Revolving Restaurant

So I have to ask; what is going on with this place? Last I heard it was shutting down and nothing was going on with it. How can a place with such amazing potential to be a goldmine restaurant (not to mention a tourist attraction like the one in Vancouver) just be sitting idle collecting dust and spiderwebbs? Please tell me I'm wrong.

The food is awful. It's okay for coffee and dessert.

They could have made it much better.

Then get some proper managers in there to bring it back to life and turn it around. Seriously, Winnipeg cannot afford to let places like this sit empty. It gives a really bad impression to tourists who crave facilities like this. Do you think Vancouver or Calgary would let their tower restaurants turn to sh1t and sit empty? Of course not. So why is this acceptable in Winnipeg?

agreed, the place needs to be reopened, not as the cheesy place it once was, but a new cooler version.

could it cut it as a small high end night club?

or maybe keep it as a restaurant but lose the tackyness? or is it that the average winnipeger would rather spend $12.00 on a salad/chicken fingers and fries than a nicer $30.00+ meal?

I know in tofino we were used to $100+ meals, but my disposable income was double what it is here.

It's just one restaurant. EdWin you need to chill a little man. Not everything is the end of Winnipeg.

I know. I know. It's just your opinion.

But keep it up and I will begin calling you ChLit...

Sorry, but big venues like the revolving restaurant sitting empty when is SHOULD be a HUGE tourist draw is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Again, you would NEVER see this kind of bs happening in Vancouver or Calgary. It's downright embarrassing.

And also, the Blue are losing, again (surprise, surprise) which is also pissing me off.

EdWin wrote:Sorry, but big venues like the revolving restaurant sitting empty when is SHOULD be a HUGE tourist draw is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Again, you would NEVER see this kind of bs happening in Vancouver or Calgary. It's downright embarrassing.

And also, the Blue are losing, again (surprise, surprise) which is also pissing me off.

Why don't you move away.....Oh wait, never mind.

Sorry to say but I'm with Edwin on this one. Most Winnipegers it seems place very little importance on having any sort of tourist draws, and then wonder why we get no tourists. It's a shame that one of our very few touristy type places went out of business due to a combination of bad management and lack of local support.

I've recently had family members in from BC and Ontario and to be honest there's really nothing to show them besides the Forks and what else? Our zoo is in shambles and barely worth the $3 admission. The closest we have to an amusement park is Tinkertown, and the closest we have to a waterpark (indoor or outdoor) is Fun Mountain....again both are a joke compared to what is available in either Calgary or Vancouver. We won't even bother comparing to Toronto or any cities of similar size or greater in the US.

In my opinion there is a lot of money in Winnipeg, but the people who have it refuse to spend it and still hold onto it as if they had none. This mentallity is part of the reason nothing really exciting ever get's built in this city. There just isn't a large enough segment of the population willing to open their wallets and keep these places in business.

Unless your one of the people with a cottage there is very little to do in the summer in this city that can't also be done in 90% of the urban centers with population over 50,000 in N.America. For example there are not many differrences in the entertainment options in Brandon or Grand Forks when compared to Winnipeg.

So...the revolving restaurant is closed and nobody knew....says a lot about Mr. Bergen's enterprise eh.

Seems this is what you get when you mix together a surplus of money, a lack of vision and an abundance of tackiness.

I understand that Winnipeg has, per capita, the most restaurants in Canada.
I understand that Winnipeg has, per capita, the most golf courses in Canada.
I understand that Winnipeg is the festival capital of Canada.
We have the RWB, the WSO, WAG, The Blue Bombers, Moose and Goldeyes.
We have the Forks and Assiniboine Park and Osborne Village and Corydon Avenue
We have Assiniboine Downs and the Exchange District and Birds Hill Park.
We have the IMAX theater, Rainbow Stage and the Manitoba Theater Centre.
We are a short drive from some of the most glorious beaches and fishing and camping in Canada.
We have Fun Mountain, Manitoba Children's Museum, Manitoba Theater for Young People.

That list took about 5 minutes to compile. I'm sure the sandbox members can list dozens of places you and your friends from BC and Ontario could have enjoyed while visiting Winnipeg.

Yeah, too bad your friends from BC and Ontario didn't have anything to do while here. Perhaps they should have visited friends that had a modicum of imagination and less of an attitude. Just sayin'.

