Arby's Returning, St.Louis Bar and Grill New To Winnipeg

In 2020 the last of the Arby's closed in Winnipeg. It seems every few years some franchises not named McDonald's fade and in some cases die. Case in point is Swiss Chalet which has twice expanded here and twice died. Harvey's is another that has risen and fallen and now has only one location.

Having a good location for your franchise certainly helps and being located in the Seasons at Tuxedo mall will help. As mentioned in other posts, the mall along Sterling Lyon has not had a break in building in a decade. This new Arby's in the city should have a fighting chance between the mall and so many new residents onsite in the last three years.

Also in the same section of the Red River Co-Op Grocery part of the mall is a large Canadian restaurant chain called St. Louis Bar and Grill opening. It is their first location in Winnipeg and will be one of only a few locations they have in the west.

As per an earlier post D Spot Desserts in the same section along with a Dollarama. Curiously, there is a Dollarama across the street. Will that one stay open?

Above will be the Dollarama, D-Spot Desserts and St. Louis Bar and Grill. To the right will be the new Arby's.

The orange tarp is the new Bank of Montreal. 

There has been some musing about the Americanization of Winnipeg through Seasons but it should be pointed out just how much housing is a component from the very start. I can't think of too many malls on American that have around 3000 or more residents that can literally walk a few hundred feet to the mall. While malls can have suburban residential areas around them, to actually have multi-unit homes right inside the footprint is just not the American experience. 

And despite having favourite American stores, it also has banks, insurance, medical clinic, liquor stores, fitness spots, pharmacies, grocery, specialty local stores, local restaurants and the like. A bus loop runs right inside the area. This a different animal compared to past malls. 

For Arby's, the decision to locate here is how many people including tourists who will come. And to that end, it looks like the right place.

Krispy Kreme Coming to Winnipeg

In another coup for Seasons at Tuxedo, they have landed Manitoba's first Krispy Kreme. The donut shop has been in Canada since 2001 but didn't do well the first time around. They started a comeback in 2016 but so far only in Ontario and Quebec and one in B.C. with none in between. Winnipeggers used to go to Fargo to pick up but that one closed years ago. Winnipeg will have the only Krispy Kreme for a thousand kilometers in any direction along Sterling Lyon.

At present the building is not up but a few news ones are near completion. After 10 years of construction, Seasons and surrounding areas are almost complete in retail, residential and restaurant  building. And they will have now have a Krispy Kreme across from IKEA to enjoy.

D Spot Desserts Coming to Season at Tuxedo

One of the fastest growing Canadian franchises D Spot Desserts is coming to Seasons at Tuxedo. Founded in 2014, it will be Manitoba's first location and another example how the Seasons development is still finding unique offerings over Polo Park. It has been non-stop construction around the area.

As the name suggests, the specialty his desserts. Milkshakes galore, hot chocolate and every dessert in between. However, there are burgers, pizzas and poutines as well on the menu.

It is almost directly across from the Rec Room and the Hilton. And with hundreds of apartments, condos and assisted living homes in the area, D Spot Desserts is just a walk away. The Red River Co-Op Grocery anchors the far end of the parking lot. A Bank of Montreal is going up as well which will give residents even more reason to stay in the area to do their banking, insurance, their vet, their medical clinic and shopping.

For those critical of this development, it is useful to remember that this was the Tuxedo Yards, the rail and depot for containers and trucks. Once the yards reconciled to Symington, they could have remained industrial or sat fallow not earning taxes. This entire area was never going to be just a vast parking lot with IKEA in it. There are hundreds and hundreds of multi-unit houses going up and a bus loop is located in the area. This is what Polo Park wishes to become with the residential component located next to retail and restaurants.

It is for this reason that D Spot Desserts is likely to meet more success at Seasons than Polo Park to begin with. More and more people actually live steps away. As for IKEA, it attracts people from three provinces and they are looking for foods in the immediate area.

Expect to see a splash for D Spot when it officially opens.

 

Family Book Exchange to Close on St. Mary's Road.

For book lovers, 2023 isn't starting off great as a second used book store is winding down. The message in the windows is that after 50 years, the owner is retiring. That has been a common theme. Many shop owners are now decades into running their business. If no one in the family is interested in taking over or your retirement depends on selling the stock and the property, this is the inevitable result. 

No one seems to be in the market to buy. But property itself often has interest from investors. St. Mary's is one of those long streets that has a bit of everything. It is also one of the busiest streets for commuters.

One of the reasons Osborne Village  has struggled in recent years is that landlords don't subdivide large properties and charge so much for rent. The opportunity to buy on the street is rare. So few businesses own the land they stand on. It is why so few businesses that rent don't last decades.

There are other used book stores across town but it takes a special type of person to be a store owner and it takes a special person to be a used book store customer. And the right location on a commercial street with a price fitting a small business is essential.

Nerman's Books and Collectibles Closing

Since 1996 Nerman's Books and Collectibles has been a South Osborne mainstay. Gary Nerman has owned the building since 2005. Like a lot of people working past retirement, the decision to pass on or sell or liquidate the business becomes impossible to ignore. All over the city, I've seen businesses announce retirement and closure. Covid has probably made it easier to thinking about doing so. And at 68, Nerman just needed the right offer and that came in the form of selling his building which not is in the hot community finally being appreciated by many in Winnipeg.

Starting off with the biggest used children's mail order business as a part-time job, Nerman's become a bricks and mortar store on a street that had a few empty storefront. The Park Theatre, for example, had been idle for 10 years. The beginning of closures of mom and pop video stores started around then and only accelerated until there was nearly none. For years there was a few on most commercial streets and they numbered over 200 at one time. Now we see that with cannabis stores.

Nerman's books will not be taken over by a cannabis shop. The owner of the Park Theatre has bought the building and has only said it won't be an extension of the theatre, Erick Casselman has turned the theatre into a cultural center on South Osborne. It has no doubt helped surrounding businesses. 

