I agree we need better connectivity (among other things).

Which is odd, because in Edmonton they're on Whyte Ave. and in Saskatoon they're on 21st Street in front of the Bessborough - which is a prime downtown location, but the complete opposite of a suburban parking lot.

No matter, I'm much more excited about the new Cathedral Social House from Regina that going to open in the old Freehouse location on Spadina Ave.

A new small coffee place called 33 1/3 Roasters is up for approval at the RPC next week. It will be next to Gales on 13th near W of Robinson (3008 13th)

Do you think they're moving from their 15th&Montreal location, or setting up a second location?

I'd be shocked if they moved from 15th & Montreal. Vibe in there is great - works really well with Malty National and the clothing/vinyl shop. Constant flow of customers.

The new spot is also only 810 sq.ft.

If anyone remembers Beak's Chicken they're opening their restaurant at 1511 11th Ave. in mid-July. I feel like it's been a couple of years since they started this process. That area could always use some love, too, so hopefully it goes well.

I wish them well, however the location is going to be extremely tough to pull off.

Terrible name & terrible location. Hopefully the product is good.

T&A Vinyl is moving onto Victoria Avenue beside The Italian Star.

Bobby's Place is closing, the last night is tonight, and also heard Durty Nelly's (McNally's) is closing too if it hasn't already. Definitely a huge hit to the Dewdney bar strip.

There are already other pubs and restaurants looking to open in those places, as well as in other spaces on and off Dewdney.

Noticed that the Atlantis location at 11th & Cornwall has closed & Brewed Awakening will be opening in the space. They're getting to be quite the powerhouse in Regina, eh?

(the Atlantis at Vic & Hamilton is still open)

Nothing huge, but I saw a poster for a Jugo Juice in Hill Tower 1. But I didn't read it that closely and I'm wondering if it was for an actual location there or looking for franchisees. I do remember it being specific to that building though.

The Jugo Juice sign is at least a year old.

Good to see Brewed being so successful. So they have the original on Prince of Wales, Harbour Landing (which is a wine bar at night), Hill Ave (tiny), Dewdney (only open through the day and rentable at night), Campion at the university, the Bakery (old Orange Boot on Gordon Rd) and now downtown.

I heard that the old World of Trout/Tiki room building was sold and will be turned into a bar. Rumor is O'Hanlon bought it.

O'Hanlon might be running it but he isn't buying it. He has no money to do such things. My understanding is that will be McNally's.

Are World of Trout/Tiki room closing/moving?

Anyone heard the Starbucks rumor for downtown?

I have heard that a bunch of new Starbucks are in the works.

I believe they will be franchises to avoid their labour difficulties.

^Im just as happy without them. It's nice having local options instead. :shrug:

O'Hanlon is asking for a name for the new pub

Just for clarity—are you saying that O'Hanlon is going to be using the old McNally's space, or that McNally's is going to be using the old Tiki Room space?

Tiki Room has already moved to the Somerset Block a year ago and WOT is closing at the end of the month.

The latter. Or at least some variation of McNally's with a new name.

I have heard two things. 1) the franchise owner at the old superstore can open one additional franchise 2) Starbucks thinks they are going to be able to get the union issue taken care of (I have my doubts because I think they have to sign a CBA before they can vote to remove the union, but they can probably afford good lawyers.)

I'm not sure the old Superstore location is doing that well. They have started closing at 6pm now. They told us they were not busy enough in the evenings, which is too bad.

Just went there today. Now they are closed on Sundays.

This issue has stood for so long (10+ years), and Starbucks has been found in violation 3 times... I doubt they care enough about the Regina market to worry about spending money on lawyers to re-fight issues in order to open corporate stores here. They'll continue to work through franchises, and open stores in the area (Moose Jaw has a free-standing one; I'd be shocked if White City/Emerald Park doesn't get a corporate store soon; etc).

I could be wrong... but why would they care enough about Regina to invest the money it would take to get the LRB rulings overturned?

Papa Murphy's on Quance has closed.

https://i.redd.it/b9uooljmorbz.png

Too bad - prices were great (bonus: no GST), and everything was prepared in front of customers, just like a sub shop. I rarely experienced it being busy, but there seemed to be a consistent flow.

Hard to go up against local 'Regina-style' pizzas, though... and (like Yellow Submarine before it), Reginans don't seem to like the take & bake model - I heard more than once from friends & family "I have to bake it myself?!" Same people, after tasting it & finding out the price, seemed OK with taking 10-12mins of their time to bake it... but it still weirded them out.

