Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Phase 1 | Completed

[Radster]

Originally Posted by phil235

Yep, Industria is pretty quiet for the most part. Event days it is very busy, but not sure that is enough for it to thrive. Too bad, as it is actually quite good. With that level of investment, I assume they will stick it out for a while.

If they do change branding, it would make an awesome sports bar.

Another clue is the fact that they are offering a Groupon, and that is often a good indication that a restaurant is struggling. I have seen this many times, Groupon for a specific restaurant, and then 6 months later, gone! Happened to me a few times even, got a refund from Groupon both times.

[TheGoods]

Originally Posted by phil235

Yep, Industria is pretty quiet for the most part. Event days it is very busy, but not sure that is enough for it to thrive. Too bad, as it is actually quite good. With that level of investment, I assume they will stick it out for a while.

If they do change branding, it would make an awesome sports bar.

Industria was a happening place when it first opened, went there a few times with a large group, it was fun and food wasn’t that bad. I noticed this summer that it wasn't as busy but figure it was due to their patio, fairly small compared to Joey and Local’s. If we do go down to Landsdowne, we seem to always’s go to Joey’s or Local. Sometimes we head over to Jack Astor or Craft if the wait time is too long.

[YOWflier]

I've been to Industria twice and find it to be just ok. They are vying for the same clientele as Joey, and in my mind at least, Joey is a more attractive option in every way.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

I've been to Industria twice and find it to be just ok. They are vying for the same clientele as Joey, and in my mind at least, Joey is a more attractive option in every way.

I find the food options at Industria were more interesting. The restaurant itself is beautiful, though Joey isn't bad in that regard either.

[YOWflier]

Originally Posted by phil235

I find the food options at Industria were more interesting. The restaurant itself is beautiful, though Joey isn't bad in that regard either.

Actually I have to agree that the restaurant is beautiful. I guess I was expecting more from the food, especially the portions. Eating pizza with a pair of scissors is fun though.

[jitterbug]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

I've been to Industria twice and find it to be just ok. They are vying for the same clientele as Joey, and in my mind at least, Joey is a more attractive option in every way.

Perhaps these comments would be more appropriate on Trip Advisor.

In my opinion Industria is unlikely to survive at that location. I find they're too focused on the "concept" and this comes at the expense of the quality of the food. Besides, somebody has to pay for the large space and fancy décor, which will never pay for itself if the place is busy only on game nights.

[Cre47]

I was there at Lansdowne for the first time in quite a while - first time since the redeveloppement. I thought for a Saturday afternoon, the Cinemas would be busier than it was. It was actually dead inside. The movie I saw with my girlfriend, there was probably a dozen or so other people in the room and at the entrance and food stands it was virtually empty in terms of crowd. The Christmas market at the Pavilion was quite busy though we were there near the closing time (3PM I think) )only and might return there in the last weekend. There was also a 67's game looks like today as we saw the Kitchener Rangers bus parked

[Nepean]

There have been some troubling signs at Lansdowne. First, the Lavazza coffee shop closed down, and now Tommy Gun's barbershop has shut down. I got a gift certificate for Tommy Gun's for Christmas, but when I went to redeem it the shop was closed and their phone number was not working. When I called the Bayshore store the told me the Lansdowne store went out of business. These are not good signs for Lansdowne.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Nepean

There have been some troubling signs at Lansdowne. First, the Lavazza coffee shop closed down, and now Tommy Gun's barbershop has shut down. I got a gift certificate for Tommy Gun's for Christmas, but when I went to redeem it the shop was closed and their phone number was not working. When I called the Bayshore store the told me the Lansdowne store went out of business. These are not good signs for Lansdowne.

I'm not sure anybody expected every business that initially set up at Lansdowne to work. Both of those businesses needed to draw neighbourhood people to thrive, and the Glebe is well-served by both barbershops and coffee places. I wouldn't be surprised to see a restaurant or two fail as well.

The bigger surprise is how fast they gave up - were they even open a year? In a business like that where you need to build up a clientele, I would have thought that they would plan to go a good stretch without making money.

[passwordisnt123]

Originally Posted by Cre47

I was there at Lansdowne for the first time in quite a while - first time since the redeveloppement. I thought for a Saturday afternoon, the Cinemas would be busier than it was. It was actually dead inside. The movie I saw with my girlfriend, there was probably a dozen or so other people in the room and at the entrance and food stands it was virtually empty in terms of crowd. The Christmas market at the Pavilion was quite busy though we were there near the closing time (3PM I think) )only and might return there in the last weekend. There was also a 67's game looks like today as we saw the Kitchener Rangers bus parked

January and February are notoriously slow times in the movie theatre business in most places in North America. Basically they just survive off late and repeat viewers of blockbuster Christmas releases to get them through until spring when things start to pick up again.

If the film you saw wasn't a blockbuster Christmas release like Star Wars, I'd say having a dozen people in the theatre would actually be higher than expected.

I've gone to Lansdown about 5-10x more often since the renovations compared to before. It's way busier and lively than ever before in my estimation.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by phil235

I'm not sure anybody expected every business that initially set up at Lansdowne to work. Both of those businesses needed to draw neighbourhood people to thrive, and the Glebe is well-served by both barbershops and coffee places. I wouldn't be surprised to see a restaurant or two fail as well.

The bigger surprise is how fast they gave up - were they even open a year? In a business like that where you need to build up a clientele, I would have thought that they would plan to go a good stretch without making money.