The South South Osborne Biz in some respects is looking like how things were in the late 1970s and 1980s in Osborne Village where a few families started businesses, bought properties and made the areas what it was in those years. Scott Tackaberry owns Game Knight, Grape and Grain and Dastardly Villian Brewing all on Osborne. It has the same feel of those early years back in the Village when so much was owned by a few entrepreneurial families. Today, it is larger corporations that own the land.

The area could use another used book store but it takes a special person to to it and owning your own property is a must. Rent has gone up so much that it is hard for small businesses to take root, South Osborne still has some possibilities for owner/operator businesses. Part of the long term success of these type of businesses is being able to sell your company/property to other owner/operator. In the past, Osborne Village owners kept the property as a rental which has made it harder for new start ups.

The city will miss Nerman's but the health of South Osborne continues to inspire.

Looking Back 2022, looking forward 2023

The start of 2022 was still one mostly of lockdowns and loss. The previous Christmas was cancelled by many families because of severe outbreaks. Even this year my family was weighing the risks. We went ahead but wore masks until seated dining area was spread out. What else can you do? This year I have had Covid for second time and strep and I have been cautious and up to date with vaccines.

Our family is still reeling from the loss of our parents to Covid and an aunt who died while under restrictions due to continued outbreaks. No one wants anyone else to get sick in the family and among friends. And anyone who has gotten sick with some of the worst going on out there now knows it isn't just the sniffles.

And so it goes as the year closes, we struggle with effects of Covid. Even for the freedom lovers who want no restrictions or vaccines, getting sick or having people sick around them will affect their lives. Without being cruel about it, even a minister who preaches freedom who ignores their own health can end up dead. Viruses are not the only danger and denial won't overcome good and regular health checks.

We have been at war in our communities for the last three years. Perhaps it has been longer if you think about the dispute between urban, rural and northern, men and women, religion, language, race and whatever else seems to get our goat. Don't know that any of us are completely free of it. It is often a battle with ourselves. I've done it myself. And the last year or so, I have literally ended relationships because of the level of toxicity. I've resolved to try not to be toxic myself. It doesn't mean overlooking conflict but I will not to engage with it or fuel it.

It probably doesn't help with people in smaller and smaller tribes but mental and physical health doesn't last if family, work, church or community make you ill. Safety is so important for yourself and to escape someone else's unpleasantness. The story of the murders in the Ontario highrise sounds like someone's toxic nature grew to such a rage that it posed a danger to everyone. And eventually did. It is scary. How can you protect yourself?

The explosion in murders in Winnipeg though often seems linked to hard drugs and domestic abuse primarily. And the serial murders are a bitter reality of the vulnerability for women. The provincial government seems stuck with what to do about the lack of housing and hard drugs. Arresting and jailing addicts doesn't appear to end their addictions in prison. Manitoba's prisons are like an episode of Oz except for more murders.

The recent civic election had some elected officials wanting the election to only about about roads and potholes but the issue of crime, housing, drugs and murder is now impossible to ignore. It is hard to talk today about building the Peguis extension when the the city dump is being blocked by people in anguish over lost family. And the truth is that if it had been three police officers buried there, the chief would have never said there would be no attempt at recovery. His own force would have turfed him. Before the end of the day.

But let's not focus all on the bad even if it can seem overwhelming seeing and hearing it about it first hand ourselves. I think we can be glad that employment is at historically high levels. Wages, according to data, have gone up. Immigration is at levels not seen since confederation. Business investment is starting to grow. And residential units planned years ago are finally coming on stream now including the tallest residential tower in Winnipeg.

Of course this is countered by inflation and difficulty in finding workers. Add to that the high cost and availability of housing. The planning and the actual building of houses takes years. It isn't just zoning that takes time but finances, supply chains and contractors to build. Some student housing near the University of Manitoba has been in the planning and building stage for several years. Thankfully, it is coming on stream just as international student demand is exploding. However, the university has already been painfully slow on getting housing built on the abundant land it already has. Still, if you look up and down Pembina Highway there are more high rises being built than in many decades. Some are within the affordable level that students need as well as part of their financing package.

If Canada's immigration level goes up by 500,000 a year as forecast and we have a million foreign students across the county and we only have 300,000 housing units built a year, we have shortfalls already. And they get bigger every year. Starting plans now and having a multi-unit building up in six years will mean we still are scrambling for housing even as apartments and houses go up in the future. Moreover, spreading housing farther and farther from city centers will only stretch service further and further. Costs will go up.

For those thinkin the answer is to cut immigration and student intake, they should consider that business is already struggling to fill all positions including high paying ones. Unemployment is at lows not seen since the Second World War. Restaurants and family businesses are closing for lack of workers. And while pay increases could help, many businesses already do that with no takers either. It is workers choice out there. Many just ghost after applying or doing some shifts. There is just better opportunities out there.

Another few areas where we have seen problems in capacity in 2022 if healthcare, education and professional skills from IT to engineering. There has been too few people trained, too many retiring and too large an increase in need. The provincial government is begging for more health federal supports but there is no evidence that the the province won't just use it for tax cuts. Plus, there revenue situation looks to turn into a surplus in 2023 and yet they still look at the federal government for tax transfers. Presumably for ever more tax cuts. Sadly, tax cuts won't add more doctors. They don't come for the tax cuts.

In the debate about the Manitoba Clinic, a letter from a former doctor there said that both the NDP and the PCs limited the clinics from charging fee for service and having hospital privileges. Certainly, there has been a strategy over the years to limit how many people graduate from nursing, medical and diagnostic programming. Past government have recruited overseas rather than training people here. But rules changes have made it harder so that even trained nurses from other provinces are are finding it hard to move to Manitoba. Add it all up and healthcare reform is needed so that money that does arrive in the system has some accountability.

The election in 2023 provincially will mean that it is hard to avoid going before the media. It isn't impossible but someone like the Health Minister won't be able to stay unavailable as she often does now. Nor will the crime and drug issues be something that the province can blame the city or the feds for. Certainly there will be an attack on the NDP but the blame game going back several years has not moved the polls this time. The Tories are trying to hang a defund the police rap on the Wab Kinew but their own record on not funding the department of Justice falls on them alone.

