Winnipeg Restaurants

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by esquire

I wonder how much of the overall benefit of dress codes/standards even accrues to serving staff in the first place?

I don't know about you guys, but I tip pretty well the same 18% for good service regardless of whether I'm being served by a hot Earls girl or Aunt Myrna in black slacks over at Aalto's. But I would think there is enormous value to a restaurant owner in having a business with a glamourous, sexy image that packs them in consistently the way that Earls does.

I mean, I guess if you are a server at Earls there is a certain cool factor that comes with working at a place that is known for its serving staff, but in terms of tangible material benefit... how much do you really stand to gain personally?

Generally speaking, 18% of an Earls bill is > 18% of an Aaltos bill with what I assume is around the same level of effort.


On a side note, in terms of tipping %, my wife used to be a server for a number of years while in university, and in her opinion the % of tip had pretty much zero correlation with how well she felt she handled the table.

[buzzg]

Earls has actually gone a bit more "relaxed" and casual with their dress code in recent years to reflect trends in society, allowing servers to show a bit more of their own personality. Joey and Moxies have stayed pretty tight to the older formula.

Earls actually takes their dress code very seriously in terms of planning, they make a small magazine for it every 6 months when it updates to show styling tips and trends. Key thing for Earls (and others) having a "dress code" is that it's up to staff to supply it and pick out what they want to wear. If a business forces staff to wear specific clothing, it's classified as a uniform, which they have to pay for.

Originally Posted by cheswick

Generally speaking, 18% of an Earls bill is > 18% of an Aaltos bill with what I assume is around the same level of effort.


On a side note, in terms of tipping %, my wife used to be a server for a number of years while in university, and in her opinion the % of tip had pretty much zero correlation with how well she felt she handled the table.

This accurate, most people are either chronic bad or good tippers. Rare that any sort of poor/great service will tip the scales significantly for anyone. Generally it's the difference between a 15-17% or a 18-20%+ tip. The people who complain about everything and tip 8% just do that everywhere because they hate themselves, those are now referred to as Karens.

[The Unknown Poster]

I worked for restaurants and in the hotel/bar industry for a long time. My current job in telecom is unionized and I generally dislike unions though see the need in some circumstances.

Im on the employees side here based on what we know. The reason most restaurants dont unionize is because there isnt a need. Being ridged is tough.

In regards to transferring of tables I believe the issue was that the management was annoyed at having to provide breaks so scheduled them during busy times to punish those staff who wanted to take them by making them give up their tables.

Staff wanting flexible schedule for school is why many look for those types of jobs and many service industry places are happy to oblige. Sounds like vengeful on the part of management.

The fact senior staff want weekends off tells me that either the workplace is less desirable when its busy or there is unfairness is the schedule so they want it negotiated. Most people want to work the busy nights.

If Stellas werent pricks and were flexible, they'd not have this problem. Everywhere I worked was flexible. Give and take.

On that subject, the telecom I work for, when I started there, everyone was "casual" and the department schedule would randomize the schedule every two weeks, resulting in a plethora of emails as staff tried to make trades to fit their schedule. Management would say they didnt care about school or second jobs. Not their problem.

A new scheduler came in and first thing he did was ask everyone for their preferences. It resulted in a much more consistent schedule and way happier employees. And better productivity as less people were frantically trying to swap. Also allowed staff to better plan school, home life and second jobs. Win win for everyone.

Stellas can either decide its their way or no way or be flexible. I assume they will break the union by shuttering the store until the union collapses.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Earls has actually gone a bit more "relaxed" and casual with their dress code in recent years to reflect trends in society, allowing servers to show a bit more of their own personality. Joey and Moxies have stayed pretty tight to the older formula.

Earls actually takes their dress code very seriously in terms of planning, they make a small magazine for it every 6 months when it updates to show styling tips and trends. Key thing for Earls (and others) having a "dress code" is that it's up to staff to supply it and pick out what they want to wear. If a business forces staff to wear specific clothing, it's classified as a uniform, which they have to pay for.



This accurate, most people are either chronic bad or good tippers. Rare that any sort of poor/great service will tip the scales significantly for anyone. Generally it's the difference between a 15-17% or a 18-20%+ tip. The people who complain about everything and tip 8% just do that everywhere because they hate themselves, those are now referred to as Karens.

Underrated post.

[Intrepid-Poster]

According to their Facebook page, Mr Mike’s on Kenaston and McGillvray is reopening sometime this fall.

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by Intrepid-Poster

According to their Facebook page, Mr Mike’s on Kenaston and McGillvray is reopening sometime this fall.

