The Scope

Fabulous 50s nightclub demolished

Please, a moment of silence.

Where once stood wood-panelled walls adorned with Sammy Davis Jr. posters and rhythmically blinking Christmas lights, now sits an open pit of mud. The Fabulous 50s nightclub, and its accompanying building at 331 Water Street, is no more. “I feel just horrible about it,” says dedicated Fab 50s patron, Bob Frelich. “I was good friends with the owner and, when he opened it, I was the first one to go there, and the last person to leave. I really miss the place.” According to the word on the street, we should be expecting a new hotel proposal for that lot to hit the desks of council members.

Click here for some Google Street View nostalgia.

Pop-up thrift shop will return this Saturday

“We’re a travelling vintage second-hand thrift shop!” says Rogue Vogue Vintage co-creator Andrea Vincent. “Well, not just vintage. Some of it is handmade, too.” Rogue Vogue will be having its second ever sale, in the guise of a block party, this Saturday (Aug 14) at noon. This time it will be up on the terrasse above the Duckworth Street mural, right by The Sprout. They’ve got garb culled from thrift stores far and wide, including a few choice pieces from Vincent’s recent trip to Sackville, New Brunswick. “We’re sort of globe trotters, ourselves,” Vincent says of her and her partner in found fashion, Chrissy Dicks. “This fits.” Visit their Facebook group for more information.

Outdoor trapeze school almost ready to fly

Josh Munden

“We’re ready to fly, ASAP,” says Dany Munden of Acro-Adix Trapeze, at 413 Thorburn Road. After four unsuccessful applications, St. John’s city council finally approved them for a business license, despite complaints from a couple of residents in the area about traffic and noise. Now they’re waiting for a city-ordered safety inspection by the provincial government. Until that’s completed, they’re on the ground, watching the last days of summer fly by. “Our goal is to have an indoor facility here,” says Munden. “We’re looking into getting the money together to put up a dome. Then we can operate all year round.”

Waterford Valley Mall

On patrol with Martin Connelly at the Waterford Valley Mall at 657 Topsail Road.

Why I love the Family Barber Shop

Wallace Ryan • www.tinyurl.com/wallaceryan

It’s all about baby

Every year around this time, I start to notice all the babies. Perhaps it’s just that everyone is spending more time outside (not just rushing from door to car, cowering in the sleet), or maybe it’s that all of the kids born throughout the winter suddenly make their appearance en masse. Either way, this week I had babies on my mind.

And I don’t think it’s just me. In the last year, two new stores (Flowerchild and Gingersnap) geared towards children, parents, and those in need gifts have opened up downtown, and by all accounts, business is good.

As the newest kid on the block, Flowerchild (100 Duckworth Street) seemed like a good place to start. It’s owned by the same couple that owns Hempware, and while it has it’s own branding, it’s really more of an extension of that store. Co-owner Nycki Temple-Delisle told me they’d always carried kids stuff in the older store, and when the space opened up it just seemed like the obvious direction to go.

“We’ve been watching more and more people spend money on their children,” she told me.

Flowerchild sells a lot of clothes, and, if the name didn’t give it away, there’s an emphasis on recycled, renewable, and local products—eco chic for kids. There are some small toys, some locally-made dolls, and some cooperative Nepalese imports. There aren’t many places to buy toys that used to be milk jugs in St. John’s.

“We want to be there for the local people,” says Temple-Delisle.

Clientele is mostly the same as Hempware, but Temple-Delisle said she’s been getting more men than expected: Mostly dads, but also young guys trying to be the cool uncle, she says.

Janet Murphy, who’s co-owned Gingersnap (202 Water) for just over a year also sees her store in a community context: “It’s a place for parents and kids,” she emphasizes. Inspired by FAO Shwartz and Mastermind, Murphy wanted to open a store where kids could play with the toys, and parents wouldn’t have to worry every second.

The aisles in Gingersnap are purposely wide to accommodate strollers, and Murphy points to a comfortable armchair towards the back as a space where a lot of nursing mothers come for a break. “It’s a lot better than whipping it out at Tim Horton’s,” she laughs. “And they know that there isn’t an expectation they need to buy anything.