The issue of drugs, crime and homelessness is something that requires real solutions. The shouts of one side to end capitalism and redistribute wealth and the other side to criminalize homelessness and addiction does not resonate. And it will be curious what sort of solution they come up with the library. Staff want to feel secure and activists want a library with no security checks. The activists got what they want and the result was murder. The librarians got what they want and only the lobby is open. Not great solutions.

The activists should lobby to be part of outreach at the library. That is doable. People who can do wellness checks, assist in arranging coffee, food, counselling, housing assistance and healthcare. The law and safety advocates should should lobby for measures that don't profile people and actually contribute to safe places rather than a security force prepared to make takedowns and arrests. Security measures at the door and inside the building along with outreach and assistance workers is the solution. How it could be anything else is beyond me? Extremist positions on either side have made matters worse.

 In 2023, I'm not sure how many Canadians are aware of just how fast some of the technology changes will be. In Norway, for example, all Hyundai cars sold in that country will be be electric. Canada is slower than that with the mandate that all cars sold be electric by 2035. However, that means over the next years massive infrastructure of charging stations will be built by businesses, homeowners and energy companies. In Winnipeg, it likely means we'll see a push for electric buses at a faster pace since this is the manufacturing hub. And you can expect all couriers and delivery vehicles like Amazon and Fed Ex trucks to be electric far quicker than anyone expects. 

Think of what this means just in Winnipeg. It isn't just emissions from cars but the roar of car, bus and truck engines will be ended after a hundred years. Electric cars just don't have that level of engine noise. It literally changes everything. Canada has just opened its first electric car manufacturer. It won't be the last. And from building batteries to mining lithium, Canada will have leading roles. The only place that lithium is mined in Canada is in Manitoba. Expect to see more of that.

Farmers will continue to have to innovate. While productivity, automation and digitization will help the businesses, there is a strong need to work electrifying farm vehicles, creating energy from the land, storing carbon in the soil and innovating fertilizer. Food security must be looked at with the problems demonstrated in the supply chain. We grow great vegetables in Manitoba. Something to think about when lettuce from California is not available.

We often work against our own best self interests out of fear, stubbornness, ideology, hatred or contrariness.  Presently, we have a government that is bent toward cutting tax. Not always but in general such as the education tax, However, they are far less clear when indicating how they will pay for it if we are to maintain a public education system. It isn't that they don't use tax support to leverage investment. For example, the province had given just under $5 million to support direct flights to Los Angeles via Westjet. The contract is reviewed every six months and money is only paid out if the flights themselves don't pay off. 

All evidence suggests that the TV and movie industry will benefit strongly from direct flights to LA,. The addition of three more soundstages in the city can and will bring in more productions. There is no sunlight in the positions of all three parties in the Legislature on support for the the industry. As it should be. Expect more and more people working in TV and film, gaming and entertainment in the next years.

I don't think anyone will regret 2022 ending, I know very few people who aren't doing something different this coming year. I certainly am.

Best to all in 2023, Let's hope for a recovery in more ways than one for the new year.

Seven8Nine Hookah Lounge Takes Over for Garden House East Indian Cuisine

From 1978 on Paradise restaurant operated at Portage Avenue where it connects with Broadway. It all came to an end in 2019 pre-pandemic. The Italian family operating it had a second location and like a lot of restaurants, the issue of staffing was an issue. There might have been labour/management issues as well. In any event after 40 years, it was done.

It didn't seem long when the signage was changed and Garden House East Indian Cuisine went up. The Italian to Indian change was a good idea but the damage Covid has done to staffing is worse not better. And it is hard to say how many shutdowns and limitations affected Garden House. Alas though, in 2022, it is out of business.

New signage is up for Seven8Nine Hookah Lounge. I have looked for a website but have not seen one yet. Perhaps 2023 will be when it is up. Covid days were unkind to any hookah place. It will be interesting to see how this place fares.

There remains many closed restaurants across the city. Even today some government workers work from home which can be enough to hurt surrounding businesses. There seems to be a movement afoot to have more workers return but we may not see that until 2023. The best bet for many restaurants is to have a diverse clientele, some of who live very near by to keep the doors open. 

The Specials - A Message To You Rudy (Official Music Video) Terry Hall Dead at 63

I first saw The Specials in 1980 on Saturday Night Live and I was a fan for life of the group and everything Terry Hall did.  He has passed away December 19, 2022.

Earls Main to Become Friskee Pearl Bar and Eatery

The first Earls arrived in Winnipeg in 1986 on St. James across from Polo Park. It was so popular that more were built including the Earls at 191 Main Street in 1994. For quite some time, it was the highest revenue Earls in town and one of the highest in Canada. Most people in town warned Earls that Main Street would be a failure and that people would die in a snowbank. They could not be more wrong. Instead, it was the 2006 Earls on Pembina that struggled and was eventually closed.

It goes to show that conventional wisdom was wrong on Earls at Main. For a time, there was a lot of foot traffic between a few places along Main. Earls, Grapes, Blue Note and Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club defied that dire prediction. Today, Times Change(d) remains and Blue Note is a vibrant summer outdoor place.

As for Earls, the city rejected a height change for a complete reconstruction at their location at 191 Main Street so they moved to a 6000 foot location in the new 300 Main Street tower, the tallest building in Winnipeg. This has left their 191 Main location across the street waiting for its next incarnation. The wait won't be much longer.

The owner of King's Head Pub Chris Graves is behind the renovations going on at the old Earls. The Friskee Pearl Bar and Eatery is tentatively scheduled to open sometime in February of 2023. Make no mistake, the building is large inside with 240 seats inside and 140 outside. The menu is Maritimes pub style with local drinks and east coast foods. Graves used to live out east originally so knows something about the cuisine. His long time presence in the Exchange District should inform his choices at Earls old location.

