The big downtown development announcement this summer was an impressive new 20-story hotel/office/retail building across from the MTS Centre at Portage & Donald. (OMC / Me) In the comments of my post on that, fellow blogger Bryan Scott wondered about the future of the Alabama Building and the tenants within. Well, now we know ...
I picked up some information today as I was ordering my clubhouse sandwich at the Wagon Wheel restaurant. The owners of the Wagon Wheel were informed yesterday that their building on Hargrave would be torn down. The Alabama Building containing Bryan's favorite Ethiopean restaurant on Ellice and Hargrave will disappear as well, to make way for a parkade.
But fear not my hungry friends. Arrangements are being made to revive at least the Wagon Wheel. I don't know about the other tenants, but I am sure they have all been made offers of some kind as well. The new location is up in the air at the moment. It could be in a storefront on Donald in the primary building, or in a retail location on the main floor of the parkade. In anycase, the lady at the Wagon Wheel seemed pretty confident that the diner would continue on, which is good news for anybody who likes clubhouse sandwiches. Perhaps they can add a few more booths and a washroom.
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3 comments:
That is good news. And in the NEW Wagon Wheel I hope they'll install tables and chairs that I can sit in comfortably...
Was there a change in plans? The original plan was to leave the Alabama building in place for at least the short term, and the image here seems to indicate that. Also, a new tenant (Highbrow Books) recently leased space in the Alabama block... would they have done that if they knew they would have to leave in half a year?
@Grumpy: they need to keep the old-timey diner format!!
@Anon: My info is based on the owner of the Wagon Wheel. She could be wrong about the Alabama building.
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