Downtown Pony Corral Closed

The Downtown Pony Corral took over Grapes location on St. Mary's in 1999. It would be their second location after success on Pembina Highway from the late 1980s. The Ginakes family had a reputation for family restaurants but the downtown location had a bar vibe about it that lasted through its 21 years. Many celebrations were started or ended at The Pony. It was where Cruise Night started as well.

It may not be the last Ginakes venture downtown. He owns the building where Mother Tucker's used to be and the benefits of the True North towers and surrounding investments are still being measured by those who live and work by. Restaurant entrepreneurs are always looking for the next format and location. What works in one place might not work in others.

Grapes operated in six locations in Winnipeg and even further afield but the last one on Pembina closed in 2010. The Kenaston location closed after 28 years in 2008.

The Pony elsewhere probably has enough regular goers and excellent locations. Grant Park is a rejuvenated mall with dense population around it and with good local events such as Cruise Night to keep it relevant. Even with Moxies and Joeys everywhere, the Pony stands apart because it can and has been a gathering place.

The one thing you notice when you go to the Pony downtown is that that is sizable. This is why it was used for celebrations. But that is a competitive market and restaurants have to pulls crowds from lunch to late night. That is no easy feat. While their are office towers with private and government and workers Monday to Friday, it doesn't help that the The Bay is pretty much a dead zone now.

If customer parking can remain available across the street in evenings, there is a chance that another restaurant group might be interested. The patio remains an attractive feature which is something not every restaurant provides. Rumour has it that The Pint is on the hunt in Winnipeg again but The Pony is closer to the RBC Convention Centre than it is to BellMTS so maybe not ideal for a sports bar.

It is tough to be in the restaurant business. Some people are very committed to the same places all the time but if that demographic changes or people check something else out, the slim margin of what is successful can come crashing down.

The Pony Corral was a good restaurant to have downtown and contributed to a vitality on the street. Any restaurant that occupies its space would do well to reach out as many people as they did.

Gordmans Store Closing in Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota

The retail apocalypse continues in Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota. Longtime department store retailer Gordmans are closing their 55,000 square foot locations near the major malls of West Acres Fargo and Columbia Mall in Grand Forks.

Signs in the windows at both announced the closures and the discounts for stock till it is gone.

Both Fargo and Grand Forks have reeled from the multiple closures of stores that have probably had a bigger impact than in Winnipeg. The various vacancies in city malls north of the border are slowly filling save for Polo Park.

Shopping habits have changed dramatically for Americans as they use Amazon and others to receive deliveries at home. It has left malls coming up with ideas such as food halls to change the experience from one of shopping to recreation.

Still, the change in places like Grand Forks and Fargo are so fast and so big and undoing 40 years of retail experience that it has startled many. For many Winnipeggers who spent years in both malls and surrounding retail area it will come as a reminder that shopping trips to North Dakota are not as they were in the 1970 through the early 2000s.

Grand Forks and Fargo are great cities. They have other experiences that make them so but no lie that the death of retail there is as solid a threat to each city as annual spring flooding or even the big one that crippled them both. The question is: How will they re-build?

Bagelsmith Montreal Style Bagels Coming to Carlton

It is a very tiny space on Carlton next to very long standing denizens of the street such as Ichi-Ban and Thomas Hinds but it might be the right fit and right place for Bagelsmith to set up shop. A pop-up shop is coming first in March to give people a taste of the wares but then after that, the permanent home opens at 185 Carlton next to the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre. Paper covers the window now so the countdown is on.

This is no mere franchise. It is a bold attempt to create the sweet tastes of Montreal bagels in Winnipeg by someone who took the time to find the right recipe.

As True North towers start to fill up, the Monday to Friday crowd that is moving in is beginning to seek out new coffee places, restaurants and foodie places to fuel them through their day. Lakeview Square is already a well established business hub and the Convention Centre next door has steady traffic but it is True North that represents real density growth as it builds on parking lots and former hotel space.

Sometimes a business needs a tiny space for a big idea. Bagelsmith will have that on Carlton and we might see even more street level activity as people explore their new business hub. Having sweet Montreal bagels will go a long way to making people feel good about the move into the area.

St. Vital Centre Plan for Sears

Two years.

It took this long to do something with in St. Vital Centre with the 130,000 square foot Sears site on the north side of the mall. In the picture above, the Sears is unshaded at the top.

It hasn't been much of a secret of what is coming to the Sears. Marshalls/HomeSense will take up 40,000 square feet and 25,000 square feet will be a Goodlife Fitness. They will both occupy two floors in a configuration yet to be revealed. Even though that covers quite a bit of the Sears space, there are two remaining retailers coming which haven't announced yet.

The Marshalls/HomeSense and Goodlife Fitness should be open in the spring on this year. Already the evidence of windows being built out to face the city can be seen under construction. This is very likely a group exercise studio. Signage is expected in March.

In addition to the aforementioned new tenants are two others Winnipeggers are familiar with. Warehouse One has moved into the mall and Dynacare has opened close to the entrance of the Silver City theatres. This will probably not be too bad during weekday hours when movies don't kick into high gear till later in the day.

There is a bus terminus fairly close by which is helpful and the mall has had a friendly seniors walk early in morning which could all contribute to this Dynacare location being well suited. I was a bit more disdainful of the Seasons of Tuxedo location being distance to the mall and in a very busy restaurant parking lot.