Earls proved over many years that the location at 191 Main was a lively space to go before attending concerts, Jets games or events at The Forks. I suspect Friskee Pearl Bar and Eatery should meet up with success as well and their opening should coincide with later in the Jets and Moose season and might prove popular during play-off season

Liberal MP Jim Carr Dead at 71

After a three year battle with cancer, Jim Carr passed away December 12 surrounded by family. I did not know him well but ran in the same provincial election that saw 20 Liberals break through to become Official Opposition in the provincial legislature. The Liberals under Sharon Carstairs went from one seat to a party that had some outstanding MLAs in what had been a very polarized house. I went on to work in the legislature in late 1988/89 as well as working on the federal election that saw the Liberals go from one to seat to five in the province.

To put it bluntly 1988 was a time when some thought a death rattle for the Liberals both provincially and federally was sounding. From 1981-1986, there were only the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives in the provincial legislature. There were few times as toxic as that period in Manitoba history. It was an act of faith in 1988 to run as a Liberal either provincially or federally. Many were saying there should only be two parties. Some provinces were electing nearly all one party.

Carr at the time was a musician with the Winnipeg Symphony and arts council executive. A long time Liberal and faithful Jewish man, he put his name up against a powerful NDP cabinet minister Roland Penner. There had not been a provincial Liberal government since the 1950s so hardly anyone could say it was opportunistic. People were just that fed up of the bombastic politics in some of the most difficult years in Manitoba history.

In Manitoba, the electorate took a chance and Jim Carr was of the MLAs elected and became deputy leader defeating an NDP cabinet minister in the process. Serving for four years before moving into a Free Press journalism and then later as President and founder of the Business Council in Manitoba, Carr found ways to serve the province he loved.

In a highly charged partisan world, he managed to have the working relationships that only come from being respectful. For a time in the 1990s his name would always come up in conversation about mayoral elections. However, in 2015, he put his name up in the federal election for the Liberals headed up by Justin Trudeau. It was dark days for the Liberals nationally with only 36 seats. The NDP were the Official Opposition after their amazing run with leader Jack Layton, who fell to cancer and never would go on to live in Stornoway. Still, many thought the Conservatives under would defeat the opposition and perhaps but the nail in the coffin for the Liberals forever.

In a shocking reversal of fortunes, the Liberals won and Jim Carr, based on his political and business experience, would become a cabinet minister. Carr earned respect for his civility and his ability to come to deals in trade, intergovernmental relations and cross party collegial engagement. He loved his province, was active in the Jewish community and friend of Israel, a supporter of the arts and had a firm commitment to business. 

Cancer has been a battle he fought for three years. He was still working up till the last week, passing bills and making positive addresses to the Commons. In days when politicians are not held in high esteem, Carr earned respect and he strived to work with people to reach solutions to the issues of the day. We can only hope to see more of this type of public servant in office.

Christmas Eve On Sesame Street - 1978 (Bob McGrath in WHA Winnipeg Jets jersey)

Can Housing in Winnipeg Keep up With Demand?

As 500 apartments are built at Bison Drive and Centre Street in Bridgwater, you have to wonder if they will go up fast enough with Winnipeg's growth. The $200 million development of three buildings ranging from 6 to 8 storeys is underway with the first to be completed in 2024 and the last by 2030. With 11,000 people added to the area since 2016, it is only getting bigger and there is new construction on other places in the neighbourhood and beyond.

The present PC government is focused on turnpikes all along the Perimeter Highway presumably to add even more housing just outside the city. However, single family dwellings just won't cut it with the amount of people entering Canada. Winnipeg can expect a huge influx over the next few years. And for those asking why, the answer is a huge amount retiring from the baby boom. Business is already crying for more workers. And wage is not the only factor in not filling jobs. Unemployment is historically low and well paid jobs are not being filled simply because we don't have people in Canada either trained or available for the job. It is hard to unretire someone who has left the workforce and spends six months a year in Arizona.

For those who resent immigration, it is difficult to imagine who would staff manufacturers, healthcare or technology companies without it. Quebec has said they will limit immigration for language reasons. It seems that is a race to extinction of another kind. Want to see what a very rapidly aging population looks like that is not replacing its workforce, look to Japan where non-urban areas are being abandoned and no one is alive to keep them going. Japan's population is going down rapidly which has has major implications for prosperity and caring for that aging population.

The cost of business materials and shortages of workers is making it harder to build units of housing just when we need it the most. And people feeling costs but moving out of the city find that those costs don't stay low because of rising support of infrastructure and transportation costs to get to jobs. It is a vicious circle. The federal government is contributing money to affordable housing, Notable of the 500 units going up in Bridgwater at EpicCentre, 50 of them will be at 30 per cent below market rates. The federal absence from housing over the last decades save for financing was a mistake. Provinces often used transfer payments for tax cuts and other CMHC policies on mortgages favoured those buying detached houses.

The lack of a more coordinated effort of all three levels of government, four if you include school divisions, has meant affordable housing has gotten harder to get. This is reflected in growing amounts of people homeless. Rent can't keep rising 10% a year without more fallout. The lack of single room occupancy in Winnipeg has created a situation where a few thousand people are without permanent housing. 

Some tiny homes are coming onstream on Main Street shortly but they are millions over budget and very late because of the pandemic and supply chain issues. The closure of so many Main Street hotels discharged so many people onto the street. There were two few conversions like the Occidental and now the Bell hotel into small and affordable housing. Minneapolis has accelerated their plans to converted worn out motels to these affordable option. Government have bought these places rather than let them go to demolition. In Winnipeg we have cleared land and demolished hotels that stand vacant today.

As yet another homeless camp burns down, the need seems even more deadly apparent. Even in the 1970s when alcoholism was perhaps as destructive as the drug problem was now, you did not see homeless camps everywhere. Single room occupancy was the stopgap even if people thought it was not desirable. Today, small places and some form of support for income-based housing has to be the rule of the day.