She sells some clothes (old school punk branded onesies) but it’s mostly a toy store, and Murphy takes a lot of pride in her selection.

“I really cherry pick the selection,” she told me. “I don’t like carrying big brands, and I’ve been able to find a lot of Canadian-made stuff—which wasn’t necessarily the goal, but it’s really exciting to be able to offer.”

How about the competition? “The more the merrier,” says Murphy. “People like to shop around, and I don’t think you can have a viable downtown without shops catering to parents and children.”

Further afield you can find Coo Chi Coo (655 Topsail Road) whose best seller is jogging strollers, and Bellies and Bundles Maternity and Baby Boutique (286 Torbay Road) whose opening we covered in February.

So how are all these stores doing? Just fine apparently. They’re all playing on the same field, but they’ve all got something that sets them apart. Murphy says she gets customers referred by other stores, and she returns the favor if someone asks about a product she doesn’t carry.

High and growing demand is a big part of the kid store growth spurt, but it seems they also provide a kind of specialized social space. Sure, if the weather were better and there was a playground downtown, things might be different, but for now, these shops are where it’s at.

Subway: Fresh on Water

The old Byron’s location will soon be home to the second Subway franchise on Water Street. With an anticipated June 1st opening, the new location, at 188 Water Street, is primarily catering to downtown business lunches, and will feature Wi-Fi, leather chairs, and TV news. The old Subway—notable as the first Subway franchise in Canada—isn’t going anywhere. Sherri Butler of S.S. Subway Ltd. said the company has been looking for a new downtown location for a couple of years, and moved into the present space about a month ago. Plus, revelers at Liquid can look forward to 24-hour service.

Everybody’s Going to Love Raymonds

Jeremy Charles and Jeremy Bonia in the soon-to-be restaurant, Raymonds. Photo by Martin Connelly.

NEW UPSCALE RESTAURANT
Everybody’s Going to Love Raymonds

It won’t be open ‘til sometime in the fall, but folks are pretty excited about Raymonds, a collaboration between Jeremy Charles and Jeremy Bonia, the former head chef and house manager, respectively, at Atlantica. The duo are in the process of refurbishing the first floor of the old TI Murphy Center at 95 Water Street. The menu will be market cuisine-driven, which is to say, determined by what local producers and purveyors can offer. “We’re hoping for the same sort of success as Atlantica,” says Bonia, “But bringing everything to town, and doing it for ourselves.”

It’ll be fine dining, but it won’t be stuffy. “You need a shirt and shoes,” says Charles, “But that’s it.” The main floor will have a 50-person dining room, a lounge, and a smaller private function room. Prices will be comparable with other Water Street restaurants, and the view of The Narrows is breathtaking. The building is protected by the Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Association, but far from being hard to deal with, Charles says the association was happy that someone was going to restore the long dormant building. “Plus, we’re happy to be on the east end,” says Charles. “Parking is easier, and I think business for everyone is really picking up.”

Scanlan’s bar now open

The yellow door at Scanlan’s. Photo by Martin Connelly.

NEW BAR
Curious George and the Bar with the Yellow Door

Old patrons of the Victory Tavern or The Spur, at 164 Water Street, will be astounded by Scanlan’s, a bar reborn. “The reno took nine months, which I like to point out is also the gestation period of a human child,” says Diane Weston, formerly of Bar None, who owns Scanlan’s with her husband, Keith McInnis. McInnis did all the renovations himself, and the outcome is a beautiful space with clean, modern lines and exposed brick. The wood is dark, the leather is red, and the beer is plentiful.

Scanlan’s is trying to be a little bit of everything. “We don’t want to be labeled,” says Weston. “We wanted to make it a space where everyone can feel comfortable.” To that end, they offer good scotch, cheap wine by the bottle, and lots of India beer. With 80’s nights on Thursdays—$25 bar tab to the best-dressed boogier!—and live music on the weekends, Weston thinks the bar is off to a good start. “We’ve turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse.” A little bit of history may have gone to the dump when they put in brand new bathrooms, she says, but what can you do? Opens at 4pm, seven days a week.