Any restaurant that fails in Winnipeg, fails because:
1) the food is bad
2) the service is bad
3) the cost/benefit fails the test
It is that simple
A revolving restaurant should be able to charge an additional $5 per meal for revolving! Maybe more?
What are your favorite restaurants and what do you pay per meal?
Ours are:
1)Salsbury for breakfast- appx $8 per meal +tip
2)The Assiniboine Park Conservatory Star Grill for brunch , breakfast or lunch. They have a great 3 egg omelette at $9, plus coffee, plus taxes plus tip = $35 including tip.
3) Best meal and service at Bombolini's- Incredible veal and specials, but I always order lemon veal (not on the menu, but they make it up) at around #23 for the meal, we end up spending $75 with a bottle of $30 wine, and $100 including tip> we could do it for $75 if I limit my good wife to only 1 glass of wine, but I don't care about spending $75 or $100, sometimes , when the cash flow is good.
We ate yesterday at McNally Robinson , Praitie Ink, at Polo Park and the food and service are AAA . The prices are CHEAP- $21.16 for 2 plus $5 tip. My wife belongs to their club, so our meal was 10% off, not counting drinks, which we did not have. She ordered the fish, blackened (the fish that has disappeared in B.C.)
They serve damned HEALTHY proportions, no fench fried or fried crap, much to my disappointment! lol
Tuxedo Village Family Restaurant for their +55 meal- consistent , way too much food, I don't remember what we spend there per meal, appx $17 each including coffee ?
Others that are always good are Kelekis, Jj's for greasy unhealthy hamburders and fries. ( I am off fries apparently!)

rosencrentz wrote:Tuxedo Village Family Restaurant for their +55 meal- consistent , way too much food, I don't remember what we spend there per meal, appx $17 each including coffee ?

I don't qualify to eat at this restaurant. Perhaps one day Rosen you and I could go there and you can lend me some senior years?

Restaurants are great in this town but I can find plenty of places to eat when I'm travelling too. Not like we have a monoply on that.
Don't golf so number of golf courses really doesnt matter.
Most of the festivals are lame, my parents love Folkloram but they're 65.
I already listed the Forks as a plus. Assiniboine Park? What city doesn't have a major park? Osborne and Corydon as tourist draws? Please they're 2 neighbourhoods with a few patios. Again nothing major compared to any other city.
Wanna tell me exactly what makes the Exchange District so special? It get's pretty boring after 15 minutes of walking through it.
The Childrens Museum is a snoozer...my daughter went a few times and has no urge to ever return. I'm sure we'll take the youngest and she'll feel the same. Same with the MTYP. Tough to impress adults with either.
Fun Mountain is anything but fun once you've experienced anything better than a slip and slide.
Listing a provincial park is really grasping for it as they're not exactly unique to Winnipeg.
Glorious beaches? You mean the sewage infested ones on Lake Winnipeg...no thanks. There's plent of fishing and camping all across Canada. Again what makes ours so special? (This is coming from someone who loves to fish).
So from your list that leaves RWB, WSO, and the WAG if your into the fine arts. One CFL team if you like footbal and 2 farm team league teams for baesball and hockey (do the Moose even play in summer?) Oh, and the Imax which is decent when they show anything worth watching (Deep Sea 3D, any of the major blockbusters).
Try to look at it more objectively rather than defensively and you'll see we don't really have anything to seperate us from dozen's of other similar sized cities, and hundred's of smaller ones. It's no wonder we get almost no tourist other than a few American's who fly up for the fishing and hunting, and who only visit our city at the airport.
I'm not trying to be negative but ovewhelming optimism only ensures that nothing ever changes.

Rick and Ida of the Hotel Fort Garry (the two sharpest business-operators in Wpg) will soon take over that revolving retaurant whcih for years has been known only for surprisingly poor food. They HFG already annex's the Edison property for a gym access relationship. Ever been to the HFG Sunday Brunch? There is no better food, including display, on the planet and it's a pleasure even at $35/plate.

grumpy old man wrote:
I understand that Winnipeg is the festival capital of Canada.

Actually, Edmonton is the festival Capital of Canada.

I don't think Winnipeg is far behind, though.

Jondo wrote:Rick and Ida of the Hotel Fort Garry (the two sharpest business-operators in Wpg) will soon take over that revolving retaurant whcih for years has been known only for surprisingly poor food. They HFG already annex's the Edison property for a gym access relationship.

