[osirisboy]

the nelson street cafe has been completely demolished and the empty building beside it is covered in a tarp. I wonder if they will be tearing that down next.

[LotusLand]

yeah that tarp has been up for a few days now. Someone on hear said it was going to be a new two level Earls? Not sure but I hope it's something else perhaps a new lounge or something or a new pub! Anyways we'll know soon enough.

As for retail in this city it looks like we had a good year last year and a bit: http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com/2009/09/buzz-retail-round-up.html

I wonder what the future holds for us. Especially Alberni Street could see a few more high end shops come in especially once that new office tower starts construction across the Shang :)

What stores would you guys look to see in Vancouver that aren't already here? I'd like to see more high end stores like Prada, Fendi etc... perhaps a Forever 21 downtown on Robson or something I don't know. But I feel Robson street could still get a lot more major retailers on that street.

[agrant]

jtwin - where did you hear Office Depot on Broadway is closing?

I'm a bit surprised to hear that because when they announced they'd be closing several locations earlier in the year, this was not mentioned as one of them. Also, because they own the building, they'd probably want to sell it (ie. to a developer), rather than lease it out to another retailer.I walked by this afternoon and didn't see any sign about them closing. They were repainting the outside (white with red trim...), so who knows what that means?

[berrypicker]

I would really like to see an ikea downtown!!!!

[osirisboy]

i would too!! i say if costco can do it than ikea should have no problem

[GeeCee]

before picture and details on the renovations for the pacific centre apple store:

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/iphone-news/vancouver-pacific-centre-apple-store-closed-for-renovation/

[entheosfog]

That Tim Hortons on Terminal near Main sure is going up fast! The concrete walls and a lot of steel work have gone up this past week. Looks like the T/H will be done first then the rest of the development will be built after it opens, seeing as they haven't really even started working on that part yet. I bet they really want this thing open on a hurry!

[vancityrox]

The Apple Store, right next to the Bay entrance, at Oakridge is pretty big...comparable to the Pacific Centre location:
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs222.snc1/6925_140129553251_505498251_2420645_4503774_n.jpg



The downtown store really needs a larger location.

They should scrap the Pacific Center one and open a two level one on Granville and Robson and tear that Sears down...geez what an eye sore.

The flagship in Montreal is beautiful. I have been to it and its really quite something. With the floor to ceiling windows and glass staircase.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8767/photosaintecatherinea.th.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/photosaintecatherinea.jpg/)

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/489/asm0807241.th.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/asm0807241.jpg/)


imagine this on granville!

i wouldnt put this on robson...too many trees in the way...but knowing apple...they would order the city to remove those trees or and parking spaces infront of the store so nothing obstructs the view of the store...like in montreal..they removed the trees and parking meters infront for the new apple store :S

[mezzanine]

Bearded Papa's is moving in to the Convention Centre to next year. They sure aren't wasting any time getting into Vancouver.



:banana: :tomato: :cucumber: :apple: :dancing:

[mr.x]

^ yea, a Granville street location north of Robson would be more ideal.

Pacific Centre is planning to develop the Sears plaza (where the City Centre Station entrance is) into a mall expansion several storeys high. I've always envisioned that some of that new space could be used for a proper Apple store.

Nothing beats the store at Fifth Avenue:
http://images.appleinsider.com/retail-fifth-ave-gallary1.jpg

[vancityrox]

Ya the fifth avenue ones nice too. Been to that one aswell several times aswell.


Whats the Sears Plaza your talking about? I havent heard anything bout it. Any more details?

[hollywoodnorth]

oh ya Tim Hortons wants to be open by the X-Mas rush I would imagine. December 1st seems doable at this point.

[SpongeG]

fatburger is opening up on broadway about 2 blocks east of the new station... in that little building that seems oddly located

[SpongeG]

They should scrap the Pacific Center one and open a two level one on Granville and Robson and tear that Sears down...geez what an eye sore.

The flagship in Montreal is beautiful. I have been to it and its really quite something. With the floor to ceiling windows and glass staircase.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8767/photosaintecatherinea.th.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/photosaintecatherinea.jpg/)

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/489/asm0807241.th.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/asm0807241.jpg/)


imagine this on granville!

i wouldnt put this on robson...too many trees in the way...but knowing apple...they would order the city to remove those trees or and parking spaces infront of the store so nothing obstructs the view of the store...like in montreal..they removed the trees and parking meters infront for the new apple store :S

apple limits its flagship stores - toronto doesn't even have a flagship

wasn't apple rumoured to open in jameson house on east hastings? but ended up in pacific centre? could they move or just open a second shop so close?

