203 replies to this topic

[Pam]

Ah, yes. Another lurker bound by immeasurable forces to offer their own side of the story. Welcome. You are one us now. /evil laughter

gumgum, did you mean evil laughter as in Vincent Price?

-P

[Pam]

Oh, he would dole it out all right. Believe me, I wish I had had a bucket on that patio.

And I agree there are many fine Canadian (and local) tipples, but sometimes I want a glass of real champagne, sake, or whatever.

[gumgum]

^^Yeesss! That is precisely what I meant. Hoo hoo ha ha ha ha...

[Rorschach]

Oh, he would dole it out all right. Believe me, I wish I had had a bucket on that patio.

And I agree there are many fine Canadian (and local) tipples, but sometimes I want a glass of real champagne, sake, or whatever.

There is an awesome Champagne from See ya Later winery in the Okanagan. I personally love French champagne and have paid the premium for it many times. However, the See ya Later version is still excellent. I have not seen a Canadian sake and I don't know if that would match up well with local fare -- but I will look for it. I'll bet there is one.

[G-Man]

Everyone see the article in the TC this week? There is now a Victoria Gin.

[Rorschach]

Everyone knows about all the great Canadian Blended Whiskey, but look at this:

http://www.nationalp....html?id=428836

Scotch from Nova Scotia.

[gumgum]

There needs to be a local liquor thread.

[Pam]

There is an awesome Champagne from See ya Later winery in the Okanagan. I personally love French champagne and have paid the premium for it many times. However, the See ya Later version is still excellent. I have not seen a Canadian sake and I don't know if that would match up well with local fare -- but I will look for it. I'll bet there is one.

Thanks -- I haven't tried the See Ya Later sparkler, but as the weather warms up, no doubt that I will. Thought you might like to know that there is a Canadian Sake, right across the water. I haven't tried it yet, but again, I plan to.

http://www.artisansakemaker.com/

[Holden West]

I like the idea of a local eatery adhering to a strictly local booze list although it's a big gimmicky. I have no doubt it could be accomplished, as the quality and variety is admirable but you have no idea how many American tourists order Coors Lite here and would be very annoyed at being upsold on some unfamiliar local brew no matter how enthusiastically we rave about it. Wharfside in particular can hardly afford to annoy tourists any further.

I think our ideas for fixing Wharfside would work. It's just that the owner seems pre-occupied with paying off his long list of creditors to worry about much else.

[G-Man]

^ I have never gone to another country and tried to order Molson or Labatts.

[Rorschach]

You're right about the tourists buying Coors Light. I've seen that at at every pub in town. Maybe they can gimmick the menu with all the standard American choices and create a cross-reference Canadian conversion table. Molson Canadian = Budweiser, Coors = Labatt's and so on. Same with the booze, Iceberg = Stolichnaya, and on down the line with all the comparable Canadian versions.

I'm with G-Man, whenever I travel I always try the local stuff.

[Holden West]

^ I have never gone to another country and tried to order Molson or Labatts.

Tha's true, but you are not the typical tourist, you have sophisticated tastes.

G-Man:

[G-Man]

That is from my recent trip to Ireland, I chose to wear the green jacket to try and fit in. Also you can see the Irish Whiskey in my hand.

[gumgum]

^Did you get the beats for dressing like that out there?

[VicHockeyFan]

Morrison said he has no plans to leave the hospitality business after the inn is out of his hands. When asked whether he is worried about his reputation as a business owner, Morrison said, "It's a little late for that."

http://www.timescolo...8872/story.html

Money troubles force closing of English Inn; employees, suppliers not paid

Curious case of Mr. Morrison: Businessman's trail of debt leaves employees and contractors in the cold, well-known properties near collapse

Financial problems have forced the closing of the English Inn and its well-regarded dining room.

After two months of not being paid, employees of the English Inn and Resort and the Rosemeade dining room in Esquimalt find themselves in an unenviable position: At the end of a very long list of people, businesses and governments owed money by troubled Victoria businessman Duncan Morrison.