Sheraton’s Swanky Shivery Spot

Bivver is a Newfoundland English verb, meaning “to shiver and shake,” especially with cold, but it’s now also a lounge on the main floor of the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland, at 115 Cavendish Square. They’ve been open about a month, and it’s a really cool space. (Get it?) Apparently the only circular bar in St. John’s, the lounge is divided in two concentric rings, with the bar separated from the dining area by an open wooden bird cage which is supposed to create a modicum of privacy.

There’s a full restaurant, and clientele is split about 50-50 between guests and locals. Don’t expect pub grub: the kitchen has put a strong emphasis on presentation and balanced portions, but they say you won’t leave hungry. A lobster and wine dinner special is $24.

Fortisgate?

I was going to blow the lid right off this story! After six months in this city by the sea, I had a shot at a real break. No more kid reporter stuff, no fluffy profiles—I was going to take on Fortis.

All of the businesses in the building at159-163 Water St., between The Travel Bug and the Candy Bouquet, had to leave three weeks ago at the behest of Fortis Properties, and rumour was it had to do with some dodgy building inspection. Given that it was one of the buildings slated for demolition in the now-withdrawn project proposal, that sounded like a pretty unlikely coincidence to me.

Salem Ali, owner of the First Western Boutique, set me straight. “The problem was with the fire suppression system,” he said, “The building is not suited to be occupied right now.”

“Yes, they were totally within their rights to close it,” said Gaylynne Lambert, who owns the Asian Variety. “They’ve got the building on fire watch, it’s in terrible shape.”

So yes, Fortis had good reasons to evict their tenants, but eviction is still a pretty draconian thing for a company to do, especially one that has a hand in so much of this city. What about my big story??

“They gave us formal notice in mid January,” Ali told me, “our lease was coming up, and they just said it wouldn’t be renewed.”

“It was a little nerve-wracking at first,” said Lambert. “But they worked with us and they did what they could. We ended up moving across the street to an open spot they had in the TD building. We’re thrilled with the new location.”

The new Asian Variety store is nice. It’s bright, and spacious, and it has just as much window frontage as the old store. Plus, is has air conditioning.

Fortis worked with Ali to move his store to another opening in the TD building, but it’s about half the size of his former location. The move was a chance to take stock, or in his case, move some stock, narrowing the selection. “We’re focusing on what sells most,” he said. “Blundstones, cowboy boots, and biking gear.” The First Western Boutique is the largest Blundstone provider in Atlantic Canada, and Ali doesn’t see that changing with the move.

He isn’t thrilled that he had to move, but all in all, he’s pretty positive about the experience.

“There is always the question, ‘Are they going to kick us out again?’ “ he said. “But they had good reasons, and they offered us this place. If people want quality footwear, they know where to come.”

Lambert points out that with the addition of her variety store and Ali’s boutique, the whole vibe of the TD building has changed. “It’s not just an office building anymore,” she said. “There’s us and the Café Mocha and the photo studio—it’s turned into a much more dynamic place.”

To hear Ali and Lambert tell it, getting kicked out of their old digs was, if not the best thing that ever happened, at least a positive experience.

Sign in the former Asian Variety location. Photo by Martin Connelly.

But then again, they’re still Fortis tenants. Marie Steffen, director of the School of Dance, is not. If anyone was going to give me the dirty details, she was it.

“Fortis were excellent. They worked with the fire commission to allow us to stay in the building until March 31st and provided us with alternate space for our music school. They kept me informed and were helpful,” she said.

So much for Fortisgate.

So what happens now? The kerfluffle-causing proposal has been withdrawn, but it doesn’t seem like Fortis wants to revamp the sprinkler system, or the rest of the building, just yet.

Gail Tucker, Manager of Corporate communications for Fortis wasn’t going to tip her hand. “There is no immediate change in the short-term with respect to this building; it will remain vacant,” she said. “As to the long-term status, that is something we will be evaluating over time.”

Business profiles along Harvey Road to Long’s Hill

Click to view PDF.