[vancityrox]

^Ya...I lived in Montreal for pretty much most of my life and the reason why the Apple Flagship is there is because more people use Apple computers and products in Quebec. Most businesses use them and there is a HUGE technology and software businesses that are there aswell.

Its too bad they wont open Flagships anywhere else but i would think that the big major cities would get one sooner or later...like Vancouver and Toronto.

[LotusLand]

:banana: :tomato: :cucumber: :apple: :dancing:

I think there is one on Denman near Davie already. I drove by the other day and swore I saw that funny old man logo on a store front. Perhaps they just sold them there.

[twoNeurons]

:previous:

I had another one of their "choux cream" puffs yesterday. My wife says Hirota's are better, with a softer outside... but what do I know.

[dreambrother808]

Pacific Centre is planning to develop the Sears plaza (where the City Centre Station entrance is) into a mall expansion several storeys high. I've always envisioned that some of that new space could be used for a proper Apple store.

That was the rumoured plan. I hope something can potentially still come of it. Apple stores make enough money to justify the relocation expense I would think. That 5th Ave. store pulls in $350 to $440 million per year.

[djh]

Office Depot will be closing its Broadway store. Not sure about the timing. Anybody know?

If you mean the one at Broadway and Cambie (1 block east), then that's not correct. I went in on Saturday and asked them point-blank. In fact, they were painting the exterior of the store in Office Depot colours while I was there.

Where did you get that information from?

[SpongeG]

there's another office depot - its on lougheed hwy though - sort of the extension of broadway...

they closed the one on lougheed in coquitlam

[Shibuya]

If you mean the one at Broadway and Cambie (1 block east), then that's not correct. I went in on Saturday and asked them point-blank. In fact, they were painting the exterior of the store in Office Depot colours while I was there.

Where did you get that information from?

Office Depot is looking to close/downsize their Broadway and Cambie location. This comes right from Office Depot.

[officedweller]

EQ3 in Yaletown closes at the end of October.

[djh]

Office Depot is looking to close/downsize their Broadway and Cambie location. This comes right from Office Depot.

Like I said, I personally asked them. In the store.
So when you say "This comes right from Office Depot", what do you mean? What's your source? Website, rumour, orange vest guy?

[wrenegade]

Apple has been working on getting a 2 level store on Robson street for over 3 years now. It will happen but Apple wants to get it totally right. To me this means flagship store. If they complete a deal they were working on about 6 months ago then you'll see a prominent corner on Robson undergo some big changes.

[Shibuya]

Like I said, I personally asked them. In the store.
So when you say "This comes right from Office Depot", what do you mean? What's your source? Website, rumour, orange vest guy?

Someone a little higher up than a guy in the Store. There's a list floating around of all the locations they are closing which is not the same locations (Coquitlam) they talked about closing in December.

[Shibuya]

Apple has been working on getting a 2 level store on Robson street for over 3 years now. It will happen but Apple wants to get it totally right. To me this means flagship store. If they complete a deal they were working on about 6 months ago then you'll see a prominent corner on Robson undergo some big changes.

I had heard they were trying to punt Red Robins and take over that corner. Could this be what you were referring to? I assumed this all fell apart.

[SpongeG]

i'd rather see BEBE go and apple open there

[David]

I had heard they were trying to punt Red Robins and take over that corner. Could this be what you were referring to? I assumed this all fell apart.

And take over one of the kitty corner Starbucks on the ground floor? Noooooo!! ;)

[SpongeG]

Wal-Mart loses rezoning appeal for South Vancouver landholdings

By Charlie Smith

One of the world’s largest corporations has failed in its appeal of two land assessments in South Vancouver. In a ruling by the Property Assessment Appeal Board on August 12, panel chair Mark Goodall upheld earlier assessments of Wal-Mart Canada Corp.’s landholdings at 86 Southeast Marine Drive and 101 East 69th Avenue.

Because municipal, regional, TransLink, and school taxes are charged on the basis of assessed values, if a landowner gets the assessed value reduced on appeal, he or she will pay lower taxes as a result. Goodall determined that for both Wal-Mart sites, the assessed values of the properties were actually lower than the market values.

