Old Robin's on Portage to Become KFC

For the last several years the restaurants west of Moray Street have been closing. First it was the German restaurant Gasthaus Gutenberg around 2016 and then Marigold next at about 2018. The same year Robin's Donuts across the street closed. Pizza Land was the last to close in2024 but has since been replaced by Triple Pizza. However, Pizza Land's iconic sign came down.

From about 2018 to now, there have been quite a few changes from Moray where Singleton's, Assiniboine Credit Union, HUB Insurance all closed. The mall there is full leased now with Winnipeg Insurance, Flamingo Cannabis, Healing Hands Pharmacy and Little Viet restaurant. The parking lot can be quite busy now.

Next door to that Pet 101 and Crystal Clear Water Centre closed in 2024 and has been replaced by Inspire Massage Therapy which refurbished the building. Next to that Gasthaus restaurant was closes and signs went up in 2023 for GotoDoctor,ca and St. George's Medical Centre. The doctor's office are close to being occupied and were delayed due the amount of hazardous material and other work needing to be done.  The karate business and apartments above have remained unchanged as as the leather and repair business across the street. The long time pizza tenant Pizza Land behind it closed in 2023 and was replaced by Triple Pizzeria shortly after.

After Marigold closed around 2018, it was replaced Elite/Elevate which did a fine job up restoring the two floor building into a sports injury and training facility. in 2024, the Birchwood Animal Hospital was spruced up on the outside completing the block. In 2025, once the doctor's offices are fully restored and refurbished, the entire black might be full leased and upgraded. 

The only spot west of Moray on south Portage that has waiting for for development is the former Robin's. It has been empty pretty much from 2018. For a time, Starbucks was planning on taking over but the pandemic pretty much ended the company's plans all over the world. Many Starbucks locations remain shuttered even today, including ones in Chapters bookstores.

There used to be many Robin's Donuts in Winnipeg but now it is down to a handful. The company is embarking on a re-building but from Winnipeg's perspective, it looks like a slow retreat.  The empty Robin's on Portage sitting empty for years has been difficult to ignore.

In recent weeks construction crews have been repairing the road, garbage enclosure and other aspects of the lot. The owner of the property till now seemed unwilling to repair the parking lot as it began to cave in. The only thing that changed on the property is when Conservative election signs went up.

Word has it though that the new tenant of the space will be a Kentucky Fried Chicken. On Portage Avenue, the closest KFC would be the one at Unicity which shares space with Taco Bell. The next would be a KFC in the food court at Polo Park and the next in the West End. It is unclear of the Moray KFC will share with Taco Bell. Undoubtedly, the franchise is attracted to the drive-thru which could be the only one available along Portage in St. James. 

The Portage and Moray has picked up after several years in the doldrums. Continuing west down Portage still has some gaps to fill heading west but the significant building on housing units in Headingley and, of course, the Costco. It is very likely there will be an uptick in business along Portage as well as higher density in housing. And while there is room for retail, the latest additions have been in things like medical and health services and residential. For the commuter though, it is the drive-thru that rules and a KFC near the Charleswood bridge is likely to be popular.

Fast Fired By Carbone Coming to Charleswood

March 2018, Fast Fired by Carbone Opened Brandon

The former Subway in old Charleswood closed and paper in the windows indicates that a new restaurant is soon to open. Fast Fired by Carbone is slated to open in the fall of 2018. The newly branded restaurant was formerly known as Carbone Coal Fired Pizza and had locations in River Heights and downtown.

Under their new brand name they opened a 1243 square foot location at the Coral Centre in Brandon, Manitoba to great fanfare in March. They show little signs of slowing down. In addition to the location being built on Roblin in Charleswood, they are working on a 1523 foot location in Sage Creek at Sage Creek Village North. There is also a new pad site of 1500 square feet at Kildonan Place being built. And lastly, at 201 Portage in the RBC building, a 313 square foot location is being built in the food court.

The Charleswood location will be 1290 square feet in the Morningwood Center. It is the first time I've heard that name used in the complex that also holds a Starbucks and the Capital restaurant. Subway had been the only survivor of a previous renovation that ended the tenure of Robin's and KFC.

Fast Fired by Carbone specializes in fare such as pizza and wings that are cooked in coal fired ovens imported into Canada. By the end of the year the restaurant,  founded in 2014, will have doubled in size from the present four location to eight. It is unlikely they will stay at the number given the interest in franchising the concept.

Control Escape Room Coming to Charleswood

The sign is up, the website says opening in May 2018, Control Escape Rooms is set to occupy the former Kids Etc Youth Movement dance studio at 3525 Roblin across from Laxdal in old Charleswood. Lest anyone think Kids Etc closed, a story is coming about their relocation into a building built for them.

There has been a lot change in old Charleswood after a number of years of stability in the business make-up of street. Kids Etc moved and Pizza Pizza closed in the same mall. The Prep Montessori School recently in the space where two former diet centres were once located.

In a shocker to many people the last bank of the street is shutting down and re-locating all its business to Portage Avenue. CIBC has been a fixture of the street forever. Now old Charleswood has no bank branch at in the next weeks.

The Charleswood Medical Centre is back up and running under new operators and a re-fresh. Sirius Benefits which was located in the old Matheo's restaurant was bought by People Corp and has re-located to Kenaston in their massive new facility. The building remains up for lease.

In another surprise the Subway restaurant shut down after many, many years. It had been the old survivor in renovations that saw Robin's and KFC closed in favour of Starbucks and now Capital restaurant.

However, back to Control Escape. Their webpage says opening soon and will feature 10 escape rooms. It will be the first escape room for the Charleswood area although Winnipeg may have the largest amount of the businesses anywhere on the planet. They truly have proliferated here and remain popular.

