96 replies to this topic

[Willa]

Met some friends for drinks and appetizers there last night. I hear it used to be something called George & Dragon, and was a bit of a dive... I'd never been, so I don't know, but the new pub is great. It's lovely inside, has a long list of local beers on draught, and the appies were good.

Anyone else been? I understand it's only been open for a couple of weeks.

[baz]

yeah i checked it out with a friend last night, food was greta an the service was pretty fast..
such a massive improvment that the G&d

[simon]

Super busy on a friday evening!
Music a bit loud, but overall fairly good.

[Amanday]

It's lovely inside, has a long list of local beers on draught, and the appies were good.

Anyone else been? I understand it's only been open for a couple of weeks.

Long list? Last I was there it was just VIB, which is probably the most boring local beer in town! Perhaps they've extended the selection.

[simon]

^Nope. Just VIB & Granville Island.
Perfectly good beer, but not especially exciting.

[Walter Moar]

Well, it is the Boom Boom Room people after all...

[Jada]

Uh-oh. The Boom Boom Room people had that other restaurant that didnt do too well.. didnt last more than a year, I would say.

[Amanday]

What other restaurant?

Yeah, the beer list was lacking when I went there. Interior is nice, a lot of restoration has been done. good pre/post belfry stop, but I won't be venturing out of my way to go there anytime soon!

[Galvanized]

I checked this place out on Friday, not bad. They did a nice job fixing the place up. They food service was super fast and wasn't bad. My beef about the place is the poor beer selection and no Guinness on tap! Though they did have Strongbow on tap which is nice since most places have Merridale these days.

[gumgum]

No Guiness?!
That's a sin.

[FunkyMunky]

I was chatting with a friend yesterday who tells me the business has changed hands for a second time (He knows one of the new investors). Apparently the beer selection is changing and Phillips will be on tap shortly if not already. Other changes are also planned which will be rolled-out over the next couple of months.

[VicHockeyFan]

I was chatting with a friend yesterday who tells me the business has changed hands for a second time (He knows one of the new investors). Apparently the beer selection is changing and Phillips will be on tap shortly if not already. Other changes are also planned which will be rolled-out over the next couple of months.

Yup. The Wilson Bros. flipped it for a pretty quick buck, within 3 months of owning it, for in the neighbourhood of $250K profit.

Nice work.

[Ms. B. Havin]

^ That's really unusual, isn't it? For a restaurant to be that "good" that fast that it can be sold for a big profit?

[Holden West]

Especially since the first few weeks are an expensive write off due to training, food and beverage waste, staffing etc.

[G-Man]

It always seems busy and remember that it has been the local pub so it isn't really a new business.

[Ms. B. Havin]

Not sure this belongs here ("Fernwood Inn"), but it's about the Wilson Brothers (who did own & then flip the Fernwood Inn), and who are now opening The Roundhouse in Saanich, & also opening Barcode (what used to the Jungle Room). See All carnivores are welcome[/url:8496f], in today's T-C:

All carnivores are welcome
Saanich Roadhouse will feature barbecue-style dining
Carla Wilson, Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2007

When the new Saanich Roadhouse opens, patrons will be able to watch their meal cooking on a spit.

"Carnivores welcome," Jeffrey Wilson says cheerfully. "It will be all about meat."

Wilson and his brother, Chris, are renovating the former El Rancho Restaurant at 5285 West Saanich Rd. to convert it into a Texas-style barbecue restaurant serving products from 12 microbreweries.

This is just one of several ventures they are working on or have been involved with in recent months. The brothers have many years of experience in local nightclub and restaurant businesses.

They are planning a log cabin look and a wrap-around porch with 100 seats indoors. Picnic tables will be outdoors on the one-acre-plus property, Jeffrey Wilson said yesterday. "It will be very, very rustic."

Six types of ribs will be sold, along with a real meat-lover's special: a two-pound steak.

Getting that building ready for business late this fall will likely cost between $150,000 and $200,000, he said.

Meanwhile, the Wilsons are looking at an Aug. 24 opening for Barcode in the former Jungle Room at the Victoria Plaza Hotel on Pandora Avenue.

Major renovations have been ongoing at the 250-seat night spot that will feature hip-hop and worldbeat music DJs, Wilson said.

Barcode will be open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., he said.

The Wilsons shut their Boom Boom Room club at 1208 Wharf St. this month, selling their lease and liquor licence to Matt MacNeil, owner of the Irish Times on Government Street and the Penny Farthing Public House on Oak Bay Avenue.

For now the Wharf Street space is closed, said MacNeil. "We are just getting underway with plans."

Jeffrey and Chris Wilson sold their Fernwood Inn in April to a group of 14 investors. They had bought the George and Dragon last summer for $1.4 million, taking it through a major renovation.


© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
[url="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=68e2882f-b18e-4129-96e5-8696377786f3"]http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolo ... 96377786f3

[Holden West]

Very interesting. 1208 Wharf has long had a bit of a rough spot. I'm sure Matt MacNeill will run a tight ship. The Regent Hotel people will appreciate it I'm sure.

How many different restaurants have occupied that space in the Victoria Plaza Hotel? I'd guess close to a dozen.

[VicHockeyFan]

Very interesting. 1208 Wharf has long had a bit of a rough spot. I'm sure Matt MacNeill will run a tight ship. The Regent Hotel people will appreciate it I'm sure.

How many different restaurants have occupied that space in the Victoria Plaza Hotel? I'd guess close to a dozen.

The restaurant or the nightclub? Night Club: Julies, Heaven 17 (soon changed to Heaven), Bar Victoria, Jungle.

[Galvanized]

^What about that short lived one that was there that had nothing but black lights? What was that called? I know it was around after Julies but it wasn't called Heaven.

[VicHockeyFan]

Oh ya, before Julies it was Deca-dance.

^ I'm not sure Galvanized, Heaven definately had black lights that really lit up its bright-patterned carpet.