The assessed value of the land at 86 Southeast Marine Drive—$24.81 million—was slightly lower than the market value of $26.23 million, according to Goodall’s ruling. The difference between the assessed value of $70.93 per square foot and the market value of $75 per square foot “falls within a reasonable fair market value range”, he wrote in his decision.

Goodall concluded that the adjacent land at 101 East 69th Avenue was assessed at a lower rate—$62.32 per square foot—than the market value of $75 per square foot. The 2008 assessment pegged the land value at $11.78 million, whereas the market value, according to Goodall, was $14.18 million.

“The 2008 land assessment for 101 East 69th Avenue would appear to be low,” Goodall wrote in his ruling, “however as the Assessor has not requested an increase, I confirm the current 2008 assessed values.”

“Improvements”—what has been built on a property—were assessed at $284,000 at 86 Southeast Marine Drive and $391,000 at 101 East 69th Avenue.

Wal-Mart Canada is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which posted US$401 billion in sales in its last fiscal year. In 2001, Wal-Mart Canada applied to the City of Vancouver to rezone the land in order to allow a large Wal-Mart store, two other large stores, and two restaurants.

Most of the land is zoned as industrial, but each of the two sites has a 13-metre-wide frontal strip zoned for residential and parking uses. According to Goodall’s decision, the city has an agreement with the landowner restricting the use of these strips for walks, driveways, and landscaping. He noted that the city’s rezoning policies and guidelines for the area state that proposed uses should not undermine nearby neighbourhood centres.

In 2005, the Coalition of Progressive Electors–controlled council rejected Wal-Mart’s rezoning application. The following year, the Non-Partisan Association–dominated council voted to permit Wal-Mart to reapply for rezoning, but the corporation has not done so, according to Goodall’s decision. Canadian Tire, on the other hand, filed a successful rezoning application for a nearby site at 26 Southwest Marine Drive.

In its appeal, Wal-Mart representative David Nishi-Beckingham suggested there was a less than 50-percent chance of getting the land rezoned. Goodall rejected this, citing material from B.C. Assessment representative Lyle Dunn.

“Mr. Dunn’s evidence is that the City of Vancouver planners have indicated to the Assessor that there would likely be no impediments for the approval of a large format home improvement, furniture or home furnishings store,” Goodall wrote, “however a retail impact study, including that of retail clothing, such as was required for Canadian Tire at 26 S.W. Marine Drive, would be required in a development proposal.”

Wal-Mart also claimed that there was an “inequity” in its assessment because the Real Canadian Superstore site located at 350 Southeast Marine Drive was assessed at $59.67 per square foot. Dunn pointed out that Wal-Mart’s sites offered superior access because they were on a street corner. In his ruling, Goodall rejected Wal-Mart’s claim that its assessments should be changed to come into alignment with that of the Real Canadian Superstore.



A Vancouver developer is holding a contest with the prize of a condo in the South Main Street neighbourhood. Amacon has partnered with the radio station Classic Rock 101 to give away a unit in its District development. The winner also walks away with a $10,000 Harley-Davidson Nightster, a $10,000 home-theatre system, a $5,000 iMac workstation, and a $4,000 Fuego barbecue. For more information, go to www.rock101.com. The winner will be announced on November 6.

http://www.straight.com/article-257450/walmart-loses-appeal

[officedweller]

Hmm... that would read "loses assessment appeal..."

[SpongeG]

yes the headline seemed wrong to me

[osirisboy]

wholly what a misleading headline... its a good reminder to always try and read the article and not just the headline lol

[jlousa]

Apple had looked at Jameson House (which is on W Hastings not E Hastings) I believe they walked because it would take too long and they wanted to enter the market before the games. Wether they are still interested in it I don't know I haven't heard anything lately so I gather not.

[SpongeG]

that would have been a good area for them or like somewhere on west hastings or burrard

robson is too obvious

[djh]

Someone a little higher up than a guy in the Store. There's a list floating around of all the locations they are closing which is not the same locations (Coquitlam) they talked about closing in December.

Good to know, thanks.

* * *

Shoppers Drug Mart on Cambie/16th opening on Thursday (Oct 1st)
Across the street at the old Hazel & Co location, a new clothing store is going in - I think it's called My Sister's Closet or My Girlfriend's Closet, or something like that.

[SpongeG]

speaking of hazel and co - walked past her store the other day it was so dead and no customers and her store looked dull and boring

Murale opens soon in Oakridge - Shoppers beauty store

[vancityrox]

They should be opening a Jack & Jones retail store in Vancouver soon. That would work so good here. They have opened 12 locations so far in Quebec and Ontario. It is expanding real quickly so there soon will be one here in Vancouver. Probably on Robson or Pacific Center. I used to work for Jack & Jones in Montreal, they always hinted to us that they will open one in Vancouver after Quebec and Ontario are dominated.

Incase you do not know what JJ is: Its a brand from Denmark. It has over 4000 stores in Europe and Asia and now Canada. Number 1 jeans brand in Europe. Biggest competitor is H&M and Deisel.

http://www.jackjones.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreFrontView?langId=110&storeId=11201&catalogId=10051


Check it out!

[SpongeG]

ah yes i always see their jeans and clothes at winners

[vancityrox]

haha ya but the stuff at winners is the stuff that doesnt sell as much at the retail stores. The way it works with Jack & Jones is when we order merchandise from the head office, they sell you a certain quantity no less then that. So if you order lets say this pair of black slim jeans, u have no choice to order a box that has like 40 pairs inside. It is hard to sell sometimes all of them because of sizes and what not. So we send them as far away as possible from Quebec and Ontario...to B.C. Winners stores !! lol.

Anyways i can wait till they open here!

If they open a street level one it will be massive.

Like the ones in Europe!

http://www.observatoiredelafranchise.fr/V2/images/illustrations/1218-jack-jones-visuel01.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3306260591_8eae7e78f4.jpg

http://blog.jackjones.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jack-jones-spring.jpg

[GeeCee]

The new Keg in Coquitlam is coming along nicely..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3484/3966729725_865eebbaef_b.jpg

[metroXpress]

^ nice....I love their new design. it is now standard for all their new locations :)

[GeeCee]

I still can't believe they're putting The Keg in that parking lot.. it fills up as is with Best Buy alone.

[SpongeG]

they demolished the other building that was there in the west side of the lot to replace the parking lost to the Keg

its a better spot than the old Keg at least

[GeeCee]

not really.. the building that was demolished was replaced earlier, some restaurant across from the CIBC.

[SpongeG]

the movie theatre was there and they changed it and than added next to best buy and than took away

anyway Coquitlam people can at least walk there from their highrise district now

[officedweller]

The Robson retail space at L'Hermitage next to Fido now has a leased sign on it.

There's a sign up...

http://www.timhortons.com/ca/images/general/tim-hortons-red-script-logo-thumb(1).jpg

[johnjimbc]

cool. Silly as it sounds, I sometimes hated having to walk a few blocks when I had a craving ;)

[SpongeG]

went to the new Apple Store at oakridge - it was really busy mostly lookaloos i guess

but they had touchs for $329 and the same one at futureshop is $298! the guy said he could see what they could do to match but my friend said no thats ok... so i don't know if they price match does anyone elese know?

also DKNY is open now
Fossil is opening a store there and the Murale store is looking large opening soon

overall the mall is really looking good and full much more high end now

[LotusLand]

Forever 21 opens up on Oct 9. IT is a big freaking store in Metrotown. Here is the link:
http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com/2009/02/forever-21-coming-to-metrotown.html

[David]

The movie theatre was knocked down to make way for more Best Buy parking. Then they demolished the restaurant later when it moved to a new building closer to CIBC. It was really sad when they knocked down the movie theatre, it was cheap and much friendlier than the Famous Players chain

[SpongeG]

the restaurant was like last summer though? wasn't it?

remember i am old so things that happenned 10 years ago seems like 1 year ago to me ;)

[SpongeG]

Bath & Body Works (http://www.bathandbodyworks.ca) first Vancouver area store opens October 9th! in Richmond Centre!

finally yay!

[David]

Im not sure... I seem to remember the restaurant being in its current location for about 2 years. Ive never gone there, so I dont really know.

[SpongeG]

just read an article about Crate and Barrel's opening in Calgary wednesday - it says in the article

"We're looking in Western Canada in the Vancouver area right now," said Sapoznik, adding the company chose Southcentre because of good demographics in the area, a great customer and tenant mix, a good roadway system nearby and ample parking.

[officedweller]

Makes me think Crate and Barrel will go to Metrotown first.
i.e. in addition to locating in the burbs in Calgary, in Seattle, their location is at Bellevue Square - not downtown. In Toronto, they're at Yorkdale, not downtown.

[SpongeG]

i think an Oakridge expansion would be the best spot or maybe Park Royal?

but they do have downtown locations like new york, chicago, San Francisco etc.

