Publik...RIP

[merlin]

I understand that the Fuller's/Earl's effort PUBLIK that went into the space formerly occupied by a Joey Tomatoe's Mediterranean Grill [the one with the cluttered bric-a-brac-off beat decor] rather than the more upscale Joey's World on Calgary trail has closed.

Can't say that I am surprised. It never seemed to get its "legs" under it. No buzz. Funny menu. Not sure who or what its client focus was directed toward. On the few occasions I popped in, few patrons inside whereas the adjacent Earls' was packed.

OPM...the asian influenced concept that followed in South Common is, I think, faring better. Cannot stand the traffic in that transportation quagmire so have only personally been the once.

[canadianintexas]

I understand that the Fuller's/Earl's effort PUBLIK that went into the space formerly occupied by a Joey Tomatoe's Mediterranean Grill [the one with the cluttered bric-a-brac-off beat decor] rather than the more upscale Joey's World on Calgary trail has closed.

Can't say that I am surprised.  It never seemed to get its "legs" under it.  No buzz.  Funny menu.  Not sure who or what its client focus was directed toward.  On the few occasions I popped in,  few patrons inside whereas the adjacent Earls' was packed.

OPM...the asian influenced concept that followed in South Common is, I think, faring better.  Cannot stand the traffic in that transportation quagmire so have only personally been the once.

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I am not surprised at all. The guy I kew that used to be the head chef there quit it about 5 months ago because it was too slow - no business. Just another half-assed attempt by Earls again as was their USA expansion efforts. Haven't heard anything about OPM. Joey Toamto's is going into an old Cucina! Cucina! location in Seattle. Has an Earls opened up in WEM yet? I had heard that one was going to be opening there.

[peppyre]

I'm sorry, but Earl's has been extremely successful in the USA. The location in Denver is the busiest of them all and there are plans for more expansion.

[merlin]

[Has an Earls opened up in WEM yet?  I had heard that one was going to be opening there.

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Yes, there is an Earls' on Bourbon Street in WEM. I think it opened up prior to Xmas.

I have only been there the one time [like most residents of West Edmton we have a "love/hate" relationship with "da mall" and usually go to the Earls' on 170 Street and Stony Plain Rd. instead] but was quite impressed by the look. They have obviously spent a lot of money and it is quite attractive...and no Jamie Maw I am not "just" talking about the hostesses......that having been said, no I better leave it at that......

Interesting location. Right beside a Moxie's so they are going head to head.

[newbie]

A Publik opened recently in Prince George. It is located alongside the new casino here in town and seems to be doing pretty well....so far. Prince George residents love to flock to any new restaurant/pub that opens up in town. We have so few to go to that we get all excited when something new comes along.

Needless to say, I've been there a few times myself. The interior is quite "hip" looking which is a nice change of scenery from some of our other options here in town. On my first visit, I went with a group of girls and some of us split a few different appetizers. I tried the jack cheese strips, calamari in a spicy soya based sauce, nachos, and something else. Food was not bad but nothing exceptional. The calamari was a nice change from the traditional deep fried with tzaziki that we get in most of the restaurants here.

What stood out for me was the martini list. We tried a few different kinds with Finding Nemo as my favourite, which was flavored with mango.

The service that night was a bit slow. I was in no hurry to go and was enjoying the company of my gal pals so it didn't bother me too much....

As for West Edmonton Mall, I'll be heading to Edmonton for the Easter weekend and will be making our usual trek to the mall with the kids. Will definitely have to check out Bourbon Street, sounds like some changes since I've been there last.

[Keith Talent]

What stood out for me was the martini list. We tried a few different kinds with Finding Nemo as my favourite, which was flavored with mango.

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I'm not even going to bother. If anyone else would like to take a crack at it, feel free.

Post-modernism needs to go away. An adult drink, named for a childrens movie. I want to go back to a time where if you didn't have kids between 6 and 12, you'd have no idea what the hell "Finding Nemo" meant. I assure you, our parents were not sitting around drinking "H&R Puff'n'Stuffs", you know why? Because they were busy being adults, swigging gin, driving drunk and sucking back Pall Malls.

Now I'm off the Amazon to see when the hell they plan on shipping my X-Box games I ordered.

[nwyles]

Rumour mill............

Heard that one of the Earl's concepts was coming to Yaletown - Saltlik

Now I understand the real estate part of the deal has fallen through. What is a Saltlik ? Has anyone been

Neil

[Keith Talent]

Saltlik *Warning - Hyper irritating flash site inside*

[newbie]

What stood out for me was the martini list. We tried a few different kinds with Finding Nemo as my favourite, which was flavored with mango.

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I'm not even going to bother. If anyone else would like to take a crack at it, feel free.

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Yeah, yeah, I know, not a real martini, but it sure tastes good. No need for anyone to take a "crack" at me.

[nwyles]

Saltlik *Warning - Hyper irritating flash site inside*

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You are not kidding !

[Keith Talent]

Newbie - I never meant to to a crack at you, hell taste is subjective, the propreitors deserve a sharp poke in the eye with a stick however.

And I see Saltlik is opening on Alberni at Burrard. And what the hell does the A-Team have to do with beef?

[Daddy-A]

Saltlik *Warning - Hyper irritating flash site inside*

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What's with the Rockford Files theme music?

A.

[Keith Talent]

My bad, I defer to your superior knowledge of the music of our youth. In my defence I was never a big Rockford fan.

[barolo]

Aak! Forgive me Neil, I thought you were kidding.