That would be great! I would LOVE to the this place become a huge draw, both locally and for tourists, in the city. With proper management, this place can really take off!

Bartron wrote:

EdWin wrote:Sorry, but big venues like the revolving restaurant sitting empty when is SHOULD be a HUGE tourist draw is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Again, you would NEVER see this kind of bs happening in Vancouver or Calgary. It's downright embarrassing.

And also, the Blue are losing, again (surprise, surprise) which is also pissing me off.

Why don't you move away.....Oh wait, never mind.

Wow. How clever you are.

Grumpyrom- Why would one expect that there would be something completely different in Winnipeg as compared to larger Cities? I don't understand the thinking!
With that thinking, which is fine, then I am glad that every one is on board to visit that uplifting new Museum, I cannot remember what its name is, that is being built at the forks. Can anyone remember what it is called, and what its purpose is aimed at? lol

Nobody's quite sure Rosie. They haven't really worked out the 'details' yet.

Rosie, my point is that there are very few things that make Winnipeg unique and in fact we are lacking many of the entertainment options of other similar sized cities. Especially when it comes to tourist draws.

So, if there are those that believe the revolving restaurant should be open, go for it!

Nope. That is for OTHERS to do. Some b1tch because that is what they do.

grumpyrom wrote: Rosie, my point is that there are very few things that make Winnipeg unique and in fact we are lacking many of the entertainment options of other similar sized cities. Especially when it comes to tourist draws.

Perhaps this is what you should have said first.

So now I challenge you. Show me what other cities of similar size have that Winnipeg does not.

Speaking of tourist draws. While stopped at a red light near Portage and Main yesterday, I saw a walking tour of buildings/facades being conducted for a group of Asian's all holding cameras and listening intently to the conductors who were pointing and speaking in front of one of the old buildings. Then everybodies focus shifted to the three filthy, drunken sloths who staggered up behind them and stood behind the group asking for what I assume was money. The group quickly got a tour of the inside of that building while the larger of the two female guides blocked the door to the party-of-three who would not let this prosperous opportunity pass without some extra persuasion - the "pay us and we'll leave" approach. That passive-aggressive tactic has increasingly become their tactic downtown. Although daylight and groups of people hamper that approach significantly. My point in sharing this is that it's funny to talk about tourism when this kind of activity is the norm downtown.

Grupyrom- Some day Winnipeg will advertise the "World famous" mosquito capital of the larger sized Cities.
I don't go anywhere any more, so I really do not know what or why any visitors would find interesting here , if they came from Vancouver, Edmonto, Calgary, Toronto, or Montreal?
Maybe if they were coming in from Lockport or Fisher Branch they might be interested?
Why should we expect to have something here that was unique?
The damned Museum of Killed People from WW2, is so depressing to me!
I love Winnipeg, but I am so old that I don't remember where I was yesterday, so it isn't a factor to me!
Winnipegers are from "Friendly Manitoba", and that is a huge plus, but the last few visitors that I sent to The North End to talk to the locals, never came back!
Wait, I was at Hillside Beach yesterday! Does that count as a suburb of Wpg?

grumpy old man wrote:Nope. That is for OTHERS to do. Some b1tch because that is what they do.

grumpyrom wrote: Rosie, my point is that there are very few things that make Winnipeg unique and in fact we are lacking many of the entertainment options of other similar sized cities. Especially when it comes to tourist draws.

Perhaps this is what you should have said first.

So now I challenge you. Show me what other cities of similar size have that Winnipeg does not.

This.

---

One of my grand schemes is for Winnipeg to drop the waterpark dream and build some kind of huge winter-funland outdoor mega complex that encourages people to embrace winter activities - tallest toboggan slide, for example, or some kind of luge that's safe for the average joe to maneuver. We have snow how many months out of the year and we're trying to bet on Fun Mountain? I don't think so.

There was some talk about a proposal to erect a kids' structure at Assiniboine Park, but I think that leaves a HUGE percentage of the population. Make an adult and kid-friendly structure or park that can function in both winter and summer (toboggan run turns into crazy carpet slide, for example) and then we can have success all around.

But then, cold weather is also not unique to Winnipeg. I don't really get it when people talk about "unique" attractions to a city. They can all be lumped under similar categories: museums and art galleries, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. I guess if you're looking to be the biggest or the "best," then you'll see a wide range of responses because that's the biggest is trumped every few years and the "best" is subjective.