[officedweller]

i think an Oakridge expansion would be the best spot or maybe Park Royal?

but they do have downtown locations like new york, chicago, San Francisco etc.

If they're going to have furniture, then it'll have to be a large two-storey store - Oakridge wouldn't be able to handle that large a space.

Park Royal is a possibility, but there's a Homesense there already, and that Liberty store on Marine Drive closed down a while back - so access limitations may negate that.

It would really be a coup if either Coquitlam Centre or Guildford got it.

Richmond could be a possibility, but it doesn't strike me as a housewares / kitchen market - given all the restaurants amd Asian population - plus, with so many furniture stores down there, that aspect of the business could suffer there too.

************

Posted at UrbanDiner.ca on October 3, 2009:

Morton's The Steakhouse in Vancouver (750 W Cordova St) closed its doors permanently last night.

The official statement:

Morton’s The Steakhouse is the leading fine dining steakhouse brand, earning our reputation over 31 years. We own and operate 77 steakhouses worldwide, and Morton’s is recognized as the place where top business leaders as well as celebrities and professional athletes frequent. Morton’s features USDA grain fed prime aged beef, the top 2% of all US beef available, along with its genuine Midwestern hospitality, which is second to none.

In this current economic environment, we made the very difficult decision to close the Vancouver restaurant. That restaurant originally opened in 2000, and today our company’s focus is finding premium locations in the cities where we operate.

Morton’s truly appreciates the dedication and hard work of all of the impacted employees and has offered assistance in a number of ways, including the opportunity to transfer to another Morton’s location, based on availability.

We want to truly recognize and thank our loyal Vancouver guests who supported us for so many years, and we look forward to their next dining visit at our other Morton’s steakhouses.

[SpongeG]

Oakridge wants to expand so they could do it around the store joining them...

sad about mortons - never got to go there

[djh]

Posted at UrbanDiner.ca on October 3, 2009:
Morton's The Steakhouse in Vancouver (750 W Cordova St) closed its doors permanently last night.


It had the worst location ever. Almost underground, in the base of, what, a federal building, on the back side of it, and at the quiet hinterland of Cordova, in-between the business area and the tourist area. With diagonal parking spaces blocking the entry and signage. I only went there once, when invited to a fashion show, and it took ages to find it. No surprise there.

[Shibuya]

Rumoured a few years ago to be a new 3 storey Earls - but not sure - there's a redevelopment sign on the building and the Nelson cafe around the corner has also closed down - so I think some form of redevelopment is going to happen - rather than just a new tenant.

It is indeed an Earl's from what I have heard / seen. Will be interesting to see who else continues to shuffle down Granville and clean it up as they go.

[djh]

It is indeed an Earl's from what I have heard / seen. Will be interesting to see who else continues to shuffle down Granville and clean it up as they go.

The clean-up of Granville continues. Good and bad news - good that a major name will anchor the corner - and hopefully as discussed before they can get a nice European-style patio at street level. Bad in that the small independents like the Nelson Cafe are gone. Although that's inevitable as the rents rise and redevelopment happens. Hopefully the owner got a big fat payoff and opens a new place in a Vancouver neighbourhood.

[officedweller]

Wonder how the Yaletown Earl's is doing - still haven't set foot in the place - although I go to the Fir St. Earl's almost every Monday.

[Shibuya]

The clean-up of Granville continues. Good and bad news - good that a major name will anchor the corner - and hopefully as discussed before they can get a nice European-style patio at street level. Bad in that the small independents like the Nelson Cafe are gone. Although that's inevitable as the rents rise and redevelopment happens. Hopefully the owner got a big fat payoff and opens a new place in a Vancouver neighbourhood.

Im interested to find out what is going to happen at the Corner of Granville and Helmcken.

[SpongeG]

Im interested to find out what is going to happen at the Corner of Granville and Helmcken.

isn't that where Le Chateau is going? in the old Car rental placE? the bigger one is suppossed to be Le Chateau no word on the smaller spot

[SpongeG]

Winners has moved to a new location in Park Royal

[ryanmaccdn]

Winners has moved to a new location in Park Royal

Still baffles me why people like that store so much..... If people knew the process of how they get that stuff I think it would change things.

Ugh.

[SpongeG]

my friend saw some stuff at homesense for a store he used to work at apparently they bought a big chunk of stuff from them but the lamps that were on sale were rejected by the original store because they were missing their bases but homesense was selling em as they were

[officedweller]

Winners has moved to a new location in Park Royal

The old Linens'n'Things.. big space.