We could order several family size pizzas for big events, they'd come in significantly under what Western, Houston, Trifons, etc would cost (50%), and we'd usually have left-overs.
(we still ordered ready-to-eat pizza - viewing the two as different models for different occasions)

This is not surprising at all. Since the PST was introduced to restaurant meals, Many small local shops have been struggling. My sales dropped 30% within the first 2 weeks of April. I'm not suggesting this was their only problem, but i'm sure it certainly didn't help them.

I'm quite certain the PST did not apply to Papa Murphy's pizzas - just as the GST doesn't (PST certainly wasn't singled out on my bills before/after the budget, and the pizza prices didn't change before/after).

It is deemed to be groceries just like the deli home bake pizzas at supermarkets

Ahhhhh oh really? Well then maybe I should have my customers start making their own meals here! lol

As soon as they are heated or "arranged" they are no longer exempt.

Did business bounce back or are you still down?

My food sales keep increasing. I thought we would take a hit with the PST, but didn't happen. The .04 has had the biggest impact on local restaurants and pubs, based on my clients (120 across the province).

Unfortunately not. Sales have picked up, but that's just based on the time of year. It's frustrating, because we have had to change some life plans, but that's running a business for ya.

Had your Lentil Cream Ale last night at Regina Beach. Still delicious! Not sure if boat police are enforcing .04 but I am still being careful of course.

Thanks, we appreciate everyone that has given us a chance!

The .04 law is what it is. My business absolutely supports responsible consumption.

However, in the urban areas, what we really need are more downtown residents, better transit, better taxi service, less downtown parking/more infill, and we need to change the laws in SK for Uber and Uber-like companies to operate here. If we dont act on these things, expect the downtowns to erode. I have been saying this for 2 years to every politician and govt official I come across. Sure would be nice to get some traction on these items. The City has a community plan that sets goals for downtown resident growth, and a transit plan that envisions less vehicles, but right now there are no action plans or funding to follow through on these plans.

Regarding über, it's basically entirely in the hands of the cities, and with them, you have to fight the powerful "lobby" the local cab companies have built up. Look at the "lottery system" Regina was going to do with temp licences in the next while. After the taxi companies made a fuss, it was almost entirely backed out of.

The province might need to adjust some regulations, but until the cities (mainly Saskatoon and Regina) change their bylaws, there's no need.

Uber is 100% with SGI. They won't insure Uber drivers

Yes, 2 city councillors have told me it is an SGI issue.

It's both a city and SGI issue. Each city is responsible for regulating taxis, and SGI is responsible for insuring them.

On the one hand, Uber is great for consumers. On the other, it's not that great for the Uber drivers (basically a minimum-wage job). I think there is a balance that can be achieved, however, if the city/province mandate certain insurance/liability requirements, and also classify Uber as the employer of the drivers (thus ensuring they meet labour standards). Right now Uber is arguing that they are not an employer, and so they don't need to meet these standards in other cities.

Government has to allow more competition (the taxi situation is ridiculous) but they also have to protect the employees and public. Unfortunately both sides seem to not want to compromise. Plus, Uber might be bankrupt in a few years anyway if it turns out that they did steal AI-driving tech from Google as has been alleged. Uber isn't sustainable at the moment unless they can switch to autonomous vehicles at some point, and their entire tech might be stolen (it looks that way with the evidence Google has shared).

The city issue comes first though. If the cities don't allow it, why would SGI have insurance for it? And technically if they allowed it, the taxi insurance rates would apply, so it exists, it would just be expensive to insure. It's also more in the government's court than SGI's regarding changes to the legislation that governs auto licensing, registration, and insurance. SGI can make proposals all they want, but if the government fails to enact them, nothing happens. ;)

Amazingly, other jurisdictions have figured out how to do it. There are lots of things we could do to improve transportation, but right now we are doing next to nothing.

https://www.sgi.sk.ca/individuals/re...sharetaxi.html

That is not really correct. Right now there is nothing stopping Uber from operating in Saskatchewan from SGI's perspective. If they wanted, you could start doing Uber outside of a city tomorrow. All you need is a Class 4 licence, 2 Million liability, and a taxi plate. All of these things SGI would assign no problem.

The thing stopping Uber from the cities is that they would need a taxi medallion/licence to operate too. Those go for well over 6 figures. There are also inspection requirements, criminal record checks etc that the big cities require.

Isn't that the point that Uber drivers don't have Class 4 licences and the extra insurance is supposed to be provided through Uber which doesn't work in SK.