Salisbury House Opens in The Exchange

Salisbury House is a Winnipeg tradition and used to be right downtown. The first one in 1931 was just off Portage and Main and had what became the signature look in the picture above.

In recent years Salisbury House has seen their ownership stabilize and they've tried moving into new ventures such as seasonal stores and Xpress stores that are smaller than the main stores. There has been some success and some closures.

Surprisingly, given its history, there have been no Sal's downtown for some time. That has changed with the opening of the new Salisbury House at 177 Lombard right across from the Richardson Building. Brent Bellamy took a pic inside December 21 and they are now open.

The exterior and interior of the Lombard building is very handsome and the location is so close to the intersection as well as the Exchange District. The first floor there has been used for a variety of uses including restaurants but this particular incarnation might stick. Fancy and expensive business restaurants abound but a place to just grab a coffee and burger has value as well. And having your own table compared to a food court is good.

It should be interesting to see how this Sal's fits in to the business, arts and sports of the surrounding area. 

Salisbury House in the 1950s

1950s picture shows a Salisbury House in a Texaco gas station beside a Shea's building. Shea's was Winnipeg's beloved beer company on Colony Street that became Labatt's. It is presently where Great-West Life's newer building resides. Where is this picture's location?

Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre Part 3

It will be a sad day for some when Salisbury House restaurant closes at the Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre.

I have eaten there many times in the past but so often in recent years. The restaurant has been at its Tuxedo location for 27 years. I can imagine that some people are upset and with the closure, there will be very little in the way of eating establishments aside from Starbucks.

By all accounts it is a busy place but it wasn't enough to appeal to the managers of the mall who probably thought that a better class of clientele with a faster turnover of parking spaces lay in choosing the the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission's Liquor Mart expansion into the restaurant's space.

The 2,613-square-foot space will now be renovated into a full size Liquor Mart.

I can remember the petition several years ago that the MLCC undertook to get approved for a location at Tuxedo. There were some initial reservations. It looks as if those concerns have been swept aside in the last few years.

NewWest Enterprise Property Group has been upgrading the mall for some time. The Mac's store was discarded some time ago and now it will be followed by the Sal's in December.

The mall is filled to the rafters so there isn't a spot elsewhere that Sal's could move to. There is probably a need for place like Sal's in the River Heights/Tuxedo/Charleswood area given the seniors in the area but there is no spaces available until Charleswood. Senior's in Charleswood have been using the McDonald's at the Charleswood Shopping Centre Plaza for some time as a gathering spot.

It is possible that a Sal's could succeed at the Charleswood mall if the owner's of Sal's were willing to make that investment. My suggestion would be a restaurant in the parking lot.

Edit: Forgot to add that Salisbury House is building a 150 seat store in the former location of Longhorn's Texas Steakhouse (the Branigan's before that) on Leila Street in Garden City. It will also serve as their new headquarters as they move from St. James.



myspace hit counter

The changes in Wolseley/West Broadway area Part 1

Northern Crown Bank, Portage Avenue and Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, circa 1979, now demolished. Note Carter Motors next door. The site now occupied by McDonald's. Source.

The area I am talking about specifically is the Sherbrook/Maryland corridor between Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River.

This particular strip is a mixture of houses, retail and other businesses and services.

On the south of Portage Avenue, Carter Motors occupied a choice spot for nearly 60 years. The company was eventually taken over by Murray Chev Olds and remained there until 1999 when it moved to the suburbs and Bishop Grandin.

The departure of the dealership opened up a large chunk of land on Portage. It seemed that this would be a rare opportunity to do something unique on a grand scale. Instead, the development plan was a page right out of suburbia. The focus became one that targeted commuters and had little curbside appeal for the pedestrians or people who actually lived in the neighborhood.

In short, the land was divvied up amongst big box stores.

The old Carter Motors site, which during it heyday had cars lined up facing Portage with streamers blowing across its open space, was one of a few car dealers on the southside.

So what eventually went up on the Carter Motors site?

Well, presently the old lot has a Pharma Plus built on it. This store replaces a smaller pharmacy nearer to Misercordia Hospital. The new store on Portage has a post office as well as a doctor's office attached to it. It represents an improvement in service to the area not withstanding the large parking lot which acts like a wind tunnel in around the building.

McDonald's Restaurants moved west from their location near the University of Winnipeg in favour of a smaller restaurant on the corner at Sherbrook and Portage. Behind it, a Winnipeg-based restaurant Palatal Express also along Sherbrook. A Tim Horton's occupied a space behind the Pharma Plus along Maryland.

The parking lot by all accounts is not easy to get in and out of. Many Tim Horton's customers cause traffic disruptions trying to access the drive-throughs. It probably doesn't help either that there seems to be a steady flow of student traffic jaywalking across the street from Gordon Bell School.

Gordon Bell is the main high school in the area and has a daycare center with students with children. There are numerous immigrant and aboriginal children who attend the school. The school has occupied the location on Borrowman street alongside Maryland since 1958. Older Winnipeg residents will know that the site is the former location of Mulvey school. Gordon Bell extends all the way back to Broadway.

Along the northside of Broadway is city office and police sub-station. The sub-station used to be a Salisbury House, The city office used to distribute social assistance checks. Heading back up Sherbrook on the west side was a few businesses. At one time, a gay social club occupied an unmarked building. A travel agency shared the same site. The east side of Sherbrook has had Thomson Funeral Chapel as its anchor for decades. Just north of that is West Region Child and Family Service offices.

So, has there been an improvement in this block with some of the recent changes?

The short answer is yes and no. For the commuter, another Tim Horton's on the way to and from work is a happy addition. Likewise, the new location for McDonald's is easier for cars to get in and out of as opposed to the one closer to the University of Winnipeg.

It is more a sideways move getting rid of a car lot for a big box paradise.

One again local people and pedestrians get the short stick.