All true, but nowadays when a coffee shop closes for any reason other than an owner's retirement one takes notice and wants to know more. It hardly seems possible.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

All true, but nowadays when a coffee shop closes for any reason other than an owner's retirement one takes notice and wants to know more. It hardly seems possible.

New businesses sometimes go under in the first year or two because the owner has made a mistake in his/her business plan. Common ones like undercapitalization and taking on to much debt, underestimating operating expenses, not having any cash to cover unexpected emergency expenses.

Even if such a business is getting the customers it should expect to in its first year, these mistakes can be profit killers. A lot of new businesses go under because of them.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

All true, but nowadays when a coffee shop closes for any reason other than an owner's retirement one takes notice and wants to know more. It hardly seems possible.

Lavazza isn't a common coffee shop, there are only a handful in North America. Also, it is robusta coffee.

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Lavazza isn't a common coffee shop, there are only a handful in North America. Also, it is robusta coffee.

Agreed.

With coffee available at Aroma, Whole Foods, and elsewhere at Lansdowne and the Glebe, Lavazza didn't have enough of a draw, IMO. I was there twice and I personally didn't like the selection or the service. On the flip-side, I've been to Aroma several times and that place has consistently been full of people. Too much competition in a relatively small space, especially for a 'specialty' coffee shop like Lavazza...

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

New businesses sometimes go under in the first year or two because the owner has made a mistake in his/her business plan. Common ones like undercapitalization and taking on to much debt, underestimating operating expenses, not having any cash to cover unexpected emergency expenses.

Even if such a business is getting the customers it should expect to in its first year, these mistakes can be profit killers. A lot of new businesses go under because of them.

Also, they will have a growth plan, so even if they do everything right but they aren't even coming close to meeting their plan, the investors may pull out early, not wanting to throw good money after bad.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by citydwlr

Agreed.

With coffee available at Aroma, Whole Foods, and elsewhere at Lansdowne and the Glebe, Lavazza didn't have enough of a draw, IMO. I was there twice and I personally didn't like the selection or the service. On the flip-side, I've been to Aroma several times and that place has consistently been full of people. Too much competition in a relatively small space, especially for a 'specialty' coffee shop like Lavazza...

Any sense of how Whole Foods is doing? I was in only once, and left quite unimpressed being used to WF in the States. I've been wondering if I should give it another chance, or stick with being a Trainyards Farmboy fanboy?

[TheGoods]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

New businesses sometimes go under in the first year or two because the owner has made a mistake in his/her business plan. Common ones like undercapitalization and taking on to much debt, underestimating operating expenses, not having any cash to cover unexpected emergency expenses.

Even if such a business is getting the customers it should expect to in its first year, these mistakes can be profit killers. A lot of new businesses go under because of them.

I also am not surprised. You have to take into consideration that they are paying a premium in rent, how much coffee and haircuts you have to sell to make a profit, even if you are selling it at a premium. When there is a major event, how many people will get a haircut, none and how many people want to get a coffee, most likely a lot less that someone trying to hit one of the restaurants for food and drinks.

[TheGoods]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Any sense of how Whole Foods is doing? I was in only once, and left quite unimpressed being used to WF in the States. I've been wondering if I should give it another chance, or stick with being a Trainyards Farmboy fanboy?

Think about it, how much a Whole Foods can differentiate itself from a Farm Boy. WF cannot just carry any of the same products they sell in the US, there are many rules and regulation such as packaging laws (bilingual and certain declarations), import quotas on foods such as cheese, dairy, eggs, etc…., different regulation on what goes into products from Health Canada. Canada has sticker guidelines, examples such as Ketchup, rBST in milk and cheese, GMOs fruits and vegetables, food coloring or caffeine in soda, which are not colas. In addition, WF business model is that it tries to carry local products, so a WF in Florida will not have the same products as one in NY, his is the farm to table (or fork) movement which means that you will see the same products overlap from WF to Farm Boy and even a large Grocery Chain.

Not sure what the whole fuss is with WF when most of our Grocery chains like Loblaw’s sell quality foods and have a really nice chain like Farm Boy. I spend a lot of time in Florida, there is one major chain called Publix’s, it doesn’t even come close to what our chains sell which is why the need for a WF to get your rBST, antibiotics and GMO free foods as one small example

[phil235]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Any sense of how Whole Foods is doing? I was in only once, and left quite unimpressed being used to WF in the States. I've been wondering if I should give it another chance, or stick with being a Trainyards Farmboy fanboy?

Anecdotally I would say that it is the most consistently busy store at Lansdowne I go a few times a month as I really like their produce, meat and prepared foods. It always seems quite busy on the weekends, and they always have lots of cashiers open, so you are in and out pretty quickly. Not sure how busy it is during weekdays, but there are always seem to be enough people about.

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by phil235

Anecdotally I would say that it is the most consistently busy store at Lansdowne I go a few times a month as I really like their produce, meat and prepared foods. It always seems quite busy on the weekends, and they always have lots of cashiers open, so you are in and out pretty quickly. Not sure how busy it is during weekdays, but there are always seem to be enough people about.

I've definitely seen the same thing. I too go for their product, prepared foods, and fish/meat. I too have been to locations in the States and in Toronto. Ottawa's is smaller, and the selection of product isn't quite as robust, but what product they do have is very good. Also, if you have certain products you like, let them know; I've heard that they are always looking for new product to bring in whenever they can.