New place to grab a bite downtown

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This article was published 08/08/2017 (3128 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The final piece in the downtown Centrepoint development — a Browns Socialhouse restaurant and bar — is nearing completion.

The 7,000-square-foot outlet, which is located on the main floor of the development’s main tower, is slated to open Sept. 5.

It will serve as the anchor retail tenant in the 19-storey tower, which includes a five-storey base with one floor of retail and four floors of office space, and a 14-storey, 160-room, Alt Hotel.

There are two main-floor retail tenants in the tower — a Merchant Bar and Kitchen restaurant and a Tim Hortons Cafe & Bake Shop — both of which face onto Donald Street.

Browns’ long-awaited arrival fills the last chunk of vacant space in the $130-million development, which includes a 21-storey Glasshouse Lofts condominium tower and a five-storey, 406-stall parkade.

Both of those buildings are located on the Hargrave Street side of the development, which covers almost the entire square block between Portage and Ellice avenues and Hargrave to Donald streets.

Browns and its 70-seat outdoor patio both face onto Portage Avenue and will help bring new life to the street.

Browns’ opening was delayed several times, but Kelly Burns, the regional franchisee for the chain, said delays were largely due to its sheer size.

“It’s twice the size of any other Browns we’ve built, and we wanted to make sure we did it right,” Burns said.

He noted they made a number of changes to the original design, including adding a drink rail in the bar.

“We also did a little more of a sports theme with this one, being where we are — right across the street from a lot of sports (at Bell MTS Place). We wanted to make sure we accommodated that crowd,” he said.

One of the eatery’s main features will be a giant video wall about 2.7 metres high and 11.3 metres wide.

“You can make it into one screen or you can do a bunch of different setups. You can do two (screens) by two (screens), you can do three by three, you can do three by four, you can do nine by three,” he said.

‘It’s twice the size of any other Browns we’ve built, and we wanted to make sure we did it right’ — Kelly Burns 

“But we made it into one big TV the other night, and it looked awesome. You’ll get a better view of a (Jets or Moose) game in our bar than you will across the street (at the arena).”

Tineke de Jong, director of marketing, events and communications for the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone said Browns will be a welcome addition downtown and to the Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District (SHED).

“I walked by last night and saw they had the TV screens on, they had the chairs in there and the tables, and it looked like they were building out the kitchen. And to see the patio coming along and all the signage going up, it’s very exciting.”

She said the fact this Browns outlet will have more of a sports theme makes it a good fit downtown, which has a heavy sports presence with the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose hockey games and the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball games.

“Plus we don’t have a ton of sports bars downtown. We have a couple, but this will be a nice addition to that,” she said.

Having another outdoor patio downtown is another plus for both visitors to the downtown as well as area residents, de Jong said.

She said she lives downtown, “so personally, I’m also excited about having more choices.”

Browns is one of two new restaurants opening downtown on Portage Avenue. The Tipsy Cow is slated to open later this week in the former Planit Restaurant and Lounge location at 285 Portage Ave.

The Tipsy Cow’s speciality will be gourmet burgers, although it will also offer an assortment of finger food, sandwiches, soups, salads and charcuterie. It will have a good selection of beer, whiskey and cocktails.

“We’ve had a couple of great new restaurants open downtown, like the White Star Diner… and now these two that are coming along,” de Jong said.

“So it’s nice. We need more restaurants downtown, and we need them to be open on evenings and weekends.”

The menu at Browns Socialhouse will include burgers, pizza, chicken wings, ribs and an Asian-influenced dish that includes rice, spicy teriyaki and pickled cabbage.

The Portage Avenue location is the 14th Browns Socialhouse restaurant for the Regina-based Burns. His brother, Rob, and his friend, Shane Hardy, are also partners with him in some of the outlets.

He said their other two restaurants in Winnipeg — one is on north Main Street and the other is on Plessis Road — are doing well. They have no plans to open any others in the city.

“That’s not to say it won’t happen, but not right now,” he added.

Know of any newsworthy or interesting trends or developments in the local office, retail, industrial or multi-family residential sectors? Let real estate reporter Murray McNeill know at the email address below, or at 204-697-7254.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca