
As a result, office footprints are shrinking: the national office vacancy rate ticked up to 17.1 per cent in the most recent quarter, the weakest quarter of 2022 and an increase from 16.4 per cent in the two quarters before, commercial real estate firm CBRE said.
Calgary had the highest vacancy rate of Canada's major cities at 30 per cent, while Ottawa had the lowest at 11.2 per cent.
"But while there's less captive audience (at food courts), the dollars being spent haven't been changed to the degree you would expect," said Alex Edmison, a senior vice-president at CBRE.
He believes food court sales are below pre-pandemic levels, but have not completely withered because buildings in prominent locations are starting to draw people once more.
But the gaps left by those who aren't returning as quickly and the restaurants that have already fled are putting pressure on landlords and commercial realtors.
"You have to be more competitive," said Edmison. "We have to try new things, we have to fight harder for market share."
The first step in that fight has often been attracting tenants with fewer locations but a strong local brand that can draw in customers.
Mean Bao, Patties Express, Le Gourmand and KoHa Pacific Kitchen, for example, have all been added to Toronto food courts since the start of the pandemic, while Hurry Curry, Lava Grill and Stuffies Pastries will call Market Mall in Calgary home.
Others are looking beyond the tenant mix to develop a new look and feel.
At the Bay Adelaide Centre food court in Toronto, the typical lineup of quick-serve restaurants huddled around the perimeter of a dining space is gone. Now, sleek wood tables and black chairs fill pockets carved out for dining or working beside spaces promising new options on the way, such as the salad and sandwich shop Pumpernickel's and Asian restaurant Zen Kyoto.
"Many of the landlords are really looking at this type of space much differently than they may have in the past," Parr said.
"There is a place for the traditional food court ... but what I think we're going to start to see a lot more of going forward is a food experience that's driven by ... the wants and needs of the office worker."
Local restaurateurs serving dishes with higher-quality ingredients are at the heart of those wants and needs along with food halls featuring a mix of artisanal restaurants marketed so diners feel there is something to please every palate, Parr said.
A short stroll away from the Bay Adelaide Centre, that strategy is at play in the Eaton Centre, where a Richtree Natural Market is being ripped out, said Sal Iacono, Cadillac Fairview’s executive vice-president of operations.
Oliver and Bonacini will transform the 19,000-square-foot space into the Queen's Cross Food Hall with 10 brands including Le Petit Cornichon, Captain Neon Sushi + Bowls and Curryosity.
Iacono's goal is to create "an elevated but not unapproachable experience.”
Finance worker Lina Tong will be happy to soon have another option for lunch.
"So many of the places I ate at before COVID are gone and it’s picking up, but it’s not what it used to be," she said, as she tucked into a meal from Mean Bao's Bay Adelaide Centre outpost.
"Lunch is different when the spots you’re used to close, but I guess good things don’t always last forever.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2023.
Missing your favourite lunch spot? How food courts are emerging from the pandemic - BNN Bloomberg
Jan. 10, 2024 "Popular Edmonton restaurant closes doors due to rising costs":
Today I found this article by Adam Ziccarelli on CityNews:
Tucked on the side of a busy 124 Street near downtown Edmonton used to be home to one of the city’s most popular chicken stops. But that’s no longer the case as Northern Chicken has suddenly closed their doors to this location.
According to the association, inflation is one of the main issues for restaurants in 2024. With an increase in costs, restaurants may have issues with increased rent, less staff, higher food costs, and fewer people going out. And for restaurants that have a liquor license, the new federal liquor tax is just an extra point on a long list of issues.
https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2024/01/10/popular-edmonton-restaurant-closes-doors-due-to-rising-costs/
"The pandemic is changing how restaurants do business — and it might be for good"/ "A global ghost-kitchen experiment is growing out of a Vancouver parking empire"
"Coffee shops are raising prices as beans become more costly, workers demand higher wages"/ "Restaurant owners worried about menu inflation, report finds"
Halle Berry is paying tribute to her co-star Adan Canto, a Mexican actor best known for his roles in "Designated Survivor" and the superhero drama "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
Canto died Monday after succumbing to appendiceal cancer, the actor's publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed to USA TODAY in an emailed statement Tuesday. He was 42.
Most recently, Canto starred as Arman Morales on the Fox crime drama "The Cleaning Lady."
“The Cleaning Lady" is currently filming its third season. Canto was unable to participate in the production due to his illness, but he was hoping to rejoin later in the season.
https://ca.yahoo.com/news/adan-canto-designated-survivor-x-212824322.html
My opinion: I was shocked and saddened that he died. I didn't know he was sick. I usually don't read too much about celebrities. I love him on The Cleaning Lady. He was hot in the tall, dark, and handsome way.
The Wizard's Tower is an expansion for the board game Castle Panic. It is not a stand-alone game and requires Castle Panic to play. The Wizard's Tower is a cooperative board game for 1 to 6 players ages 12 and up.
Your Castle has been rebuilt, and a friendly Wizard has joined your forces. As long as his Tower stands, you and your friends have access to powerful magic spells...and you'll need them, for the Monsters have returned stronger, faster, smarter, and with new abilities to threaten the Castle.
You'll fight against magical Imps, evasive flying creatures, and more. Make your stand against six dangerous new Mega-Boss Monsters, including the Dragon and the Necromancer. Use fire to attack the Monsters, but beware, your Walls and Towers can be burned down as well!
The challenge is high, but so is the adventure. Can you survive more panic and defend The Wizard's Tower?
Salary and severance disclosure table
View salary and severance data for Government of Alberta employees above the annual
threshold.
Alison Y. from Calgary, AB, would like to know:
Do you find yourself on a tight budget after the holidays are over?
Yes
53.68% (2277)
No 46.32% (1965)
My opinion: No. I don't exchange gifts with my family (and friends).
2024 Feng Shui: Your Year To Manifest More! (amazing!): This is from Dana Claudat:
2024 Feng Shui: 5 Ways To Make The Most of the New Year!
2024 Numerology: Universal Year 8 Brings Super Abundance!
Bring in abundance: Clear all your clutter.
Be consistent.
Organization: order helps.
Get stronger.
Give: what organization do you want to support?
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