[metroXpress]

A new CIBC opened....Kennedy Heights:

C I B C
Kennedy Heights Shopping Centre
11920 88 Avenue, Delta, BC V4C 3C8
Telephone : 604-501-7077

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5jlu5acMtr4/R4xpexAvbeI/AAAAAAAADts/qoUJB_DkUns/s200/cibc.jpg

[wrenegade]

Makes me think Crate and Barrel will go to Metrotown first.
i.e. in addition to locating in the burbs in Calgary, in Seattle, their location is at Bellevue Square - not downtown. In Toronto, they're at Yorkdale, not downtown.

Think about it though. What do Southcentre, Yorkdale and Bellevue square have in common that Metrotown does not. Large affluent populations. They need minimum 100,000 people within 15 minute drive with household incomes greater than $100k to be even considered. That leaves Oakridge and Park Royal as pretty much the only opportunities.

There is also space available at Park Royal with the absence of Petcetera and Linens N' Things. Well, actually Winners took Linens N' Things' space, but their old space upstairs is now available.

[osirisboy]

i didnt realize crate and barrel require that, how do you know these things lol. I never thought crate and barrel was even that expensive.

[officedweller]

True, but I don't think of Park Royal as being that great a mall - it's older and the larger spaces are hidden in back around parking structures, etc.

WRT Oakridge I'm thinking space constraints.

[SpongeG]

oakridge had plans to expand they could use the parking lot ear safeway to expand for C&B if needed

another choise would be south surrey/white rock that area is said to be the second highest incoem area after west vancouver thats why they are opening that second lifestyle village there

Hamburger marys reno is done looks a little bigger

[osirisboy]

what about south granville. seems to be more higher income people in that area than white rock

[SpongeG]

per capita maybe?

that was the justification for the people who did the park royal village and their choice of building morgan crossing which is supposed to be filled with high end shops in the new second lifestyle village in that area...

which should open soon

there is a 7-11 opening on west boradway - somewhere between main and cambie - that area really needed a good 24 hour store :)

[hrhsheba]

[They need minimum 100,000 people within 15 minute drive with household incomes greater than $100k to be even considered. That leaves Oakridge and Park Royal as pretty much the only opportunities. ]

A good friend of mine is an interior designer. He's always amazed at how cheap West Vancouverites are when it comes to furnishing their homes. They want the flashy address but don't want to spend the money inside. I've heard the same thing from retailers (even those in West Van) - they can't bring in a quality (albeit pricey) European line of product, for example, because the residents won't pay the price. Essentially, you've got a neighbourhood of very expensive homes filled with crap. I'm not all that familiar with the merchandise sold by Crate & Barrel - if their stuff is cheap, they would do well at Park Royal, if it's a bit more higher end, maybe not.

[SpongeG]

crate and barrel is like basics - its reasonable - the furniture is decent and not too badly priced - its prices are like Pottery Barn low to mid end

crate and barrel also carries brands that a lot of other stores carry so they have to compete unlike a place like pottery barn who really only has its own branded merchandise

http://nerej.com/images/stories/2008/20071030-Skanska-CB-222_opt.jpg
nerej.com

http://www.fourthstreetshop.com/images/stores/crateandbarrel/crateBarrel-02.jpg
fourthstreetshop.com

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00EYaOg7E42Nb/610x.jpg
daylife.com

*pics from google

[johnjimbc]

I don't care where Crate & Barrel ends up. I'd go find it ;). I used to live near one, and furnished nearly my entire apartment with their furnishings at the time. I'd describe as solid middle of the spectrum or even a a bit higher than middle.

I love Crate & Barrel. It fills a really good niche. They have plenty of good quality kitchen accessories, bath items, and interior pieces (vases, candles, bedding, even home office pieces). There furnishings tend to have a classic contemporary look, and they use unique woods and fibers from exotic locations. They offer good quality at a good price. I think of their kitchen and serving items as falling somewhere between Williams Sonoma and Ikea - closer to Williams Sonoma in quality but with better prices.

The furnishings aren't inexpensive, but they're not outlandish either for the quality. And, again, they select nice looking items. Solid wood beds and tables, great sofa collections. If I were to describe in terms of local stores, I'd say better quality than EQ3 and not as high end (i.e. exclusive) as Living Spaces Interiors or Inform. As I mentioned, though, the furnishings are really solid / well-constructed and offered at reasonable pieces. I think their furniture is a good value for the prices. They may not have the exclusivity of some of Vancouver's high-end stores, but I find it just as good as far as quality and durability and styling.

