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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Put pressure on mall, Sals CEO urges public

By: Geoff Kirbyson

Posted: 09/4/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Earl Barish isn't going down without a fight.

The president and CEO of Salisbury House is pulling out all the stops in an effort to save the restaurant chain's location at the Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre. He was informed by his landlord earlier this summer that he wouldn't be asked to renew its lease after 27 years because the space had been designated for another tenant, the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, so it could expand its current location.

Barish has collected more than 1,500 signatures from unhappy customers who aren't looking forward to travelling a significant distance to get their fix of Cheese Nips, Winni Dogs and chocolate doughnuts. More than 60,000 people patronize that location each year. Now he's taking things one step further.

Next week, he plans to hand out "protest" cards with the contact information of four executives at Investors Group Management Ltd., the property's landlord, as well as representatives from the MLCC and NewWest Enterprise Property Group, the property manager.

"People say to me every day, 'It's too bad (about the store closing), can you change it?' We're encouraging our customers to talk to the landlord and property manager to let them know how the decision is impacting people in the area and those who frequent Salisbury House," Barish said, adding that without intervention, the restaurant will close its doors at the end of December.

He said he has been stonewalled at every turn by the landlord and property manager but he has found a sympathetic ear with Ken Hildahl, the president and CEO of the MLCC. Hildahl said the Crown corporation didn't lobby to take over the Salisbury House location but it did let the landlord know that if some space became available, it would likely be interested.

"We're not looking to push anybody out of their current location," he said.

After meeting with Barish, Hildahl said he was open to looking at other options at Tuxedo Park, including building a stand-alone location on the property.

"We're not out to be bad corporate partners. If the landlord was prepared to look at other options, we'd be more than willing to work with them. But if the mall owner has made a decision, there's nothing we can do to control that," Hildahl said.

He said the MLCC's 4,300-square-foot liquor store at Tuxedo Park is "undersized" for the community it serves.

A spokesman for the landlord defended the move as a "business decision made by the management of the Investors Real Property Fund with the best interests of unitholders of the Fund in mind."

Barish said the 94-seat location is Sals' second-busiest of its 10 quick-serve restaurants in Winnipeg. The iconic chain also has eight full-service stores and six seasonal outlets, including counters at Winnipeg Goldeyes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers games. A "mini-menu kiosk" is set to open in the new terminal building at the Richardson International Airport.

Barish said he's holding out a little hope that a groundswell of phone calls will convince the decision makers to change their minds.

"Unfortunately, that usually gets them more aggravated than amenable but I don't know what else to do," he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 4, 2010 A8

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