As for the housing for other incomes, recognition that building massive highway, water, sewer, police, fire, social, community and education services for a low density area will only result in its failure. Greenbelt encroachments around cities like we see in Ontario takes up agriculture space that we don't get back. Worse, it creates demand beyond those greenbelt evens further afield. In Manitoba, we see urbanization outside Perimeter and those areas still rely heavily for coming into the city for jobs and services.

The new mayor has said he realizes he needed the suburbs to win election but that the problems of crime, public transportation and downtown will simply affect the city as a whole. Those won't be fixed by expanding Kenaston and Peguis. A serial killer caught and three missing indigenous women makes it difficult for elected officials to pretend that their job is limited to infrastructure. The deaths of these women is world-wide news and the vulnerability of our population, poverty and issues surrounding violence can't be overlooked.

The only way out of this cycle is to build housing like what is happening in Bridgwater with an affordable housing component. There just isn't enough. And while there are a ton of apartment housing going up along streets like Pembina Highway, it is generally not as affordable as it should be. It also points to the utter and complete failure of the University of Manitoba to build enough housing for the nearly 30,000 students it has. When students rent illegal room houses near the university, it shows that failure boldly.

Canada will grow most certainly but the housing policy has to grow or we will not be able to take students in, immigrants in, serve our elderly, end homelessness or make room for kids. And we certainly won't be able to take care of vulnerable people who are ending up dying every week.

Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club Returns to Winnipeg

Yuk Yuk's Komedy Kabaret opened in Winnipeg in 1986 and was the 12th location at the time of the Toronto-based comedy chain founded by Mark Breslin. The Osborne Village location at 106 Osborne for years prior had been the Osborne Theatre but became well known in the 1970s for Floating Ecstasy, a waterbed store. It was a time when Osborne Village became the trendy and higher density community it is today. By the mid 1980s, the waterbed days were waning and it was converted to a sofa shop. However, the second floor became a Yuk Yuk's with the comedy boom that was sweeping the city.

In 1984 Rumors Restaurant and Comedy Club was founded when it took over for Kappy's in the recently renovated Tuxedo Village mall. Around the same time the Al Golden owned hotel began doing very local comedy and now the new owners do the same thing. Winnipeg was an embarrassment of riches for comedy.

By 1991, Yuk Yuk's had closed and a series of night clubs succeeded it. But Yuk Yuk's is back in a pretty upscale place in 2023.

In January, Yuk Yuk's will occupy the club space downstairs at Fort Garry Hotel. It follows a revived comedy boom in Winnipeg where several establishments such as Limelight, Wee Johnny's, Handsome Daughter and The Basement offer up talent.

The Fort Garry Hotel continues to find ways to enhance what it offers. The patio and renovation of the Palm Room, the spa and continued service as a locally owned place keeps it relevant. The days of cabarets and nightclubs has declined. Hotels that used to have multiple dance clubs are finding new audiences with sports bars, karaoke and comedy clubs. Live music still has a place. The Marion Hotel for example is doing an only original music night. However, there is no denying that comedy has had a resurgence.

Winnipeg took the genesis of the last comedy wave to create the long lasting Winnipeg Comedy Festival. Make no mistake, we are movers and shakers in this industry.

The End of Lowe's in Canada

Lowe's parent company in the U.S. has sold the Lowe's/Rona in Canada to a private equity firm. The Lowe's name no matter what will no longer exist in Canada in 2023. The last time there was a series of closures in 2019, Manitoba was not affected. Given the dire condition of the company and the conditions of removing the Lowe's name, it seems unlikely that the company would like to have two Ronas on Kenaston.

I personally like Rona and here in the west, it operates much like Home Depot. This was a reflection of the days when it was Revy and started off with larger stores. But that is not what Rona has been like, especially in Quebec. It was small hometown feel and all had all manner of operations that were grass roots, independent dealers and stores not so large.

Certainly Lowe's could run a big store like we saw in Winnipeg. However, their corporate structure wasn't easily replicated in Canada. And just like Target, they have retreated with heavy losses.

In the end, Lowe's was paid $400 million U.S. to walk away. Their losses look to be $2 billion U.S. New owners Sycamore Partners will probably take a while to figure out their strategy. Not all of their assets are corporate. There are a lot of independent associates in their network. 

The independent dealers number around 210 stores and it is expected some might leave for one of three other buying groups. It depends on what the new owner Sycamore Partners does. They already own Staples in Canada but how the manage independent dealers will be the real test.

As for the 70 Lowe's brand corporate stores, they will all become Ronas or another name other than Lowe's.

Competition is important to every industry. The lack of it is demonstrated in things like concert ticket sales where only was seller can't help itself from somehow selling tickets to scalpers.  Taylor Swift fans confronted by $34,000 seat sales know too well. The same is true for hardware stores. Rona and Home Depot compete on price, location, service and selection. Lose one of the players and watch all those areas become less favourable to the consumer.

Watch for Lowe's signs to disappear soon. As for the big Lowe's store along Kenaston? The future doesn't look bright.

KUB Bread Closes

After nearly 100 years KUB Bread has come to a close. The local baker is a casualty of Covid 19. Like a lot of businesses, it struggled with loss of customers and difficulty hiring employees after and a much more cutthroat grocery market. As a supplier to sporting event centers like the Canadian Life Centre and IG Field, the sports lockdowns were an instant loss of business. The restaurants and socials that used to buy bags and bags of KUB bread evaporated during closures and restrictions.

The end of restrictions on Covid have not restored business as inflation, the difficulty in finding workers and the various customers who went out of business was too hard for a family owned company to struggle through. Add to that the rising cost with lower demand, they made the only decision they could.

The location at 850 Erin had a simple note explaining the closure and social media was ahead of almost everyone in spreading the word. All the stock was bought out a day early.

The Einfeld family as co-owners of the bakery said they were open to selling the KUB name but the bakery itself founded in 1923 would not see its 100th birthday. Thirty employees are affected by the closure and the owner himself will retire. The name KUB came from one of the four original partners. His name was Kucher and thus Kucher's Ukrainian Bread was shortened to KUB.

