I have written about him many times before because first of all we wanted him to be a guest at our annual Real Estate and Development conference. His name is Stan Kroenke and you might know of him because he bought and still owns the Douglas Lake Ranch that we all drive by on our way to Vancouver on the connector. Stan is married to Anne Walton, yes that Walton, of the founding Walton family and is one of the wealthiest women in the world. Stan is also up there on the money list and he has been very active in pro sports. Now the gentleman wants to juggle things around because he wants to buy control of the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He already owns the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. The idea is to move those two franchises to the family because the billionaire Missouri businessman owns forty per cent now of the St. Louis franchise and the rules says that an NFL owner can’t be an owner in another major sports franchise.
By the way, he isn’t just an absentee owner of Douglas Lake Ranch. He comes up to the site and lands his private jet at least one a month and sometimes more. He is also the owner of 29.9 per cent of Arsenal of the English Premier League. Now that man is involved in sports!
--------------------
There are lots of good rumours out there these days on what’s coming to town next and this one is definitely a rumour but it is from a very reliable source. The story goes that West Kelowna will be the new site of an Olive Garden restaurant in British Columbia. Darden Restaurants who own the franchise and all the restaurants in North America are not talking.
Mention the words “Red Lobster” or “Olive Garden” and Canadians like you and I get excited about the possibilities of having one or the other in our market.
With approximately 1,700 restaurants across North America, Red Lobster and Olive Garden, Darden Restaurants’ two flagship brands, are now the world’s largest chains of seafood restaurants and casual, full-service Italian restaurants, respectively. It currently has 29 Red Lobster and 6 Olive Garden restaurants in Canada.
The only Olive Garden in B.C. is in Langley. There are also eateries in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. We started eating at an Olive Garden in San Diego and for casual, fast dining it was well done. We had thirteen Olive Gardens in Ontario not that many years ago but the company closed them all. I could never figure that out because every time we went to one, the restaurant of our choice, there was always a line up. Anyway they moved out of Canada with that brand although their Red Lobster franchise has thrived in this country. We do get asked about that from time to time and there is a lot of interest in that food spot as well.
--------------------
The labour market continues to indicate that Canada’s economic recovery has firmly taken hold. In May, the economy churned out 24,700 new jobs—the fifth consecutive monthly increase. That brings total job gains for the year to 215,200. Full-time employment rose by 67,300 in May, while 42,500 part-time positions were eliminated. In fact, about three-quarters of the gains since the beginning of the year have been in full-time positions.
--------------------
This is another rumour making the rounds in retail at the moment and if you have slipped across the border to shop in Bellingham or anywhere in the U.S. you probably have been in Kohl’s Department store. It is looking at the possibilities and certainly nothing is official. It is not easy to move into the Canadian market where the miles between stores can be huge, the bilingual labeling and warehousing. When Walmart came to Canada they purchased the assets of a retailing operation.
Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl's is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. Kohl's operates 1,067 stores in 49 states.
Are we going to see J Crew, Target Corp or Victoria’s Secret make that jump across the border? The companies certainly are exploring the market because expanding in the U.S. is on hold at the moment. Kohl’s is doing the same.
Clean well-planned stores that necessarily don’t need to be part of a mall complex. We’ll have to wait and see.
--------------------
It’s brand new, it's different and the food choices makes for good dining. I’m writing about the new restaurant in the Prestige Resort & Conference Centre in downtown Kelowna on Abbott St. DeNoha’s Mediterranean Grill serves Greek and Lebanese foods. It is delightful and a real treat from the regular fare we seem to be getting used too. Danny Zein and Noha Shaheen are the owners and the hosts and they’re also in the kitchen. I was very impressed with the meal I had to eat and will be back to try some more of the Greek and Lebanese items, which I have always liked. You will be impressed with the menu and the traditional favorites and the service was good. I can’t wait to try their fresh cheesecake - we’ll split one.
The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.
Previous Stories
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Jan 16
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Dec 5
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Nov 28
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Nov 21
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Nov 14
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Oct 31
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Oct 24
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Oct 17
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Oct 10
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Oct 3
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Sep 26
- John Thomson's I Didn't Know That! Sep 19
© 2024 Castanet.net