Richard Luttman, a talented chef lured from Las Vegas to head the Rosemeade's kitchen, hasn't been paid since the beginning of December and is short thousands of dollars in outstanding wages.

So too is Cathy Samuel, who spent eight years employed by Morrison, working her way up to a managerial position at the inn. She says she confronted him about the $7,000 she's owed, but he accused her of stealing the money; shortly afterward, she went on stress leave and nearly missed a trip to India with her husband because she didn't have the money to pay for it.

Also out wages are Laurie Coleman's two teenage children who had jobs at the inn. In mid-December, Coleman realized her kids, 17-year-old Brandon, a dishwasher, and 15-year-old Kirsten, a housekeeper, hadn't seen a paycheque since Nov. 22.

"I'm phoning and asking and the staff said nobody's getting paid at this time," Coleman said in an interview in her modest Esquimalt home.

She confronted Morrison, demanding he pay her son. Morrison cut Brandon a cheque for $254.40 but when he cashed it the next day, the payment was stopped. Brandon's bank account was already overdrawn so the fee for the bounced cheque came out of his mother's account.

These are only the most recent complaints against Morrison, owner of the inn and of downtown's Wharfside Eatery, former owner of the Dominion Hotel, and a businessman whose years of financial problems seem to be catching up to him.

Luttman confirmed the Rosemeade's three cooks and two dishwashers and most of the inn staff have not been paid since early December. Staff was told Dec. 31 that the acclaimed Rosemeade dining room was closing indefinitely, he said.

They've been in the dark since then, some not even able to get the record of employment documents that qualify them for employment insurance.

"Nobody really knows what's going to happen," Luttman said. "I just told my guys to start looking for new work."

On a bright afternoon, Morrison, dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket, walks around the English Inn and Resort -- formally the Olde England Inn -- and conjures up the dreams he once had for the Tudor-style estate on Lampson Street.

He shows off the $1.5-million state-of-the-art kitchen, rubbing his palm over the burgundy bone china tiles and stainless steel appliances.

"It has everything a talented chef would require in this kitchen," he says.

Outside in the courtyard he brags about a set of delicate stone steps that appear to be floating. "You could buy a brand new car for what this cost."

Morrison, who agreed to be interviewed but refused to have his photograph taken, finally makes his way back inside, to the extravagantly decorated Rosemeade fine dining restaurant. "This is where I threw everything I had and then some."

"I spent millions we had and millions we didn't on this," he said of the inn. "The property was meant to be developed into one of the country's finest luxury properties. I didn't have the horse power to get it done. The tank ran empty."

In September 2007, Morrison struck a deal with Mandalay Developments and Calgary-based Bellstar Developments and agreed to sell the Inn for $8.5 million.

The partners, who took on the name Rosemeade Limited Partnership, had $80-million plans to turn the 1.75-hectare property into a four-star, 103-unit strata hotel. In January 2008, they backed out because of financing troubles...

http://www.timescolo...8872/story.html

[Holden West]

^Oh, my God, that Morrison. I am overdosing on schadenfreude right now.

[victorian fan]

Does this include Anne Hathaway's Cottage?

[VicHockeyFan]

Does this include Anne Hathaway's Cottage?

Yes.

[yodsaker]

How do guys like this get away with stiffing people, running up mountains of bad debts and general financial irresponsibility/incompetence?
He's well-known around town but somehow people would lend to him when other people can't even get a car loan.

[spanky123]

How do guys like this get away with stiffing people, running up mountains of bad debts and general financial irresponsibility/incompetence?
He's well-known around town but somehow people would lend to him when other people can't even get a car loan.

My friend you obviously live under a rock!

There are lots of well known, irresponsible, incompetent people in town who routinely stiff their employees and suppliers. People keep lending them money and entering into business deals because they are greedy and think that they will at least be able to get their money out before the next wave of poop hits the fan.