Here's a link to the catalogue page of their Canadian website: http://www.crateandbarrel.ca/About-Us-Catalogue.aspx. You'll notice they have different catalogues, kitchen and serving items in one, a different one for furnishings.

It's probably easy to check out on the US store - www.crateandbarrel.com - as it has an actual on-line purchasing capability - which the Canadian site doesn't seem to have (guess the distribution network is lacking in Canada?). I'd suggest checking out the kitchen section and then the furniture living room and bedroom sets to get a sense of the range of items and style they offer.

As far as location, it really depends on if they have a large or small store. The larger stores are quite large, with a whole floor devoted to furnishings and another floor dedicated to everything else. But they also have smaller stores which focus on just the kitchen, bath, home office, and accessory pieces.

I could very much see them fitting one of the smaller stores into Oakridge (demographics) or Metrotown or even Pacific Centre. For the larger store, I think Oakridge might not have the size location they need. Plus, they tend to like to build their own unique stand-alone stores for the larger stores unless they can get a really prominent mall corner spot with street and mall entrances.

I think Metrotown would be a possible location, especially if they could build a new site in a corner of the exterior parking lot. I suppose they might be willing to go out to the new "Morgan Crossing" area if it continues to develop, but that seems too far out for a first Vancouver store. Once established in an area, maybe. But not at first.

I can't image where they'd go in Park Royale - size or style doesn't seem to fit there.

My bet would be on Metrotown if I had to pick a local knowing what exists now. The only other possibility is if they could convince Oakridge to let them build a new building somewhere on their exterior parking lot, which I can't imagine them really allowing though it would be a good fit demographically.

[NewfBC]

If Bed, Bath and Beyond can open their first BC store in Central City Surrey, I think it's possible to get a Crate and Barrel in Morgan Crossing. :)

Ron.

[SpongeG]

yah that would be interesting - it is a destination store so people will drive to it no matter where it ends up

Me and my friend were thinking somewhere near the Olympic Village would be good - so many big lots and spaces available in that area it seems

but how about stylesense? they should be hitting this area soon - they have 3 stores in Toronto already - they are owned by Winners - they sell shoes and accessories and some high end stuff like chanel & dior has been found in their stores

maybe the old winners in Park royal will become one?

[Shibuya]

It is indeed an Earl's from what I have heard / seen. Will be interesting to see who else continues to shuffle down Granville and clean it up as they go.

Scratch that. Looks like it isn't Earl's after all. Should find out more soon.

[entheosfog]

there is a 7-11 opening on west boradway - somewhere between main and cambie - that area really needed a good 24 hour store :)

I noticed that the other night as I was being blinded by those fluorescent interior lights while driving down Broadway!
It's not every day a new 7-11 opens up, most have been around for a while...

[jlousa]

Crate and Barrell could open up in the old storyeum location, lots of space and they could argue there are 100K with incomes over 100K people within 15min, if you were to draw a circle around that location 15km in diameter (roughly 15min w/o traffic) you;d get all of d/t, north van, a chunk of west van and the west side.
Whatever happened to the family entertainment company that was going to move in, I haven't heard anything in months.

[johnjimbc]

As much as the Storyeum location might work for them size-wise, I just can't see them being there. They are all over upscale malls, people bringing in their kids. In cities they are in, they do well with the young urbanite singles and couples, but their bread and butter is the suburban or mid-city family that is doing well for themselves, two cars (one a Lexus or Mercedes mini-suv), bringing their strollers in to check out the store, a nice sunny one, with floor to ceiling glass window and a huge outdoor upper deck where they place their over-sized patio furnishings.

I've never seen on in even the slightest of "distressed" areas. I could see them in a nice sleek building right near the new Millennium village in a stand-alone store, but even there I can't imagine it more than a block or two away . . . between there and the Cambie retail strip maybe. And even that area would be a bit edgy for the demographics of where they typically place their stores.

[SpongeG]

they are in downtown areas though in stand alone stores - not just malls


re the 7-11 yah the blinding lights is what caught my eye when i drove past too late one night it was like whoah whats that oh a 7-11

[johnjimbc]

Yeah, I know that Crate & Barrel does stand-alone stores. I didn't mean to imply they were just in malls. There were several in DC that were stand alone. Each was different, but they all tended to be very light and open and airy and all tended to be in really established neighborhoods. That's why I can't really see them going for the storyeum location.