The oldest rye bakery shop in the city closing is quite sad. It will be interesting to see if someone will leap into the business before the bread cools.

JD Sports Coming to CF Polo Park

The 10th location in Canada of JD Sports is set to open in CF Polo Park in a matter of days. It is second floor location as the mall continues to seek out exclusive stores for Manitoba. The UK company started in Manchester in 1981 and is in 32 countries around the world. It has been in Canada only a year.

At 8000 square feet, the new store is fairly big and carries most of the big sports brands. The company is focused on local partnerships and promotion compared to some other retailers who are more nationally branded.

CF Polo Park has been trying to regain some big names as competition from St. Vital and Outlet Connection at Seasons has been keenly felt these last years.

Store opening November 19.

2022 Winnipeg Civic Election Results

Another election cycle has been completed and we welcome Scott Gillingham who replaces Brian Bowman who bows out after serving two full terms. We welcome first time Councillor Evan Duncan in Charleswood and returning Councillors Russ Wyatt in Transcona and Shawn Dobson in St. James.

I'm not sure we have seen the last of Kevin Klein or Shawn Nason and a number of others who were not successful in this civic election. In fact, Klein is already the nominated candidate running provincially for the PC's in Scott Fielding's former riding of Kirkfield Park. A byelection is due there by this December.

As far as the new mayor goes, Gillingham has filled the Executive Policy Committee with loyalists but kept his word at one fewer members. He has at least 14 positions in the mayor's office to fill and unlike Bowman who had a mix of Liberals, NDP and PCs hired, the new hires come from PC or civil service ranks and have worked with him before. Stability is the key and relationships important as we see Lukes, Chambers and Browaty on EPC.

This week Gillingham has met Premier Stefanson a few times, one for a provincial announcement on a new integrated police warrants unit to go after repeat offenders. It was the type of meetings that Bowman couldn't get. But then Pallister did not meet anyone save for demanding to meet with the prime minister to ask for more transfers even when they increased every year he was in office. He wanted them all for tax and service cuts. Stefanson is now left to deal with gutted departments and a deep distrust and unpopularity.  Forging cordial and productive relationships with Mayor Gillingham could spare her government a thrashing in a year. Maybe. 

The falling voter turnout numbers and acclamations points to a citizenry disengaged and apathetic about the system working for them. However, government would do well not to be smug that it doesn't matter. It could be their own supporters who stay home. For civic elections, the experience of voting has gotten easier but incumbency means that positions only open up when someone dies or leaves of their own accord. Rarely is an incumbent unseated in Manitoba. It raises the case of term limits or ranked ballots because while experience is great, if there is no change for decades, it stagnates the system.

There was a wide variety of mayoral candidates from progressive to conservative. Many had political party links to provincial of federal parties. But being a Liberal did not guarantee Liberal supported as witnessed by endorsements of Lloyd Axworthy for Gillingham or Shannon Sampert there as well. Why the endorsement? I can guess. Axworthy was former transport minister and while there are parts of the infrastructure plan he might disagree with, he probably agreed with a tax increase that was both reasonable and targeted on fixing things. For Sampert, it could have been the various indigenous groups that felt they had a partner in Gillingham. It might also been his appearances at Pride. As a former Christian pastor, he showed the aspects of faith in people that showed personal growth and a caring heart.

Small as the turnout was, it can be surmised that the voters wanted stability, a plan and credibility. The tax freeze/2.3% rise seemed to meet skepticism when Murray and Klein talked about it. It probably was because alternative funding depending on other governments or unspecified savings was hard to swallow. Gillingham also had some proposals such as Kenaston and Peguis requiring provincial and federal contributions but the public greeted the tax proposal as more realistic than other candidates.

One thing the public seemed to have no appetite for was someone who was looking to get in bun fights, culture wars or just looked like they could not work with others. Jenny Motkaluk had as much fight in her for The Forks as she did for her fellow candidates. Don Woodstock seemed to have more fight for Jenny Motkaluk than for other leading candidates. Scott Gillingham did raise the issue of Glen Murray's past record at the debate but it was after weeks of revelations by CBC that did not seem to have anything to do with springing a surprise on the former mayor.

It is unclear when the tide turned in the election and made it possible for Gillingham to win by four thousand votes, One thing is clear is that there was not a lot of polls released publicly. And too many decisions on who could participate in debates was made based on very early polls. 

To the candidates who lost, the question has to be: Is the mayor's job the only one suitable for you? It seems to me that some candidates could be effective Councillors but never seem to run for that job. 

As for the new mayor, crime remains a priority and he needs to keep working with the province because the Stefanson government has more levers to pull when it comes to the courts, social work, prisons, Crown prosecutors and mental health. Not to mention poverty, housing and addictions. The mayor though needs a better handle on policing.

The mandate is four years but I expect we see change early. Let's just see if a healthy dose of realism comes with it.

Winnipeg Comiccon October 28-30, 2022

Winnipeg Comiccon returns better than ever. This is the second year the organizers from Montreal at the helm. It has been hard even knowing how much of the RBC Convention Centre was even going to be available since the vaccine clinic was still operational till September. Last year's event was a half the space, with vaccine passport at the door and mask mandate. It was successful in that short sweet spot before a deeper shutdown only weeks later.

The locally run C4 Central Canada Comic Con in previous years from 2018 and back was the biggest convention held annually in Manitoba. Once the $180 million expansion of the convention was completed in late 2015, the enormous size and expense of the third floor became apparent to conventions that had previously operated there. Vendors found it pricey and corporate sponsorship became more important than ever. By 2019 C4 was not able to do a show. The requirement of staffing to do a pop culture show required an enormous commitment of time and expertise. Not to mention money.

In Canada now, the pop culture events are run by businesses that do several events a year and have staff year round. It is just too tough to not try economies of scale for guests, corporate sponsorship and working with local partners. The good news is well run events can be very good business for local vendors and artisans.