Warehouse One is in the end east corridor where more fashion stores are opposite Garage. The successful Winnipeg retailer has generally avoided pricey malls but suffice to say, St. Vital needs retailers who know how to sale. And this one does.

The retail sector keeps taking steps forward and backward. More backward for certain. The malls need people and companies like Dynacare and and Goodlife bring people in during quieter times for malls. The first thing in the morning group exercises or the blood test after fasting will have people coming regularly. For several restaurants and retailers it will be a boon.

St. Vital has had several other closures. There are broken teeth throughout the mall but momentum looks good and by mid-fall, they will have their game face ready for Christmas.

It remains to be seen whether Polo Park gets their act together with their own empty Sears which is 3X bigger.

Red River Co-op Grocery to Open at Seasons of Tuxedo

Red River Co-Op Grocery announced that one of the last major retail spots in Seasons of Tuxedo has been claimed by them for their 9th food store in the province. Rumours had been swirling for some time that it had come down to two or three choices but Red River had been the most aggressive in pursuing south Winnipeg locations. The other south location being built is the St. Norbert food store which replaces the formerly flooded location in the neighbourhood.

Although it wasn't announced where the store would be located on the 100 acre mixed development that makes up Seasons of Tuxedo, there is really only one place it could go. It will be located in the 35,000 square feet space available in front of the 55 Plus The Link and the Brightwater Assisted Living Tuxedo location. Access will come along a number of Sterling Lyon Parkway turn-offs that also head into Outlet Collection and residential areas.

It is the growing residential make-up of along Kenaston and Sterling Lyon that will most welcome Red River Food Store. Competition among grocers is a good thing. And having one where residents can literally walk to is even better.

Across the road from the new grocer is a hotel, residential units and Cabela's. It is very likely that by 2021, there will be very little development left in all Seasons of Tuxedo as a flurry of restaurant, residential and shops will be opening. It is easy to see this is a bit of a race to get thing done before Kapyong Barracks demolition is complete and development plans are announced. Waiting two years could have seen Red River choose Kapyong instead.

Another useful thing about Red River Food Store being in the Seasons of Tuxedo location is a pharmacy. Given the proximity of so many residents, this might be their pharmacy if choice, especially for some many seniors.

Expect the doors to open on the grocery is summer of 2021.

Lost in Space Season 2

I watched the season 1 of Lost in Space Season on Netflix in 2018. Despite the fame of the original series, I never did see it. It aired on CBS and our family didn't get cable with American channels till years later. It also didn't air in syndication locally in the 1970s or 1980s.

And yet, it was hard not to notice the robot over the years. It guested on other shows along with its cousin from Forbidden Planet (a movie I never got to see either until the 2000s). When the big Hollywood theatrical production came to the screen, I was familiar with the characters, storyline and knew all the catchphrases but still hadn't seen the series. It had since aired on TV locally by then but it it had missed its golden moment when I had been young enough to appreciate it.

And the original TV version was indeed aimed at kids...relentlessly so. The writers eventually wrote themselves into a corner with Will Robinson, Dr. Smith and the robot and their zany comedy adventures. In the end their audience outgrew them. And it left little room for growth or things to do for other characters..

As for the movie, it was a hodge podge of being an ode to the show and a big special effects splash but it bogged down on story and character. The special effects also were problematic as many early CGI movies often were. The mostly good cast had little to work with.

Streaming television companies like Netflix pride themselves on analytics. It is why they buy certain TV programs that they know have an audience or are comfort food for those who will watch and re-watch again. Re-visiting these new programs with re-makes can be fairly lucrative.

The first season of Lost In Space had a good cast, good special effects and a reasonable origin story. Indeed, so much goes on in the first 10 episodes that it seems frantic compared to the second season. Ending on a cliffhanger, it was curious whether the series would be able to carry on such a pace. For a network program historically, a series was allowed 22-24 episodes to build an audience. Nowadays, a series is lucky to get 6 to 10 episodes.

I watched the first 10 episodes knowing it had already been renewed. Keeping that in mind, it was a relief that the Lost in Space took a step back to start Season 2. The Robinson family along with Dr. Smith and Don West are in survival mode on the planet. No robot around and the ship too disabled to lift off from a toxic environment. Nine months have passed and they are working well but it is precarious. Methane outside and nasty storms make a disaster seem inevitable and yet division and secrets abound even as the family has never been closer.

Dr. Smith remains locked up as her duplicity and danger to everyone is accepted by everyone even when she has helped save family members when not trying to take over. Husband John feels he has the chance to reconnect with his wife and kids after years of not being there while Maureen feels that they still need to get off the planet because of its obvious dangers. The engine not working, no robot and very little power generated have thwarted efforts.

A desperate plan to float the Jupiter to a predictable electric storm area on the sea is only undertaken when they lose their entire crop to storm and methane exposure. Little do they know till later that Dr. Smith is responsible for the sabotage to change her circumstances as well as the Robinsons.

There are good actors in the show. Molly Parker, Toby Stephens and Parker Posey as John, Maureen and Dr. Smith are all excellent. The young actors that include Maxwell Jenkins are uniformly great.

The second season was far superior to the first season. Many questions were answered and many questioned remain. And yes, the robot returns. Still, I wonder if the story of the Robinsons in space has the power to continue. Netflix wants grand scale and yet the series had it strongest moments when it shows the family working together as a smaller unit for survival. Lets see if there is a third season.