That wasn't them testing crown lighting up there in the past so much as it was them turning on some utility lights so they could work.
42
Toronto One Bloor East | 257.24m | 76s | Great Gulf | Hariri Pontarini
- Thread starter iSlutsky
- Start date
42
Cadogan
New Member
That you have fought? Can you elaborate, please?
How do other buildings manage to light their crowns, such as Aura, CIBC Centre, and eventually, The One?
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Aura ruined things for everyone (in the City's eyes), CIBC is a commercial building where the developer will control management and operations in perpetuity, and The One doesn't have lights yet.
TheSix
Active Member
The lighting on Aura is the only thing that building has going for it. Thankfully it has that.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
A Torontonian Now
Senior Member
This building looks great in the sun. Taken today by a friend:
Benito
Senior Member
Some balcony glazing being replaced.
Benito
Senior Member
I believe that is taped over broken glazing that they still haven't fixed.
zang
Senior Member
It appears McEwan's at this location is not long for this world.
McEwan is citing it as one of its biggest losses in his empire, and is hoping to ditch the lease.
Not surprising, given any money making that was happening there prior to Covid was likely due to lunching office workers. Any time I've been in there since it's been dead. The butcher and cheese counters are almost always unstaffed, and every bit of meat is now individually vac-packed. (a sign they aren't being cut to order anymore).
What's not mentioned in the article is that months prior to the pandemic, Mark had shifted a bunch of the food prep and production for their restaurants and the other McEwan's to this location. That will all need to shift back to the restaurants and the other McEwan's location, which I'm told has a much smaller prep kitchen. This will no doubt lead to bigger staffing costs at those locations and make his problems worse there.
"The company has not explored a sale of the business to a third-party, the court documents say. In his affidavit, Mr. McEwan stated his continuing involvement as chef and operator is integral to the survival of the business, and that he would likely not remain involved under another owner."
Funny that he only owns 45% of McEwan Enterprises then... I'll also note that when I worked at One, it was rare to see McEwan in the kitchen, ever. He never once worked the pass on a shift during the year I was there. I only ever saw him if he came in to talk to Drew (Ellerby, Exec Chef) or Ben (Heaton, chef-de-cuisine). Even then, Mark was (at the time) living just floors above the restaurant at his condo at the Hazelton. I saw him more times driving out of the building in his Maserati than ever in the kitchen.
Also potentially worth noting is the connection between the Buca empire and McEwan's; Rob Gentile was chef-de-cuisine at One before leaving by surprise to start Buca, just before I started working for McEwan. There was a lot of animosity towards him for that, but in reading about the problems and toxicity within the Buca Empire, and knowing what things were like at One, it would seem it spread or was fomented within McEwan walls.
McEwan seemed infalliable in the realm of Toronto kitchen empires, but like Jamie Kennedy, Claudio Aprile, Rob Gentile and others it seems this may soon be coming to an end.
www.theglobeandmail.com
McEwan is citing it as one of its biggest losses in his empire, and is hoping to ditch the lease.
Not surprising, given any money making that was happening there prior to Covid was likely due to lunching office workers. Any time I've been in there since it's been dead. The butcher and cheese counters are almost always unstaffed, and every bit of meat is now individually vac-packed. (a sign they aren't being cut to order anymore).
What's not mentioned in the article is that months prior to the pandemic, Mark had shifted a bunch of the food prep and production for their restaurants and the other McEwan's to this location. That will all need to shift back to the restaurants and the other McEwan's location, which I'm told has a much smaller prep kitchen. This will no doubt lead to bigger staffing costs at those locations and make his problems worse there.
"The company has not explored a sale of the business to a third-party, the court documents say. In his affidavit, Mr. McEwan stated his continuing involvement as chef and operator is integral to the survival of the business, and that he would likely not remain involved under another owner."
Funny that he only owns 45% of McEwan Enterprises then... I'll also note that when I worked at One, it was rare to see McEwan in the kitchen, ever. He never once worked the pass on a shift during the year I was there. I only ever saw him if he came in to talk to Drew (Ellerby, Exec Chef) or Ben (Heaton, chef-de-cuisine). Even then, Mark was (at the time) living just floors above the restaurant at his condo at the Hazelton. I saw him more times driving out of the building in his Maserati than ever in the kitchen.
Also potentially worth noting is the connection between the Buca empire and McEwan's; Rob Gentile was chef-de-cuisine at One before leaving by surprise to start Buca, just before I started working for McEwan. There was a lot of animosity towards him for that, but in reading about the problems and toxicity within the Buca Empire, and knowing what things were like at One, it would seem it spread or was fomented within McEwan walls.
McEwan seemed infalliable in the realm of Toronto kitchen empires, but like Jamie Kennedy, Claudio Aprile, Rob Gentile and others it seems this may soon be coming to an end.