Winnipeg's Comiccon Halloween weekend timeslot has always been the best since it offers the perfect excuse for anyone to wear a costume. When critics say we need more people downtown, this is the type of event they talk about. Often the Jets are playing at the same time the convention is on and tens of thousands of people are in the streets.

We likely have not seen just how big Comiccon can become in Winnipeg going forward. It takes a lot of planning but people in the city have years of experience in pop culture get togethers. And these events don't operate without a lot of volunteers and outreach groups and locally hired staff. And loads of small businesses.

This year will feature three screenings of Phantom of the Paradise Friday and a screening and into of Army of Darkness by Bruce Campbell.

Lots of cosplays performers will be in attendance and the masquerade for best costumes.

And a Comiccon beer is also being introduced.

The convention runs October 28 to 30. Expect to great attendance this year.

Civic Election Debate 2022 - Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood/St. James Debate

 

Kudos to Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce and to the Holiday Inn Airport West for sponsoring and hosting the candidate debates for for two city council wards at the same time.

Video of the whole event is here:

https://www.facebook.com/AssiniboiaChamberMB/

Each ward had 5 candidates for the open seats left by Scott Gillingham in St. James and Kevin Klein in Charleswood. However, only four candidates each came. Word was Covid kept someone away although that was not conveyed in any announcement

A big hall was needed for those in attendance. Thanks to Holiday Inn Airport West. People were truly needing a final look at before deciding who to vote for. Certainly, I was in that category.

I voted the last next day after the debate based on what I heard and saw. Election day is Wednesday, October 26, 2022.

The format let each candidate have a few minutes before and after to make statements about who they were and why they were running. After a moderator, covered a host of topics from crime, to taxes. I will let people judge from their own viewing of the event if they are undecided.

Brad Gross was absent from the Charleswood side. Shawn Dobson was absent from the St. James side. It has not been easy finding details on candidates and I have tried. I have received flyers, I have checked out the community papers and I have searched online. I have not seen a lot on policy and this is what the debate tried to inform the public on.

Candidates who have been slow to release policy, donor info or were late getting to people at the door will find that thousands of people have already voted. And it might not be for them. Those running come from varied backgrounds but there have been several community activists and volunteers, a number of those who followed the Freedom slate of ideas, former candidates, business people. And as far as council, sadly, no women.

Like a lot of people at the debate, I wanted to hear policy. Moreover, there was a hunger to hear workable policies. Beyond the introduction, some candidates did get into policies and stated where they stood on tax. Some had innovative ideas but there were some focused on narrow areas. Experience campaigner were able to get their points across more clearly. Those that stood got more attention than those that sat.

There was a criticism in the St. James side about a candidate who works for IKEA. The association of of the person to the corporation's store location and sprawl was an unexpected spark of criticism. Candidates did interject on policy statements but that was an attack based on where a person works. 

On the point of IKEA, their land development was a brownfield redevelopment, The land was industrial. They paid for the intersection changes at Sterling Lyon and Kenaston. They built sidewalks when the city built none. The Outlet Collections Mall included a bus loop and residential development was included in the overall plan and non-stop housing has been built the last 10 years. IKEA itself has the most advanced geo-thermal plant. More housing has gone up at a former railyard and value added to the tax base inside city limits than almost any place else in the city. They are a $100 million business here and prior to arriving, people from the province ordered from the catalogue and had it shipped. There are 400 full and part-time workers employed.

 

IKEA doesn't owe any apologies to anyone in Winnipeg. And no one working there does either. If only every mall built the last 50 years included that much housing. The mall could easily be in Headingley.

There was some talk on infill which has been an issue in the city. IKEA above could be considered retail and residential infill. Certainly Kapyong will be infill of a military base. One candidate said there should be a three floor limit on Charleswood multi-unit development. Sadly, that likely won't be enough for those aging in the community to remain there. Is it is wonder they are moving to Seasons of Tuxedo?

On the issue of crime, there was a lot of talk of prevention, addiction and poverty. With two candidates from Justice and police, there was some interesting talk on reform and budget in that area.

Audience questions were written in and we were told that an email would come back with candidate responses. In my case, it will be too late. Based on the information I did have, I voted already.

Here is how I came to my decision on my vote:

What was the driving force that led them to running?

What connection did the candidate have to the ward?

What was their grasp of the issues?

Did they seem to be able to articulate a vision?

Did they seem to have the temperament to be in office?

Every election there are candidates for mayor, council and trustee who fall into categories unfit for office. One of those is the candidate that is there to get publicity for their brand. Prime example of that is Donald Trump who even his admirers know was there as much for his business brand and to make money. We had a mayor like that in Winnipeg.

Without guardrails, such a person in office will always run afoul of where their interests lay and where the public's lay.

Another type of candidate is the one that doesn't start in the mail room but believes they are are suited for the CEO's office.  Now, not everyone needs to work their way up from trustee to premier. But there ought to be an indication of life and work experience that might suggest a higher position. For example, Brian Bowman had no Council experience when he ran. But the feeling was that his job as a lawyer and life experience along with his platform was suitable for mayor. Even still, his lack of experience led him into political traps that any Council experience would have informed him on. Case in point: Portage and Main.

Another type of candidate is the one where Council seat is her first step to being Prime Minister. We have seen short term people move right on up including former mayor Glenn Murray.

Lastly, there is the firebrand candidate. We have a few Freedom Convoy types running, we have a few pro-Labour or pro-Commerce types, we have some special interest types running. We seem to have a few people running who would like to get into culture warfare. Invariably, this seems to be a recipe for fighting all the time. 

If one thing was clear, the Charleswood and St. James wards seem to want someone to commit to longer than 4 years, who knows the ward well, who is engaged in policy, can work well with others and is approachable.

I can't really vote for candidates I haven't seen or heard much from. In St. James, former Councillor Shawn Dobson seems to have the lead in signs. But I don't know his policies except he has talked about potholes a lot. For those in Charleswood, Brad Gross probably needed to do more to make people aware of him and what made him the best candidate.