[SpongeG]

Forever 21 - XXI - opened today and apparently its crazy and packed

Bath & Body Works opened today too - 2 new brands hit the city at once!

[SpongeG]

I went in and passed Forever 21 - massive store - tiny mens section

huge line ups

also noticed a former arbys on kingsway is becoming a Triple O's

[hollywoodnorth]

I went in and passed Forever 21 - massive store - tiny mens section

huge line ups

also noticed a former arbys on kingsway is becoming a Triple O's

the one at Kingsway and Imperial area?

[SpongeG]

i think so - its across the street from Wendys

[GeeCee]

apparently beard papa's opened up recently in metrotown.. http://touch3050.blogspot.com/2009/09/beard-papa.html

might have missed it earlier in the thread.. thinking about heading over there tomorrow. :)

edit: oops, apparently has been open for several months now!

Confirmed locations in the Convention Centre and Richmond Centre. Wow, they're sure opening up quickly.

http://www.muginohousa.com/main.php?nav=locations

[duener]

^^I saw a Beard Papa's on Oxford Street here in London months ago. I don't think it's there anymore. What I couldn't figure out was why anyone would eat that... it looked all sugary/nasty like a doughnut.

It would be great if Pret A Manger expanded to Vancouver. I saw a few in New York. They're pre-made sandwich shops so you can grab a freshly made club sandwich for a few quid and be on your way. It's a different concept than Subway altogether.

[delboy]

^^I saw a Beard Papa's on Oxford Street here in London months ago. I don't think it's there anymore. What I couldn't figure out was why anyone would eat that... it looked all sugary/nasty like a doughnut.

It would be great if Pret A Manger expanded to Vancouver. I saw a few in New York. They're pre-made sandwich shops so you can grab a freshly made club sandwich for a few quid and be on your way. It's a different concept than Subway altogether.

I remember seeing one of them in Manchester in Piccadilly Square I thought it was an odd name and wondered what it was - now I know!

[nova9]

^^I saw a Beard Papa's on Oxford Street here in London months ago. I don't think it's there anymore. What I couldn't figure out was why anyone would eat that... it looked all sugary/nasty like a doughnut.

It would be great if Pret A Manger expanded to Vancouver. I saw a few in New York. They're pre-made sandwich shops so you can grab a freshly made club sandwich for a few quid and be on your way. It's a different concept than Subway altogether.

Except a Pret-a-Manger is like twice as expensive. But it is better. I just don't see how we have a gap/void in our food market that's big enough to warrant them coming over (especially if they haven't broken into the NA market yet or have they?)

[Waders]

apparently beard papa's opened up recently in metrotown.. http://touch3050.blogspot.com/2009/09/beard-papa.html

might have missed it earlier in the thread.. thinking about heading over there tomorrow. :)

edit: oops, apparently has been open for several months now!

Confirmed locations in the Convention Centre and Richmond Centre. Wow, they're sure opening up quickly.

http://www.muginohousa.com/main.php?nav=locations

I believe there is another one at Crystal Mall, just a few blocks away from Metrotown.

[Waders]

Forever 21 - XXI - opened today and apparently its crazy and packed

Bath & Body Works opened today too - 2 new brands hit the city at once!

I passed by Forever 21 - XXI in Metropolis Centre this morning(Saturday) at 8am. There was a hugh (~50 people, all female) lineup outside the store waiting. A few security guards tried to maintain order. It is amazing that people are willing to wait till 9:30am for the store to open. There must be some good bargain. Who can tell the economy is/was in recession?

[LotusLand]

Scratch that. Looks like it isn't Earl's after all. Should find out more soon.

Hmmm interesting, I wonder what it could be.

[SpongeG]

I passed by Forever 21 - XXI in Metropolis Centre this morning(Saturday) at 8am. There was a hugh (~50 people, all female) lineup outside the store waiting. A few security guards tried to maintain order. It is amazing that people are willing to wait till 9:30am for the store to open. There must be some good bargain. Who can tell the economy is/was in recession?

the first 200 customers were getting giftcards with any value up to $210

its the official grand opening today even though the store was open yesterday :koko:

[zahav]

Bed Bath & Beyond is opening a second lower mainland store at the old Office Depot in Coquitlam. No word yet on openings (as far as I know)

[SpongeG]

nice - wouldn't that be the third? the second is in North Van