Beer Can at the Granite Club

The Granite Club is this year's host for the Beer Can and it is much bigger than we have ever seen it.

The previous location just on Main Street was extremely popular as case counts went down for Covid 19 in the summer but restrictions remained tight for operations inside bars and restaurants.

The Granite Club is a beautiful building and curling (like a lot of sports) has taken a hit this years as a result of closures.

The city has footdragged on patios forever. Still does. Or overcharges. If we want streetlife, it can't be by making everyone go inside. And if we want to stay safe, we need more outside. That is not just from pandemics but having people around leads to a collective watch group. I mean...aren't we all people watching? Hard to be up to no good when everyone is watching. And nowadays...recording.

The view is amazing.

Osborne Village overlooks the site across the Assiniboine River. You have to bet that the patio has not gone unnoticed there.

Danger is still all around us. Outdoors is better than indoors for the moment. Be mindful of those who are vulnerable. Things are still serious out there. We don't want even further restrictions.

Enjoy your patio time.

Fools and Horses on Broadway Now Open

It took a while to get constructed but the Horses and Fools coffee house finally opened on the long weekend. It fills a long vacant spot at 379 Broadway that used to have a MoneyMart. The proximity to government offices and other office towers as well as newly expanding RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre probably will help this business find success. The growing residential community along Assiniboine in the shape of condos and apartments will likely find this window filled establishment a great meeting place.

There has always been a good lunch crowd on the busy Broadway.  A few choice restaurants such as Amici's and restaurants in the Fort Garry Hotel and Place satisfy more refined tastes. There are Starbucks, Tim's, Subway, The Fixx Express Bar and Cafe 22 for the many people who work Winnipeg's most pedestrian friendly neighbourhood.

In January, Nicks on Broadway moved into the old location of SelFISH sushi restaurant at 287 Broadway. The sandwich place is just down the street from the Fort Garry Hotel.

The vitality of the Broadway area has always been strong with only a few parking lots that front the street and a few unforgiving buildings that offer no real street presence. The ability to sit and enjoy the tree lined avenue has been one of the main strengths.

Fools and Horses with a window happy sit and enjoy the world walk by atmosphere should help the western leg of Broadway. It is difficult to know just how much the Convention Centre crossing York and occupying a surface lot will change things. However, if we look at what happened the original 1970s construction, it created a lot of surrounding activity including long lasting restaurants.

The need to be able connect various vital areas of the city together will only enhance the success of those places.  So a big welcome to Fools and Horses and a belated one to Nicks on Broadway.

Milestone's Grill and Bar To Open Downtown

Milestone's Grill and Bar to Open Across from MTS Centre

Sometimes development corporations let the cat the cat out of the bag in corporate releases without realizing it. Some recent examples are: Fairweather Properties partner spilling it about Lowe's Home Improvement coming to Winnipeg or the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre showing a re-branded Radisson hotel as a Canad Inn.

In the last days a magazine of what Centrepoint across from the MTS Centre and developed by Longboat and Artis shows that Milestone's Grill and Bar is opening at 311 Portage Avenue.

It is one of two restaurants proposed for the site. The other, revealed by the Free Press, is a local restaurant owner and his latest development. Pizzeria Gusto's owner on Academy Road will open a restaurant facing Donald Street. No word yet on what the style will be.

Milestone's Grill and Bar in Vancouver

Milestone's Grill and Bar started off in B.C. in 1989 but it was quickly snapped up by Cara Operations which owns Harvey's, Kelsey's and Swiss Chalet. They are now also in Ontario and Alberta.

The style of the restaurant is higher end than Swiss Chalet and many of the locations have patios. The menu ranges from steak, chicken, fish to pasta and salads with some gluten free items.

Standard Milestone's Grill and Bar in the Suburbs

It is going to be a while before opening day but all the pieces are starting to come together for Centrepoint. The Alt Hotel, Stantec Engineering central office, a parkade, condos and street-side restaurants.

It is sad that a Winnipeg Jets season is delayed due to the labour shortage. I know that some people dismiss it as overplaying positive effects downtown and elsewhere but one only has to be present to see that the crowd is larger, more prosperous and more willing to spend time and money before and after games.

All of the restaurants near the MTS Centre have seen a positive impact. Boston Pizza, Tavern United, Moxie's, Elephant and Castle. The effect expands beyond as well to Earl's and The Keg and Pony Corral.

The trick for the downtown is to connect more of the successful pieces. And yes, there are some successful pieces. It is not all a burned out ruin with death awaiting you at every turn.

To review the successful areas of downtown, let's make a list.

* The Forks

Only the most petulant of people would describe the site as a failure. It is a safe central gathering point with unique offerings of food, stores and entertainment.

* Broadway

It is a people watching plaza of office workers and street-side food trucks. Plus, some of the greatest concentrations of people live in apartments and condos stretching down to Assiniboine Avenue.

* Convention Centre

By far one of the most consistent draws of people for events. It is a two block area that has contributed to the economy and entertainment of people in the city for years.

* Waterfront Drive

Most successful new development and biggest contributor to new housing downtown.

The MTS Centre is a successful downtown facility. Some said it didn't live up to the hype as it didn't draw any new hotels and few newer restaurants. I think some people miss the point though. The MTS Centre was to replace a huge empty Eaton's building. And now the owners of the Jets along with other developers are looking to expand the footprint.

In many respects, it is the slow and steady work that worked well for The Forks.

Let's see what the presence of a few high traffic restaurants do for Portage Avenue. Welcome Milestone's.

Active Transporation - Bike Paths Incomplete

Where is the bike path?

Snow is inevitable in Winnipeg but on some construction sites it looked like they had all the time in the world to complete them. Look at Kenaston Route 90 and you can't help wondering if the flimsy construction signs and pylons don't just disappear each time it snows. I certainly see them knocked down routinely.

In any event, we are at the start of winter and many construction sites are likely done for 2010 and we have several areas that are incomplete.

It was reported that 6 of the 36 bike paths have not been started. There are 12 that still have work to be done. The final tally of 18 bike paths are complete.

The federal government has said there will be no extension of federal money into 2011. This means that some of these active transportation projects could be looking to the city for complete funding.

I have already reported that Assiniboine Avenue work has been partly reversed and that two-way traffic has been restored.

It remains to be seen whether some of the other projects could be reversed.

Back on November 12, a cyclist found out how safe the Grosvenor Avenue and Waverley Street.



The picture from the story that Global News broke.

Fortunately, for this cyclist, the injuries were minor. Given how dangerous the circles are for pedestrians and cyclists, I expect we might see further problems.

If the city has to pay for the remainder of the active transportation system, it is possible they'll put a halt to completing the last of it. Sadly, this lack of money may mean that work that was done elsewhere in the city might stay despite whatever dissatisfaction and danger there is.

Update: Westworth Church has been able to push back against the complete plan for Grosvenor's bike path. No parking signs have long been removed from Lanark Street to the CN line.

Assiniboine Avenue

The artist drawing of Heritage Landing.



Outline of the new Crystal Developments property.



Blueprints of Heritage Landing.

It is no easy task being a developer when it comes to downtown development. If you express and interest in building some place, you have to jump through numerous hoops. And so it went with Crystal Developments who at first wanted to build at Fort and Assiniboine in 2008 but backed off when prominent citizens lobbied to have the land set aside for a historical park.

I felt it was a real shame that the only time that a group got together to protect the site is when someone expressed interest in it.

I had no problem with the idea of a historical park to represent Winnipeg's history from its origins at Upper Fort Garry. What is did have a problem with is how slapdash and late to the party it was.

Thankfully, Crystal Developers wasn't completely chased away but two years to be able find a project to replace what was lost is a little much.

The announcement of the a new highrise between the Midtown Bridge and Bonnycastle Park and bordering the Assiniboine Avenue is the first 20 story plus building built in the downtown in two decades.

The new project called Heritage Landing will rise 22 stories above the Assiniboine River. It will have eventually have around 300 people calling its 209 residential units home.

The project probably won't see any major work done till late 2011 based on some of the challenges presented by hydro lines and river location.

Let's hope that the every other project to bring residents downtown doesn't take just as long.



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