I voted in St. James ward. There were four trustee candidates. One of them was caught on a Ring camera and was going through the mailbox. Not good and not easily explained. The other three were either incumbents or new and seemed intent to do the job of trustee. I voted for them. 

For council, I saw a few people running in St. James who were earnest, educated and community minded. Given that I think that crime is a leading issue, I considered police and changes in policing to be critical. For that reason and because of much experience in the Winnipeg Police, I voted for Tim Diack. He talked police reform and I think his knowledge there is unmatched.

For mayor, I looked at a number issues. Three of the present candidates, I have voted for in a number of elections in the past. However, I look at a host of things that had me evaluate this election if I could vote for them again. With inflation as big an issue this year as it is, with a number of collective bargaining agreements about to be decided and with infrastructure such as water and sewer and roads needing to be fixed, I looked at any tax freeze as possibly a double digit cut in city spending. Even committing to a 2% rise with inflation means an 8% cut.

Some candidates for mayor were not being candid about what cuts they were about to make. Or realistic they could cut wages or benefits and run afoul of the law. Again. And making proposals that depend of the province making your dreams come true is unrealistic. And while there will be federal money every year, it won't pay for all city functions.

I like Shaun Loney quite a bit but feel he is going to run smack right into fights because of other Councillors. Being able to work with Council is not overrated. It is an imperative. I am not completely happy with my pick and not even sure if he will win but I voted for Scott Gillingham. But I did think his proposal on taxes was most realistic even if I think there is no predicting on tri-level government support of his idea of Peguis and Kenaston expansion. Let's just say that is a while lot of negotiation still to happen.

Lastly, I can't vote in Charleswood but lived there many years and after attending the debate, I can say Evan Duncan is exactly the person that you like to see in office. His Justice experience, his long time community involvement and disposition overall should make him a valued member of City Council.

So to review, I voted for:

Mayor: Scott Gillingham

Councillor: Tim Diack

Trustees: Rachelle Wood, Craig Glennie, Michael Cabral

I'm just one voter. If you are more progressive, more conservative or want radical change or no change, you might choose someone different.

Whoever wins, I wish them well. And those not successful this time, remember that many candidates who did not succeed in being elected at some point often were elected some other time.

Assiniboinia Residential School in River Heights 2022

Just before Thanksgiving, I went to visit the Assiniboia Residential School Commemoration and Gathering Place at 621 Academy Road. It was a Catholic High School run by the Grey Nuns that operated from 1958 to 1973. By the fall of that year, I was about to enter Grade 3 and the school was closed. From 1970 to 1973, it was largely a day school as no one stayed overnight anymore. Most in River Heights really didn't know much about the school or the residential system.

Our family moved in in 1968/69 on Renfrew Street, none of the kids yet in Kindergarten. We moved to Kingsway in 1970 and my first year at Sir John Franklin Elementary school. There was not much Canadian in my curriculum materials. Dick and Jane talked about a President, not a prime minister. It was just 25 years after World War II and the one book in the library on the war was written by an RAF pilot on the Battle of Britain.

If this was my experience, imagine my parents. In the 1960s, we had under 10% go on to higher education whereas the U.S. was nearly 30% and rising fast. Vocation, technical and professional training was far behind. It was only in 1970 when it was mandated that teachers have a professional credential. The Canadian flag as we know it now only began to fly five years earlier.

What history education we did receive about Canada was about explorers and discovery of Canada by Europeans including Sir John Franklin, the school namesake. I got more education about Canada listening to As it Happens on CBC Radio from Harry Brown starting in 1968 and later joined by Barbara Frum than any schoolbook material available. As a five year in Kindergarten at Sir John, I didn't have a bike or could leave my block.

And yet, I knew about the Indian School in 1970 on Academy Road. We drove past it often headed to the St. James Y for swimming lessons in the one car the family had, a VW Beetle. It had become a day school by then but I vaguely remember being told it was much older kids and that nuns had lived there. My knowledge of nuns was limited to the Sound of Music from 1965. I heard the music much earlier than seeing it at Rainbow Stage or on TV. But at 1970, I had a certain image of what a nun looked like.

My first home as a newborn was downtown in the Ambassador Block. As my sister and brother came along, we moved to rental houses in places like Elmwood and such till settling in River Heights. By 1973, the Indian School closed. As an 8 year old, it was bewildering. My parents had no insight into it at all either. By the time I was able to ride a bike to places like Assinibone Park down the monkey trails, it was past an empty school building that stayed that way for decades.

It was not until I was well into university that that I heard how widespread and abusive the residential school system was. The first apology came from the United Church in 1986. Government apologies would not come till 20 to 25 years later. And action is still in progress. The public often only experienced the effects of the system and not the cause. It is why the discovery of all the graves this short while was a shock to the much of the Canadian public.

My family lived in River Heights for fifty years and I love the area to this day. On the Friday before Thanksgiving, I went to the memorial on Academy Road. As luck would have it, an Elder from the school was there. You can see him in the picture above. He spent his high school days on Academy and was able to tell me everything about the days before 1973 and I was able to tell him everything that happened after. And in 2022, it all came to together.

Inside the circle is a list of every community that had students come to the school. And on paving stones, the students names were written. Many names are yet to be added. And more done to the memorial in the new year including lights, landscaping and if lucky, benches for Elders who need somewhere to rest, to contemplate. The Elder and his sister, also an Elder, showed me their names. They showed me people who had passed away, some who struggled and he showed me lots who succeeded. 

As far as anyone knows, and this was from the Elders, no one is buried at Academy. And no one died there. But many struggled and died as a result of the trauma which we learned in detail from the Truth and Reconciliation meetings.

This was not a somber visit. It was a beautiful day, it is an amazing memorial and the Elder was full of information and stories that I was happy to hear. He laughed a lot. I told him how tobogganing and baseball had been long time activities after 1973.

It is worth a visit and with luck maybe an Elder will be there as well. The only way to know history is for the story to be told. And the reason history is taught is because it can tell us a lot about who we were and what we would like to become.

I know I will visit again. I can't wait to see it lit up.