Craft fair empowers immigrant women

Photo by Martin Connelly

Zainab Jerrett doesn’t like to talk about herself. She’s the coordinator for the International Food and Craft Fair at the Holiday Inn in St. John’s on March 21st, organized by the Multicultural Women’s Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador (MWONL).

This is a year-round gig for Jerrett. The fair started as just a small expo about 15 years ago but, with new money from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA ) and the provincial government, it has been biannual since 2008. A former MWONL board member, Jerrett was happy to accept the coordinator position in 2008.

“It’s really a celebration of cultural diversity,” she says, “but it does a lot to promote business growth and empower women, especially immigrant women.”

Jerrett left a full time teaching position in Nigeria when she came to Newfoundland in 1992 as a PhD candidate in the Memorial Folklore department.

“I fell in love with the place, and the people,” she says. She opened her own business in 2004, the African Market Square in the the Torbay Road Mall, and has been helping other immigrants lay down roots ever since. “A lot of women were actively involved with trading in their home country,” she says, “So we offer classes in how to start and operate a business in Canada, especially with the regulations. We do our best to ensure newcomers don’t leave.” She insists that the fair is the result of many people’s collaboration, but also admits that she started lining up vendors back in November, a week after the last fair.

Jerrett can reel off businesses that started as fair vendors – the Afghan Restaurant and International Flavours are two good examples—which is a good indication that the business skills MWONL are trying to enhance often find their feet at the fair.

“This is all true,” says Jerrett, “But the fair is also about sharing culture, both from away and from here in Newfoundland. There will be food, and music, and a fashion show. There will be craftswomen from all over, but also from this province. We are passionate about promoting diversity.”

Thrift Row

The newly renovated Salvation Army on Kenmount Road has been open just over a month, and “things are great, just fabulous,” says Manager Jackie Howell. The million dollar investment has certainly turned the store around. Big windows let in natural light, the walls—well, those that aren’t covered with racks—are bright, and Howell says the place has been organized to “feel like a regular department store.” Six staff members process donations for eight hours a day, new stock is shelved on the hour, and all stock has a shelf life of 4 weeks, maximum.

It might not be as big as Value Village, but the selection, especially the VHS section, is good.

Business Owners Confident

The weather may be icy, but the climate for business in St. John’s is near-equatorial.

The St. John’s Board of Trade, which represents hundreds of businesses, recently released the results of its 2010 economic survey.

Eighty-three per cent of respondents said local economic conditions were ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’ More than 70 per cent said 2010 would be a better year than 2009 in overall performance, with about one-in-three saying it would be a better year in both profits and growth. Over half anticipated employment growth within their own business within 12 months.

Respondents named labour and skills shortages, transportation, economic diversification, and taxation or government spending as potential factors that may affect economic growth.

Local Critics Pan Pizza

Every pizza place insists it has the best in town, but one blogger decided to figure out which is most worthy of your dough.

The Gimongous Avalon Pizza Bracket—a blog written by a guy only identified as Ricky Bobby (two guys?)—pitted 17 local pizza joints against each other over four months.

The competitors were divided into four brackets based on location (centre city, Mount Pearl, etc). A panel of judges ordered from two places in a sitting, and their votes decided which competitor would move on. The winner in each bracket faced off against the winners in the others, and so on.

By the semi-finals, between Pizza Delight and Peter’s, the tasters were starting to feel like they had bitten off more than they could chew.

“Today’s competition is the second this week and will be the fourth time in two weeks we’ve had pizza,” Ricky Bobby wrote on Jan. 22. “It was quite difficult to hype up today’s competition as to put it blatantly we’re starting to get sick of pizza. The bracket has now become an obligation as we’ve come this far and eaten so much pizza that to stop now would be devastating.”

Luckily, they soldiered on. In the finals, down to Peter’s and Venice, the latter was awarded the title of “Pizza Champion of the World.”

In total, the group had pizza a meaty 32 times. Read about their journey at www.thegimongousavalonpizzabracket.blogspot.com —Kerri Breen

New snack bar

There’s some business buzz over on Freshwater Road, the fi-and-chi district. The former Johnny’s Fish and Chips location, next to perennial juggernaut Ches’s, is under construction after being on the market for years. Billy’s Eatery and Takeout is opening soon, according to the signage.

Other than that, it’s a slow time for new start ups. (If you’re opening a new business, drop us a line at storefront@thescope.ca.)

Booming baby business

Photo by maessive

A bump in the provincial birthrate is spawning new baby businesses. Will the boom last?

Our province’s birth rate, declining since the mid-sixties, is on the rebound. Some 4,905 babies were born in Newfoundland and Labrador last year, a seven per cent—or 300 baby—increase over 2007.

It seems Bellies and Bundles Maternity and Baby Boutique, among a handful of other newish St. John’s baby shops, picked a good time to be born.

The 700-square foot store specializes in natural baby products and comfortable, stylish office wear for moms-to-be, explains Ashley Russell, who co-opened the store in November with her best friend and cousin Lesley Reid.

“No one wants to wear a muumuu to work,” Russell laughs. “They’re professional employees and definitely want to be able to wear something they’ve been wearing all along, from pants to dresses to blouses.”

Neither of the pair have children of their own, but they were inspired by some of their pregnant friends who were having a hard time finding work clothing around town, Russell said.

They sell locally made items including baby slings, skincare products, hats and soon, baby booties. Russell says they are always looking for more local and Canadian items. They also offer environmentally friendly products for babies, like natural teething toys, and maternity accessories.

The buzz started while the bun was still in the oven. The Bellies and Bundles Facebook group had over 400 members long before the store opened.

So far, business is living up to the anticipation.

“We’ve been doing really well, we had a great month leading up to Christmas and we’re still going strong through the slow retail season, so that’s positive for sure,” Russell says.

But will the baby boom last—and will it be strong enough to keep the baby business booming?

The provincial government’s most generous projection is that the total fertility rate will increase from 1.35 in 2008 to 1.49 in 2025 “as economic conditions in the province continue to improve.”

Its worst projection is that the provincial fertility rate will decline to 1.11, which is more consistent with the longterm birthrate trend.

The province’s retail sales in clothing and accessories grew by more than $5 million from 2008 to 2009.

The shop—wheelchair and stroller friendly—is located in Coaker’s Meadow Plaza, Torbay Road.

Will St. John’s Pass Go?

Fans of St. John’s are sending a familiar message to the makers of Monopoly and the rest of the country: Canada doesn’t stop at Halifax.

The “Get St. John’s, N.L. on Monopoly Canada” Facebook group had over 5,400 members as of press time.

Hasbro, maker of the legendary real estate game, is having a nationwide contest to determine which 22 cities will make it onto its new Canadian Monopoly board.

Out of a list of pre-selected cities, including St. John’s, the 20 with the highest number of votes will make it onto the board. Voting closed on Feb. 7, but Hasbro took down the leader board in the final stretch of the contest to add some suspense.

The other two cities are wildcards, selected from the top nominated cities not on the pre-selected list. From Feb. 8 to 21 you can vote for these cities, one of which is Corner Brook. Vote at monopolyvote.ca

Since voting opened, interest peaked, then waned. St. John’s has fluctuated between fourth and fourteenth places, the latter more recently. The placement of the cities on the board is based on the number of votes it receives, so if St. John’s does win a spot, it may be a cheap one.

One commenter on the Facebook group wrote that she wants this edition to have a hunk of salt beef as a playing piece. Here’s hoping.

The winners will be announced later this year when the game comes out.

Revisiting the Battle of Atlantic Place

Back before Facebook groups and Photoshopped would-be cityscapes, a grassroots movement fought what it viewed as irresponsible development plans for downtown St. John’s.

In 1972 and 1973, the People’s Planning Programme (PPP) tried desperately to stop the building of Atlantic Place on Water Street.

Organizer Roger Bill’s 1974 master’s thesis — An Ethnography of the People’s Planning Programme— deals with the battle in detail. On March 22, 1972, then-mayor William Adam announced council had approved the concept for Atlantic Place, a building to be occupied primarily by the Canadian National Railway.

There was no public input before council approved the plans in principle and no city plan to guide development at the time.