Celebrity chef Mark McEwan’s restaurant and gourmet foods business files for creditor protection, citing cash crunch
Toronto-based McEwan Enterprises was struggling even before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in temporary closings and reduced traffic at its locations, court documents show
www.theglobeandmail.com
Last edited:
Blovertis
Active Member
Not that I'm any retail guru, but even before the pandemic I thought that below-ground, south-of-Bloor MacEwan's was an ill-advised location and would have a hard time competing against Eataly and Pusateris.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
I'm not even sure the location is to blame. I lived nearby and went a few times, and it was always lacking product. Lots of empty space and shelves. I work next to the one up at Don Mills and expected a similar experience but it never seemed to match the Don Mills location.
Northern Light
Superstar
The area was fine, the specific spot was terrible.
Northern Light
Superstar
It appears McEwan's at this location is not long for this world.
McEwan is citing it as one of its biggest losses in his empire, and is hoping to ditch the lease.
Not surprising, given any money making that was happening there prior to Covid was likely due to lunching office workers. Any time I've been in there since it's been dead. The butcher and cheese counters are almost always unstaffed, and every bit of meat is now individually vac-packed. (a sign they aren't being cut to order anymore).
What's not mentioned in the article is that months prior to the pandemic, Mark had shifted a bunch of the food prep and production for their restaurants and the other McEwan's to this location. That will all need to shift back to the restaurants and the other McEwan's location, which I'm told has a much smaller prep kitchen. This will no doubt lead to bigger staffing costs at those locations and make his problems worse there.
"The company has not explored a sale of the business to a third-party, the court documents say. In his affidavit, Mr. McEwan stated his continuing involvement as chef and operator is integral to the survival of the business, and that he would likely not remain involved under another owner."
Funny that he only owns 45% of McEwan Enterprises then... I'll also note that when I worked at One, it was rare to see McEwan in the kitchen, ever. He never once worked the pass on a shift during the year I was there. I only ever saw him if he came in to talk to Drew (Ellerby, Exec Chef) or Ben (Heaton, chef-de-cuisine). Even then, Mark was (at the time) living just floors above the restaurant at his condo at the Hazelton. I saw him more times driving out of the building in his Maserati than ever in the kitchen.
Also potentially worth noting is the connection between the Buca empire and McEwan's; Rob Gentile was chef-de-cuisine at One before leaving by surprise to start Buca, just before I started working for McEwan. There was a lot of animosity towards him for that, but in reading about the problems and toxicity within the Buca Empire, and knowing what things were like at One, it would seem it spread or was fomented within McEwan walls.
McEwan seemed infalliable in the realm of Toronto kitchen empires, but like Jamie Kennedy, Claudio Aprile, Rob Gentile and others it seems this may soon be coming to an end.
Celebrity chef Mark McEwan’s restaurant and gourmet foods business files for creditor protection, citing cash crunch
Toronto-based McEwan Enterprises was struggling even before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in temporary closings and reduced traffic at its locations, court documents show
It won't be ending.
He and Fairfax are staying in business and proposed to the Court to acquire all the assets of the existing business except the Yonge/Bloor store and Fabbrica at Don Mills.
From what I understand, pre-pandemic One was still a cash cow.
It grossed nearly 13M the year it opened and may have gotten close to 20M in its peak-year.
The Don Mills store has acted in a commissary capacity to the restaurants, that was part of the business model for that store.
Here's a link to my post over in the grocery thread covering this more fully:
Downtown Grocery Store List (current + proposed)
Sobeys at Dupont is closing October 7th. Sobeys Urban Fresh at Yonge/St. Clair is closing in October as well; it's due to become a Farm Boy and will re-open as such in fiscal 2023. That, date, btw, is almost certainly in 2022, as Empire's fiscal year typically ends in the first week of May...
zang
Senior Member
Despite the name “McEwan’s Fine Foods”, it’s clear corporate viewed this more as a food court with a few groceries. Why they chose to maintain this instead of trying to pivot to focus more on groceries, I don’t know. Especially when nearby Eataly does the pastries/coffee/pizza better than McEwan does. It’s quite clear that designated grocery stores have thrived.
zang
Senior Member
Mark has focused on the “Fine Dining”, and that has already been on the decline since before Fabbrica was built. Per the Globe article, the company hasn’t been profitable since 2017. His push has always been premium product at premium prices. That may not jibe with post-pandemic economics. It certainly doesn’t with the mid-pandemics.
Quite possibly because they bought an extra 10% of the business from him a few years back. It’s all tied to his name. They need him as much as he needs them.
I don’t know it was ever a cash cow. It certainly didn’t stop Mark constantly complaining to the chef-de-cuisine about getting his labour costs lower. Enough that when I was there, hours were never guaranteed. The kitchen was often understaffed during busy hours, and it wasn’t surprising to come in to find a single person working all five stations. It was business dependent on cash-leaking whales, and they aren’t guaranteed. And this was 10 years ago.
Sure. I personally made food for Jon Hamm and Cate Blanchet, but Toronto can be fickle. And the average profit (when a business actually makes one) in the restaurant industry is 6%.
What many don’t know about One is that it’s contractually obligated to producing all the food for the hotel room service and condo residents. Not a big money maker in that respect, either.
That commissary was moved to Yonge & Bloor due to (apparently) the larger kitchen. A friend of mine from my One days was (and still is) a Sous chef in the production kitchen. He was at Don Mills but all of that was moved to Y&B in 2019.