"The Saltlik is a renasent steakhouse that speaks to the casual dining market of our times"

This fine prose should inspire us as we develop our own little dream restaurant with the fire pit and roving buses.

[nwyles]

My bad, I defer to your superior knowledge of the music of our youth. In my defence I was never a big Rockford fan.

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I think that is OK, there are some people on this board who do not know what an" A - Team", or "Rockford File" is.

[Keith Talent]

"renascent" Nice job proof reading, losers. Whoever Earls hired to do thier web site should have their net access taken away.

"The Saltlik is a renasent steakhouse that speaks to the casual dining market of our times." It's like a WWF submission hold on the english language.

[Daddy-A]

It's like a WWF submission hold on the english language.

Ummm Keith? It's WWE now. They lost out to the Pandas (World Wildlife Fund) a couple years back. Don't ask why I know ... or care

I stopped counting at 4 typos ... *Deborah* would make a year's salary with this one!

A.

[Keith Talent]

Deborah needs to change her name, as everytime I see it I think: "i said "lady, step inside my Hyundai"

i'm gonna take you up to Glendale

gonna take you for a real good meal".

Say hi to Jenny for me.

[Daddy-A]

Deborah needs to change her name, as everytime I see it I think:  "i said "lady, step inside my Hyundai"

i'm gonna take you up to Glendale

gonna take you for a real good meal".

Say hi to Jenny for me.

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Deborah (not Debra) is into Radiohead. Not sure how she feels about Beck.

Think it's time to kill this tread

A.

[Viola da gamba]

I stopped counting at 4 typos ... *Deborah* would make a year's salary with this one!

A.

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I still haven't decided if they mean "renascent" or "renaissance" - both seem equally stupid, but whatever.

[*Deborah*]

Deborah needs to change her name, as everytime I see it I think:  "i said "lady, step inside my Hyundai"

i'm gonna take you up to Glendale

gonna take you for a real good meal".

Say hi to Jenny for me.

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Deborah (not Debra) is into Radiohead. Not sure how she feels about Beck.

Think it's time to kill this tread

A.

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How did I miss this for so long!!!

Keith, I'm laughing out loud.

I've seen Beck live more times than Radiohead, in fact. If seeing my name brings Beck to mind, hey, I'm cool with that.

New album out shortly.

On topic (kinda), does anyone know what Zankou Chicken is?

[privatejet]

There was an article in Business in Vancouver two weeks ago that Jeff Fuller's Joey Tomato Group had received a 19 million dollar investment from the Belzbergs.

Saltik is supposed to open at Alberni & Thurlow, Joeys is coming to Kits (Kits Nightclub space) , OPM to Vancouver & Calgary (no locations specified) while the rest of the money will revamp American eateries Cucina! Cucina! bought from Wolfgang Puck.

The article is here but I believe you will need subscriber access to read:

http://www.biv.com/search/results.asp?fhre...tml&search=joey

[canadianintexas]

I'm sorry, but Earl's has been extremely successful in the USA.  The location in Denver is the busiest of them all and there are plans for more expansion.

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Extremely successful in the USA? I don't know - if 50% of the Earls locations in Canada failed - would you consider it to be extremely successful? Dallas tanked, a second Phoenix location tanked. Funny how those two were the two most recent openings as well, but failed to catch on.

The location in Denver may be busy and that would be the key. The location. IF Earls does it's homework properly and just doesn't "half-ass" it, eg: picking lousy locations, mediocre exteriors, no walk-by traffic, poor people selection - then it works. As far as expansion - those plans have been plans for a looooooooong time. They were planning locations in Frisco, TX; one in the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas; Florida; and the second one in Denver has been so caught up in red tape for so long that I don't know if it will ever get done. They wanted to have one right downtown, but the landlord they were going to rent the space from didn't think it was likely to be profitable enough for the space.

I liked Earls and still know a lot of people working for them, but they need to do their homework and not rush things without the necessary "ingredients" in place. It's like baking a cake in a bathtub. You can get lucky and maybe make it work - but the odds are a lot better if you do it the right way.

[Viola da gamba]

A Publik opened recently in Prince George. It is located alongside the new casino here in town and seems to be doing pretty well....so far. Prince George residents love to flock to any new restaurant/pub that opens up in town. We have so few to go to that we get all excited when something new comes along.

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Hey - good to see someone else from the North end of the province! So - how accessible is Publik? We'll be driving through PG en route to points south and invariably want to stop for lunch - and Boston Pizza just ain't really cutting it - and the demise of that little coffee place up by UNB - we don't really know where to go - so - is that a yes?

[newbie]

A Publik opened recently in Prince George. It is located alongside the new casino here in town and seems to be doing pretty well....so far. Prince George residents love to flock to any new restaurant/pub that opens up in town. We have so few to go to that we get all excited when something new comes along.

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Hey - good to see someone else from the North end of the province! So - how accessible is Publik? We'll be driving through PG en route to points south and invariably want to stop for lunch - and Boston Pizza just ain't really cutting it - and the demise of that little coffee place up by UNB - we don't really know where to go - so - is that a yes?

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Actually, the Publik is just down the road from Boston Pizza. Go past the BP, through the set of lights at the Superstore and it is on your right (at the intersection of Hwy 16 and Hwy 97). I just phoned and confirmed that they are open for lunch. I'm not sure what their lunch menu looks like but I'm sure that it will be better than anything else you can get at that end of town while driving through.

I was very sad to see the Goode News Cafe shut down also. They served great homemade soups and an interesting array of salads and sandwiches.