Bill argues the approval had a lot to do with personal connections and Liberal party ties.

“The point that I would like to make is that the developer was a powerful man and enjoyed peculiar access to public decision making units,” the thesis states.

The PPP, and later ad hoc committees and other groups, demanded public input into this plan, which they argued threatened to mangle the downtown atmosphere and skyline.

By 1973, the Atlantic Place plans were for a building 50 per cent larger than council had initially approved, and the lobby effort to quash them intensified.

There was a protest, a petition, and calls for the provincial government to intervene.

“The mayor and city council said some unkindly things about … the PPP. We said some unkindly things about them. There was a genuine and mutual distrust,” Bill states.

Bill says the developer, Andrew Crosbie, did not acknowledge the opposition as legitimate. The group wanted a public hearing into the matter, but the mayor wouldn’t agree.

At the time, a TV station poll on the subject of downtown development was opposed 60-40.

Deputy Mayor Shannie Duff says the current debate over Fortis’s $75 million, 15-storey proposed office development is “getting up there in terms of Atlantic Place proportions.”

She was around during the days of movement against Atlantic Place and has been an advocate for urban planning in her more than 30 years in politics.

The issue is not just that these proposed buildings will violate the area’s 15-metre height restrictions, she says. City council’s decision on Fortis—a major downtown property owner—will set a precedent.

“I think people are understanding how critical this particular proposal is to the whole future of the downtown,” she says.

There are big differences between 1973 and 2010, though. In ’73 there was no municipal plan and no legislative requirements for public consultation.

“So you really had large frustration in the public that their voices couldn’t be heard,” Duff says.

She remembers large, angry meetings at city hall, demonstrations, and arts community involvement.

These days, the debate—mostly occurring online—doesn’t make as good a photo op, but it’s better informed, Duff says.

Though the city’s planning department recommended against it, Atlantic Place was approved in ‘73, and backed in part by city cash.

The efforts of the PPP failed, and the organization collapsed not long after the site that would house Atlantic Place had been demolished. Duff ran in the next possible election.

Covering costs

The latest incremental wage boost has stirred up an old debate: what about wages for artists?

When on January 1 minimum wage increased to $9.50 an hour in the province, it sparked a discussion on Facebook that the standard $5 cover charge for shows isn’t enough. Shows with a local lineup at downtown bars have generally cost $5 since at least the early 90s.

The Bank of Canada’s online inflation calculator says a ‘basket of goods’ that cost five bucks in 1990 should cost about $7.20 today.

It might not seem like a big increase, but multiply the difference by the number of show attendees, and that $2.20 or can translate into hundreds for fledgling musicians earning beer money, or veteran performers feeding their families. Or vice-versa.

Twenty years or more of the same cover charge means small scale concerts don’t get the bands as far as they did back then. Overhead costs—things like gas to get to the gig—have only increased.

The Bank of Canada’s estimate is not perfect, as of course inflation varies from province to province and the B of C uses the average.

The president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Musicians’ Association, Dan Rubin, says that cover isn’t the core issue when speaking of musicians’ survival.

“I think the whole notion of playing for the cover charge should be questioned,” Rubin says. “I think people should be very wary of doing that.”

His organization advocates for musicians to charge minimum rates and negotiate with bar owners so that what they get at the end of the night isn’t dependent on the gaggle of factors that can influence turnout. Bar owners, he says, should think of paying musicians as another operating expense.

Booze + video games

It’s now possible to stomp out goombas while you’re on the sauce downtown.

Ross Barney, owner and so-called chief geek at Hooked Up internet and gaming café, and Sandy Chisolm of CBTGs have teamed up to open Barcade.

Like a gaming café but with booze, these types of bars exist elsewhere (in fact there’s a Brooklyn vintage video game bar of the same name that runs on wind power).

“I’ve always wanted to combine video games and… you know, I’d love to have beer in one hand and a joystick in the other,” Barney says.

The bar features coin operated gaming on six networked Xbox 360s, as well as all the classics on the big screen, via emulator.

Located on the freshly painted top floor of CBTGs in Holdsworth Court, Barcade opened on New Year’s Eve.