49 replies to this topic

[amor de cosmos]

.... I think that's what it's called anyway. It's under Ric's Grill on Gov't @ Courtney. I walked past there today & didn't expect to see anything different on Government so I'm just trying to remember off the top of my head. There were papers on the windows saying they'll serve real Italian-style pizza (super thin & lightly-topped, so 1 person can finish the whole thing), crepes & gelato. If there's something saying when they'll be open I missed it, but I think they've got a little ways to go.

edit: yep, it's called True North Gelato http://www.truenorthgelato.ca/

[jklymak]

The real question is will they charge $7.50 for a gellato? Hopefully they are far enough down Govt that the answer is no!

[julienne]

.... There were papers on the windows saying they'll serve real Italian-style pizza (super thin & lightly-topped, so 1 person can finish the whole thing), crepes & gelato.

Whoa. What a concept. Cutting edge.

[Holden West]

IIRC, gelato in Europe typically costs one Euro per scoop so hopefully this stuff is priced low enough you don't need a line of credit to purchase. I doubt it though.

[Caramia]

Oooh awesome, after hearing you guys all go on about this NY style pizza, I've become terribly curious!

[amor de cosmos]

I hope they bake the pizzas the NYC way also, scorching them for just ~2mins in a 1100-degree oven.

[jklymak]

IIRC, gelato in Europe typically costs one Euro per scoop so hopefully this stuff is priced low enough you don't need a line of credit to purchase. I doubt it though.

Yeah, in Italy I lived on the stuff as an undergrad. It was cheap. Not sure why the shops here charge so much aside from tourist gouging.

[Rob Randall]

I've had gelato that cheap in the centre of Venice and it doesn't get more touristy than that.

[amor de cosmos]

Not sure why the shops here charge so much aside from tourist gouging.

Makes sense to me... I've read that people think wine tastes better if they paid more for it; I wonder if gelato is the same.

[VicHockeyFan]

Yeah, in Italy I lived on the stuff as an undergrad. It was cheap. Not sure why the shops here charge so much aside from tourist gouging.

Tourist gouging? What does that mean? People pay whatever they want to pay for most things, or they don't buy it. Tourists are no different.

[jklymak]

Fair enough - "gouging" is perhaps the wrong term. I was just curious if the markup is really high (because tourists are willing to pay it) or is it really that expensive to produce gelato in Victoria? Maybe they have "local's" pricing like Wharfside.

[amor de cosmos]

Fair enough - "gouging" is perhaps the wrong term. I was just curious if the markup is really high (because tourists are willing to pay it) or is it really that expensive to produce gelato in Victoria?

Ice cream is made with cream, gelato is made with water. Unless they use $50/litre "designer water" imported from some obscure place I wouldn't be surprised if a gelato place actually could sell their stuff for $1/scoop & still make a profit.

[Ms. B. Havin]

People pay whatever they want to pay for most things, or they don't buy it. Tourists are no different.

That's actually not true (and geez, I know people will want references/ citations, but find 'em yourselves, I don't have the time to do it right now). It's not true in the sense that people on vacation (long or short, doesn't matter) go way beyond their typical spending parameters, and will spend money much more freely. They will spend more on item-X than they would "at home," and they will buy more items (item-X and item-Y-Z, then starting over again at A) than they would "at home."

I suspect it has something to do with carnival time -- google Bakhtin, that sort of thing. You go outside your usual limits. Like at a party. So the term "tourist gouging" is actually very appropriate -- it happens because it can happen.

[VicHockeyFan]

That's actually not true (and geez, I know people will want references/ citations, but find 'em yourselves, I don't have the time to do it right now). It's not true in the sense that people on vacation (long or short, doesn't matter) go way beyond their typical spending parameters, and will spend money much more freely. They will spend more on item-X than they would "at home," and they will buy more items (item-X and item-Y-Z, then starting over again at A) than they would "at home."

I suspect it has something to do with carnival time -- google Bakhtin, that sort of thing. You go outside your usual limits. Like at a party. So the term "tourist gouging" is actually very appropriate -- it happens because it can happen.

I think you missed my words. I said they will pay "what they want to pay" - and at the time and place they pay the money. It's no ones fault if they pay more than they would at home because they are overtaken by some kind of "on vacation" induced euphoria.

[Ms. B. Havin]

Oh, ok: in that absolute sense (not contextual sense), you're right. But contextually, you can easily construct situations to "gouge" tourists, because they are predisposed to spend more. Whether we should "judge" that in any way isn't of particular interest to me (or, I suspect, you) in this instance. If a tourist wants to pay x-number of dollars for an ice cream, that's fine. It's also fine if locals can eat the occasional cone without working themselves into vacation-induced euphoria! :-) Otherwise they might have to bring their cartons of Island Farms' best creamery product to Government Street and it from the box. What a drag!

PS/Edit: I mean "what a drag" in the sense that it would be so unstylish not to cut a bella figura on the strada with a gelato, and instead sit hunched over like Uriah Heep (?) with a box of supermarket ice cream. It's the spectacle of the thing -- you have to make it possible to participate, otherwise you get sterility, or something nearly as bad (unstylish ugliness). Which gets us back to how much things cost...

[VicHockeyFan]

Oh, ok: in that absolute sense (not contextual sense), you're right. But contextually, you can easily construct situations to "gouge" tourists

I think you can set prices to maximize profit - that's what any company does. Indeed public companies have shareholders that demand it. If you are an airline and a particular flight 30 days out is 98% booked, you'd be crazy not to increase the price for that last 2% capacity. It's all supply and demand, folks. You know, Economics 101. And let me tell ya, ECON was the only thing I was good at and enjoyed at UVic way back in the mid-80's.

Anyway, what was this thread about again?

[Holden West]

I'll buy a gelato for the first person to incorporate Post-Keynesian macroeconomics into the frozen treat debate.

[amor de cosmos]

I'll buy a gelato for the first person to incorporate Post-Keynesian macroeconomics into the frozen treat debate.

Even if it costs $7.50?

[VicHockeyFan]

Even if it costs $7.50?

Hey, if that is what the market will bear, so be it. Holden will pay the going rate.

[jklymak]

Let me rephrase my hope: I hope that the profit margins in gelato attract more competitors into the field like True North who compete and drive the market price down to its optimum level (say $3 for two scoops). What I'd really like is some gelato!