In a world where people increasingly were becoming shuts-ins to Netflix, video games and the like, the escape rooms are the antithesis to being alone. They require people to get together to enjoy an event in an allotted time with a reward at the end for figuring it out.

Expect to see Control Escape to open in Charleswood soon.

Roblin Boulevard Part 9

Asahi Japanese Restaurant Closed 2014

In 2008, a makeover of an old strip mall on Roblin Boulevard saw the entry of Starbucks and posh Asahi Japanese Restaurant to what marks the beginning of old Charleswood. Saying farewell to the area were longtime establishments of Robin's and KFC. Subway was the only one to survive the renovations.

Starbucks established itself nicely as a gathering spot for Charleswood and the whole little strip felt more updated. Prior to that, the feeling of the Robin's and KFC was of restaurants of a bygone decade.

The most exciting addition was Asahi Japanese Restaurant. From the start it offered an exotic new taste to the area that generally has leaned towards Greek with Pappas and White Tower a baseball throw from one another. If there was one cautionary note it was that Sushi Park in the Charleswood Shopping Centre on Grant Avenue had just opened as well.

In terms of price and poshness, Asahi won hands down. It was gorgeous inside. However, in recent years the crowds seemed thinner. Meanwhile, Charleswood Mall including Sushi Park seemed a busier place from lunch time to later in the day.

It is with sadness that the For Lease signs appear in Asahi's windows. I am sure that it will continue to be a restaurant but what kind it is hard to say.

What will movie into Asahi?

 I have meant to update the Robiln Boulevard report for some time as other changes are affoot.

In 2009, beloved McIntyre Meats closed suddenly. It was the successor to equally loved Norman's. For years the site has sat empty. No more. In what seems like a no brainer, the Salvation Army Thrift store is expanding into their spot.

Salvation Army Thrift Store Expanding

The leasing of the space for the thrift store will fill a sad and longtime whole in the little mall. After this, it appears the mall is fully leased.

Co-Op Gas Next Door is Always Busy

Back in 2007 the little mall that houses the local Charleswood 7/Eleven had a little sports store Kel's Crease and Presto Pizza. Both of those businesess are gone and Kel's Crease location was the site of two fashion businesses over the years: Street 204 and then Army Candy. Presto Pizza eventually closed and what came to occupy that space along with the fashion store's location in a two step process was Victory Sports and Injury Clinic.

The addition of Victory Sports and Injury Clinic is in keeping with what really dominates the old Charleswood section of Roblin: Medical clinics, dental clinics, physiotherapy, massage therapy, athletic therapy, chiropractors, optician and veterinarian care. Oh, and two very busy car mechanics centers.

Redeemed Gone

One last bit of sad news: Redeemed is gone beside White Tower.  Redeemed had just been featured in the news in regards to it being a retailer of used fashion. They still appear to have their Academy Road location. Prior to Redeemed the location was the Mattress Source and Sleep Shoppe. The hairstyling place at the end of the mall in 2007 is now occupied by another health business Snider Podiatry Clinic.

Old Charleswood has been a bit of a mishmash but any time during the day you do see foot traffic making way to the various businesses. In many respects it is the downtown of Charleswood.

Roblin Boulevard Part 1

Corydon Avenue becomes Roblin Boulevard as it passes the Assinibone Park entrance at Shaftesbury Boulevard.

Charleswood begins immediately west of Assiniboine Park which includes the Winnipeg Park Zoo, the Assiniboine Forest and the Tuxedo Golf Course.

A sign marks the entrance to Charleswood.

The first street that westbound travellers cross as they head into Charleswood is Chalfont. Anyone interested in seeing deer should turn south at this point. Early evening is the best time to see deer come out of the forest. The houses on the west side of Chalfont often put up mesh over their flowerbeds to keep hungry deer from eating everything.

On the north side of Roblin is a home that borders Assiniboine Park. It is the residence of Bill Taylor who is famous for the Assiniboine Park Railway, a miniature rail line that runs over his property and that offers rides on days when the sign is out on the street. During the Christmas season, the Taylor's have lights lining the long path to their home and the rail. It has become a tradition in December for many to walk down that path and ride the train while looking at the lights.

On the north side of Roblin, the commercial buildings begin between Wexford and Cathcart. For many years, the Robin's Doughnuts, Subway Restaurants and KFC occupied a strip mall there.

The Robin's shutdown in 2005. There was no drivethru and with Tim Horton's in the Charleswood Mall along Grant, it probably was losing commuters progressively over the years.

In 2007/2008, the owners of the strip mall did a makeover of the building. The telltale signature brick of the Robin's was covered up in favour of the same bland design found on most strip malls in the city. KFC/Pizza Hut Express closed during this process. Like Robin's, it had no drivethru.

A number of the KFCs have closed in Winnipeg recently. The common denominator seems to be the lack of a drivethru. For Charleswood residents, it means the closest KFC is now at the former Unicity Mall location.

The only restaurant to remain following the reconstruction has been Subway. In the old Robin's location, a Starbucks Coffee has opened. At one time Starbucks had sniffed at opening in cities like Winnipeg. Now they are everywhere.

In the old KFC location, there is paper over the windows. The sign says Asahi restaurant coming soon. It would appear to be an offshoot of the Asahi on Broadway.

I indicated a short time ago what a welcome addition Sushi Park has been to the Charleswood area in their Charleswood mall location. This makes things doubly good.

There is some indication that the Starbucks has been a hit. With a little sidewalk face section, the parking lot seems to be filled far more often than in the Robin's days.