76 replies to this topic

[Bob Fugger]

Turning dives into divas
New Saanich restaurant latest in line of makeovers

By Darron Kloster, Times Colonist

Jeffrey and Chris Wilson were turning dives into divas long before real estate makeovers went prime time.

The Victoria brothers have been transforming barrooms and restaurants for decades and their latest effort on a rural stretch of road in Saanich farm country shows they're getting pretty darn good at what they do.
"We're really in love with this one," Jeffrey Wilson said yesterday at the new Saanich Roadhouse Bar & Grill -- a stunning $1-million rebuild of what used to be Mexican restaurant El Rancho and in previous lives the Prospector and the Cock & Pheasant at the corner of West Saanich and Prospect Lake roads.
[...]

I can tell you quite definitively that they didn't sell the Fernwood Inn at anywhere close to "more than $4 million." I don't get why Kloeter essentially gives these guys a free pass - they are some of scuzziest characters in the hospitality industry.

[VicHockeyFan]

I can tell you quite definitively that they didn't sell the Fernwood Inn at anywhere close to "more than $4 million." I don't get why Kloeter essentially gives these guys a free pass - they are some of scuzziest characters in the hospitality industry.

They are what they are. A lot of restaurant/bar owners cut corners, cheat staff. It goes with the business sometimes. Matt McNeil is praised as a hero, but his staff all make minimum wage, and have to share tips with management.

[Bernard]

Reporting on problems with people running a private business is very difficult. Hard to get the evidence to put into an article, very few people will come forward to speak out.

Many places in this city get by with lower quality because there really is not the competition here. People are willing to accept mediocre food and tolerable service

[aastra]

No competition? Victoria has a tremendous number of restaurants for a city its size.

Is that also why there are so many terrible restaurants in Vancouver?

Edit: this guy investigates the various "most restaurants per capita" claims:
http://www.articleal..._108023_26.html

[Bernard]

No competition? Victoria has a tremendous number of restaurants for a city its size.

Is that also why there are so many terrible restaurants in Vancouver?

We may have a lot of restaurants, but we have very few that produce high quality food at a decent price.

I can think of at best a handful of restaurants in this area that work with a season menu and develops specials based on what is cheap and in season. Look at any salad you order in the next few weeks - very few of them will be from produce picked on the day you eat it.

I think the problem comes from the fact there seems to be a lack of passionate restaurateurs in Victoria - there are some, but not nearly enough. Many owners have no real passion for food and are in it to make money. Not that there is anything wrong with someone doing that, it just does not make for a good restaurant.

In Vancouver there is more variation in the quality of restaurants, but there are a lot more reasonable priced restaurants there than here and not jut because they have a lot of restaurants.

I would like to be wowed when I go out to eat, I would like to get food that is better than what I can make at home. I rarely find this in Victoria

[julienne]

Their mother, by the way -- 72-year-old Carola Wilson -- still makes meat loaf and meatballs for their menus.

This is the only thing that might coerce me into going.

[Holden West]

My mother in law went there for her Birthday dinner and was sadly disappointed in the high prices and small portions. Pub decor but with fancy restaurant prices. They made reservations are were sat at the bar instead of a table. Service was adequate. She said she would never recommended it or go back. Too bad it is a nice looking place. We tried going once but there was a 45 min wait, so ended up at Med Grill in Saanich and had an amazing meal. Got to love that Tuscan Plate for $20

[julienne]

Sadly, adequate and average are descriptives that come up a lot when dining out in Victoria.
Maybe we as diners have to become more demanding.

[spanky123]

Reporting on problems with people running a private business is very difficult. Hard to get the evidence to put into an article, very few people will come forward to speak out.

The TC has always been a very pro-business, pro-community newspaper. I don't recall ever reading a negative story (at least where the writer was still employed afterwards) until well after the police and/or lawyers were involved and all of the "evidence" was in the public domain.

The TC is in business like lots of others in this town and you don't get very far making waves or upsetting people.

[VicHockeyFan]

The TC has always been a very pro-business, pro-community newspaper. I don't recall ever reading a negative story (at least where the writer was still employed afterwards) until well after the police and/or lawyers were involved and all of the "evidence" was in the public domain.

The TC is in business like lots of others in this town and you don't get very far making waves or upsetting people.

They gave Mings a poor review today.

[spanky123]

They gave Mings a poor review today.

3 out of 5 stars isn't a poor review!

[G-Man]

I think Victoria has great restaurants for its size perhaps people need to get out more. Also there are many great places with reasonable prices unless of course someone is expecting a full dinner for 8.95 which you can't get many places anywhere in NA anymore.

Best value for money IMO in Victoria is still Brasserie L'Ecole but there are many other too.

[Bob Fugger]

I think the problem comes from the fact there seems to be a lack of passionate restaurateurs in Victoria - there are some, but not nearly enough. Many owners have no real passion for food and are in it to make money. Not that there is anything wrong with someone doing that, it just does not make for a good restaurant.

I couldn't disagree more with that assessment. Given how much of a crapshoot opening a restaurant is, the argument has to be that they are opening it out of passion and not for financial gain. I would argue that a lot of folks put their heart and soul into places - maybe they're just not gourmets (i.e., they don't know how to cook). There are far easier ways to make money in this city than opening an eatery.

And to further dispel your claim, have a look at the Fernwood Village itself - The Fernwood Inn, Stage, Cornerstone Caffe, Pink Sugar and the new little bistro that the ex-chef of OBM opened (name escapes me) - I think you'd have a heck of a fight on your hands if you suggested to these folks that they weren't passionate about what they do.

[victorian fan]

The oft-quoted "Victoria boasts the second highest number of restaurants per capita in North America".

[gumgum]

Victoria has some great restaurants. As G-man says, people just have to get out there more and broaden their surroundings.

[spanky123]

I travel extensively and I also dine out several times a week in Victoria.

I would say that there are a number of good restaurants here but not too many great ones compared to what what I have experienced in NY, LA or other major centres.

[VicDuck]

I travel extensively and I also dine out several times a week in Victoria.

I would say that there are a number of good restaurants here but not too many great ones compared to what what I have experienced in NY, LA or other major centres.

Maybe because Victoria is not a major city.

[julienne]

They gave Mings a poor review today.

I guess the portions were too small?

[Rob Randall]

I see it's been on the market for a year now. I have not eaten here although I was interested watching it being built.

http://issuu.com/nai...howFlipBtn=true

[VicHockeyFan]

I see it's been on the market for a year now. I have not eaten here although I was interested watching it being built.

http://issuu.com/nai...howFlipBtn=true

It's been on the market since before they opened. I have in my possession a 50+ page prospectus outlining all kinds of operating projections even before it opened.