[St. John's] Restaurant Thread

[SignalHillHiker]

Oh my God, I am so happy about Smitty's closing.

It was THE place to go for breakfast in Winnipeg, that and Salisbury Steakhouse. And I hated it. And when I moved home, I was still depressed and bitter from my time on the mainland, and it annoyed me NO END that there was a Smitty's here. Good riddance. Keep the same, good staff, and open something appropriate for our city.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Oh my God, I am so happy about Smitty's closing.

It was THE place to go for breakfast in Winnipeg, that and Salisbury Steakhouse. And I hated it. And when I moved home, I was still depressed and bitter from my time on the mainland, and it annoyed me NO END that there was a Smitty's here. Good riddance. Keep the same, good staff, and open something appropriate for our city.

I think of Smitty's as a low-end Denny's... if you can imagine that!

[Arrakis]

A bit over the top in your dislike of Smitty's. LOL. To each their own i suppose. I'm sorry they are closing however. Always sad to see a business depart from downtown. I always enjoyed the breakfast and brunch there. I heard they were forced out as they still had 5 years left on their lease. Not very good treatment by the Marriot.

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Oh my God, I am so happy about Smitty's closing.

It was THE place to go for breakfast in Winnipeg, that and Salisbury Steakhouse. And I hated it. And when I moved home, I was still depressed and bitter from my time on the mainland, and it annoyed me NO END that there was a Smitty's here. Good riddance. Keep the same, good staff, and open something appropriate for our city.

[MrChills]

I don't think it's over the top. For whatever reason (and against my will) I have gone to Smittys in three difference provinces and every time has been beyond terrible, worst chain restaurant out there.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Nah, in terms of places to eat breakfast in the city, Smitty's is probably the worst.

[Chew]

We have meetings in the Mt Pearl Smitty's meeting room from time to time at my office. I usually stick to the all-day breakfast menu and it can be pretty decent. Every time I've tried their non-breakfast food it has been terrible.

[CaspinK]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Yup they've got a sign up now saying "Starbucks coming soon".

Expect to see more of these signs soon. I was told that in 2015 there will be at least five new Starbucks appearing in the St. John's Metro area...

So... let's guess...

- Paradise (maybe Quiznos location... I heard that rumour a while ago)
- Mount Pearl (old Rogers location)
- Another downtown -- perhaps Water St nearish to the second cup?
- Centre city (Ropewalk Lane area?)
- CBS

Any other ideas?

[statbass]

Originally Posted by CaspinK

Expect to see more of these signs soon. I was told that in 2015 there will be at least five new Starbucks appearing in the St. John's Metro area...

So... let's guess...

- Paradise (maybe Quiznos location... I heard that rumour a while ago)
- Mount Pearl (old Rogers location)
- Another downtown -- perhaps Water St nearish to the second cup?
- Centre city (Ropewalk Lane area?)
- CBS

Any other ideas?

I heard the old KFC location in Manuels is converting to a Starbucks, but this is a rumour at best. Actually, I can't remember,but this may have been previously mentioned here.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Centre city? Hmm....maybe somewhere near Military Road? (centre'ish). I can't see Starbucks setting up shop near Ropewalk. But yes, I expect the expansion will keep chugging along, hopefully spreading out a bit further from where it is now

[Arrakis]

Well there is already a Tims, KFC, MR Sub there so I can't see why not a Starbucks on Ropewalk. There's a great commercial property on the corner of Ropewalk and Pennywell in front of the bowling alley. The Tim's on Ropewalk is one of the busiest so the coffee drinkers are there for sure.

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Centre city? Hmm....maybe somewhere near Military Road? (centre'ish). I can't see Starbucks setting up shop near Ropewalk. But yes, I expect the expansion will keep chugging along, hopefully spreading out a bit further from where it is now

[CaspinK]

Originally Posted by Arrakis

The Tim's on Ropewalk is one of the busiest so the coffee drinkers are there for sure.

This.

I once heard that Tim's is one of the 10 busiest in Canada. Whenever I go visit that one the lineup is always wrapped around the building (although I think it is the few Tim's lacking a double lane). Most new standalone / storefront Starbucks should have a drive-thru.

Although Starbucks is planning on opening five new locations, I would imagine they are scouting 10-15 potential spots.

Other locations could be:

- Biggood's Plaza
- Mun
- Torbay Rd Mall (unlikely, I admit)
- Village Mall (although I heard Robin's is opening a new location there)
- In Sobey's, Walmart, or other businesses

[Marty_Mcfly]

The coffee drinkers are there, but are the $5.50 latte drinkers there? I did bring up in passing before with my girlfriend (who grew up right off of Penneywell/Ropewalk), she doesn't believe the demographic in that specific area itself would be interested in high-end coffee. You'd probably have better luck on the other side of the pond, where there are more younger couples/families.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by CaspinK

This.

I once heard that Tim's is one of the 10 busiest in Canada. Whenever I go visit that one the lineup is always wrapped around the building (although I think it is the few Tim's lacking a double lane). Most new standalone / storefront Starbucks should have a drive-thru.

Although Starbucks is planning on opening five new locations, I would imagine they are scouting 10-15 potential spots.

Other locations could be:

- Biggood's Plaza
- Mun
- Torbay Rd Mall (unlikely, I admit)
- Village Mall (although I heard Robin's is opening a new location there)
- In Sobey's, Walmart, or other businesses

I would like to see one on Elizabeth Ave or somewhere further east on Topsail Road around the Village somewhere.

[Marty_Mcfly]

My guess for the next 5 target areas for Starbucks would probably be:

-Mount Pearl near Merchant Drive
-Somewhere on Topsail Road between CBS and West Mount Pearl (the current under construction Starbucks on Topsail in St. John's will help with some of that out of town traffic, but another will probably be needed)
-Village Mall food court
-MUN (chains can be a bit of a problem on MUN with the catering company being strict on location, etc. But I see potential in the new science building for a Starbucks location)
-Water Street, near George Street area

A definite location that'll pop up once the expansion happens is the airport. Could even see two if they decide to get fancy and have a location before and after security.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

My guess for the next 5 target areas for Starbucks would probably be:

-Mount Pearl near Merchant Drive
-Somewhere on Topsail Road between CBS and West Mount Pearl (the current under construction Starbucks on Topsail in St. John's will help with some of that out of town traffic, but another will probably be needed)
-Village Mall food court
-MUN (chains can be a bit of a problem on MUN with the catering company being strict on location, etc. But I see potential in the new science building for a Starbucks location)
-Water Street, near George Street area

A definite location that'll pop up once the expansion happens is the airport. Could even see two if they decide to get fancy and have a location before and after security.

Good suggestions! Not sure about inside the village mall though until there is some life brought back in there first. The airport will get one I hope. I was happy when they opened the Jumping Bean stand as an alternative to Tim Hortons.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

-Somewhere on Topsail Road between CBS and West Mount Pearl.

So in other words, Paradise.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

The coffee drinkers are there, but are the $5.50 latte drinkers there? I did bring up in passing before with my girlfriend (who grew up right off of Penneywell/Ropewalk), she doesn't believe the demographic in that specific area itself would be interested in high-end coffee. You'd probably have better luck on the other side of the pond, where there are more younger couples/families.

I don't think Starbucks has to depend on potential latte drinkers though. You can get a medium coffee (same size as Tim's medium I think) there for $2.50.

I think people are underestimating convenience/speed (especially during the mornings). The fact that every every Tim's is blocked in the mornings says to me that there is a lack of competition/under-supply of drive thru coffee. Yes Tim's is popular in Canada but for every 10 coffee drinkers who don't want to pay the extra few dollars for the Starbucks coffee there will be 1 or 2 people who won't want to wait 10 minutes in a Tim's drive. Costs are not limited to money. Time is also a "cost"...

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by statbass

So in other words, Paradise.

I didn't want to explicitly say Paradise, but it'll probably be catering to those mainly from Paradise, yes

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

I don't think Starbucks has to depend on potential latte drinkers though. You can get a medium coffee (same size as Tim's medium I think) there for $2.50.

I think people are underestimating convenience/speed (especially during the mornings). The fact that every every Tim's is blocked in the mornings says to me that there is a lack of competition/under-supply of drive thru coffee. Yes Tim's is popular in Canada but for every 10 coffee drinkers who don't want to pay the extra few dollars for the Starbucks coffee there will be 1 or 2 people who won't want to wait 10 minutes in a Tim's drive. Costs are not limited to money. Time is also a "cost"...

The thing with Starbucks is they don't make their profit from coffee. There'll be that morning rush of workers who need coffee absolutely, but what about during the middle of the day? The Kenmount Road and East end locations work well because of the nearby commercial areas, there are people always in the area. Ropewalk, and other smaller areas of the city, for example, don't have that luxury. So you're becoming completely dependent on the people living in that immediate area, who want coffee at 1:30pm, who are willing to spend more money on coffee that they may be unfamiliar with.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

The thing with Starbucks is they don't make their profit from coffee. There'll be that morning rush of workers who need coffee absolutely, but what about during the middle of the day? The Kenmount Road and East end locations work well because of the nearby commercial areas, there are people always in the area. Ropewalk, and other smaller areas of the city, for example, don't have that luxury. So you're becoming completely dependent on the people living in that immediate area, who want coffee at 1:30pm, who are willing to spend more money on coffee that they may be unfamiliar with.

I'm skeptical that any product Starbucks sells isn't making a decent profit margin... I would imagine that even the margins on a regular coffee from Starbucks is somewhat significantly better than what Tim's is getting per coffee...of course this is just my opinion.

There are some office buildings (crosbie road) near ropewalk lane that could get some mid day sales.

[wmemeadusjr]

There are 4 potential sites for Starbucks in the Mount Pearl area. The first being the former Rogers location at Pearlgate. The second being the Commonweath Court strip mall which is nearly finished it's redevelopment. The end of the building (formerly Around The World restaurant) was torn down to build a drive through. My guess is Second Cup for this one however. The third site is a redeveloped Irving on Commonweath Avenue. This site was recently approved by the City of Mount Pearl to be redeveloped into a newly renovated Circle K, a take out, and a national coffee chain complete with a drive through. A small portion of the building will be torn down (the end facing KFC) to make way for a drive through lane. The site has a huge parking lot which would make it perfect for multiple businesses. My money is actually on this site for a Starbucks. And finally, the fourth site, which I would also bet money on is the recently approved gas bar, convenience store, national brand fast food establishment and national brand coffee establishment for the corner of Southlands Boulevard and Great Southern Drive. On the edge of Mount Pearl, but actually in St. John's, I'm thinking Irving/Circle K or Shell/Needs along with Starbucks, and potentially Harvey's or Burger King.