Thats surprising. Werent they way behind in rent before COVID? And were kicked out by the landlord?

[Glenn99]

Originally Posted by The Unknown Poster

Thats surprising. Werent they way behind in rent before COVID? And were kicked out by the landlord?

I would suspect a new franchise owner is taking over the lease. Better that than have the location sit empty for many years.

[buzzg]

Smitty's on Grant and Pembina was taken over by new owners Thursday, the original owner is getting old and not well and decided it was time to move on. I was there on day 1 of new ownership, found a cockroach crawling up the wall.

Note: I stayed and kept eating wings and will go back, lol

[plrh]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Smitty's on Grant and Pembina was taken over by new owners Thursday, the original owner is getting old and not well and decided it was time to move on. I was there on day 1 of new ownership, found a cockroach crawling up the wall.

Note: I stayed and kept eating wings and will go back, lol

Wow, things went downhill fast. jk. I like that Smitty's. Maybe a little less now.

[CoryB]

Re Mr Mikes -- Agreed, it is likely a case of the master company stepping in to make things right with the landlord and finding a new franchisee to operator it.

Still seemed like an odd choice for Winnipeg as the chain is more a mid-sized town where they are the only sort of upscale place in town.

[LilZebra]

I worry about the sustainability of Soups, Sandwiches and More on Graham.

Was there today at 10:30 am. Totally empty except for me. Counted six staff preping for the lunchtime crowd.

Downtown residents need to prop up this place 'cause the suits and skirts crowd are absent.

[esquire]

^ Without having seen the situation, I wouldn't expect a place that caters to the lunch rush to be too busy at 10:30 am. Maybe it gets busier at noon?

Although that said, I know Sana Souphouse nearby recently closed down. And one of my colleagues recently went for a weekday lunch at True North Square and said it was nearly empty, as compared to pre-covid when it was always jam packed.

[buzzg]

New brunch restaurant called Modern Electric Lunch opening this fall in the Fortune Building.

https://instagram.com/modernelectriclunch

With the way the west side of Main is shaping up, and Railside potentially having residents in two years... maybe Earls will be able to find a developer for their old site sooner than we may have assumed.

[Glenn99]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Re Mr Mikes -- Agreed, it is likely a case of the master company stepping in to make things right with the landlord and finding a new franchisee to operator it.

Still seemed like an odd choice for Winnipeg as the chain is more a mid-sized town where they are the only sort of upscale place in town.

Esp. so close to The Keg.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by Glenn99

Esp. so close to The Keg.

Gives you a choice of waiting 1 hour to get in the Keg without a reservation,or a shorter wait to get in there.

[buzzg]

New coffee shop and roastery opening in spring called The Empty Cup Collective, owned by the Princess Auto family. The address on the site is currently listed on Panet by the Princess Auto, but I had heard that they were opening in the Exchange somewhere, and the description says "heart of Winnipeg" so we'll see. Transcona is not my heart, but that area could use a good coffee shop.

https://www.emptycup.co/

[cllew]

Originally Posted by buzzg

New coffee shop and roastery opening in spring called The Empty Cup Collective, owned by the Princess Auto family. The address on the site is currently listed on Panet by the Princess Auto, but I had heard that they were opening in the Exchange somewhere, and the description says "heart of Winnipeg" so we'll see. Transcona is not my heart, but that area could use a good coffee shop.

https://www.emptycup.co/

Princess Auto had applied for a liquor license in the last few months for Panet Rd so it could be part of the Panet Rd Campus.

Graham construction has had screen hording up around the building on the north end of the property so that could be the location.

[buzzg]

Yeah it sounds like it’ll be a fairly elaborate roasting and canning (cold brew) facility, so it makes more sense to be there vs. more expensive Exchange.

[zalf]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...ipeg-1.5756886

Winnipeg is now allowing patios to remain open through the winter.

I'm pretty happy about this. We're a winter city, it's good we're leaning into that, even if this change was only prompted by the pandemic. Operating a winter patio won't make sense for every establishment, but I for one look forward to having a pint by a heater on a brisk December afternoon.

[Biff]

I know our winters get really cold sometimes, but regularly the temp is in the -5 range. Last spring we were in Zurich and couldn't believe how lively things were outside in the 0 to -5 range. We sat out on a patio eating pretzels and beer at -4 one day and most of the stores (all high end places) had their front doors open like you would find in places like Florida. (a curtain of hot air blows down the entrance)

We definitely need to bring more of this lifestyle to our winters here.