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(01-16-2016, 01:55 AM)panamaniac Wrote: [ -> ]Imbibe was OK but the service was very uneven.  B is an improvement.

I would be happy to have both, but with B, TWH and the Boathouse now already competing, there might not be room for one more at the moment.
(01-16-2016, 03:40 AM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-16-2016, 01:55 AM)panamaniac Wrote: [ -> ]Imbibe was OK but the service was very uneven.  B is an improvement.

I would be happy to have both, but with B, TWH and the Boathouse now already competing, there might not be room for one more at the moment.

I miss Imbibe for the personal connection. B @ Museum is definitely making better use of the space, though.

I just wish I could go there without experiencing real physical pain. I can't sit in their chairs, whose style could charitably be described as "artisanal mall food court" but are just death to people with lower back pain. And their narrow tables with legs on each corner are also extremely uncomfortable.

Which is a shame, because their food is great and they manage to have an interesting beer selection. If they improved their furniture, they'd see a lot more of my business.

(And considering how much I went to Imbibe, that's no idle statement.)
(01-16-2016, 03:40 AM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-16-2016, 01:55 AM)panamaniac Wrote: [ -> ]Imbibe was OK but the service was very uneven.  B is an improvement.

I would be happy to have both, but with B, TWH and the Boathouse now already competing, there might not be room for one more at the moment.

I don't necessarily see these as competing for my dollars.  I for one have drank a beer at the B and ate dinner at TWH in the same evening.

Complementary, in my opinion.  Downtown Kitchener needs to have a critical mass of places to go to attract people.
I've also gone for a bite in one place, then drinks at B. I feel like Imbibe's beers were still a bit more interesting, and nothing can compare with The Bent Elbow. Neither TWH nor Boathouse is really a place where I would go for the express purpose of trying interesting beers. I find that after B, I'll usually find the most interesting libations down at The Lancaster Smokehouse of all seemingly improbable places.
(01-15-2016, 09:30 PM)Smore Wrote: [ -> ]The use of past tense makes me sad:

https://twitter.com/ImbibeFoodDrink

My friends and I were talking about that exact thing on the weekend. As a group we each contributed to the Indiegogo campaign so we hope that Bill is working on something. We also wondered about the name change.
As a side note, does anyone find "B" 's branding to be TERRIBLE? Everything else seems to be great but that brand is just awful. The logo even shoehorns in the Cambridge hotel logo.
(01-18-2016, 12:52 PM)REnerd Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-16-2016, 03:40 AM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]I would be happy to have both, but with B, TWH and the Boathouse now already competing, there might not be room for one more at the moment.

I don't necessarily see these as competing for my dollars.  I for one have drank a beer at the B and ate dinner at TWH in the same evening.

Complementary, in my opinion.  Downtown Kitchener needs to have a critical mass of places to go to attract people.

Yes, to some extent they are complementary, and not competing for the same business.  But if Imbibe were to return, how would it be able to differentiate itself from those three?  The current downtown population can only support so many restaurants and bars, until we have more people living and working downtown.
(01-19-2016, 02:54 PM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-18-2016, 12:52 PM)REnerd Wrote: [ -> ]I don't necessarily see these as competing for my dollars.  I for one have drank a beer at the B and ate dinner at TWH in the same evening.

Complementary, in my opinion.  Downtown Kitchener needs to have a critical mass of places to go to attract people.

Yes, to some extent they are complementary, and not competing for the same business.  But if Imbibe were to return, how would it be able to differentiate itself from those three?  The current downtown population can only support so many restaurants and bars, until we have more people living and working downtown.

There doesn't seem to be any chance of this....  The city can't hold out on developing eateries on the possibility of an old favorite returning.
(01-18-2016, 01:47 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: [ -> ]I find that after B, I'll usually find the most interesting libations down at The Lancaster Smokehouse of all seemingly improbable places.

Thanks for the hot tip! I've only been to B once, but I found the beer selection at Imbibe much more interesting. I think downtown has room for it again. When RENerd says "critical mass," he's exactly right: there should be enough choices that, if you're wanting to have a beer or two with friends, you just "head downtown" and then choose.
(01-19-2016, 03:20 PM)MidTowner Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-18-2016, 01:47 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: [ -> ]I find that after B, I'll usually find the most interesting libations down at The Lancaster Smokehouse of all seemingly improbable places.

Thanks for the hot tip! I've only been to B once, but I found the beer selection at Imbibe much more interesting. I think downtown has room for it again. When RENerd says "critical mass," he's exactly right: there should be enough choices that, if you're wanting to have a beer or two with friends, you just "head downtown" and then choose.

Sure.  But if there aren't enough customers to make a (new) Imbibe successful (given the current demand and supply), it's not going to open just to make us happy.
(01-19-2016, 03:30 PM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]Sure.  But if there aren't enough customers to make a (new) Imbibe successful (given the current demand and supply), it's not going to open just to make us happy.

No one can disagree with that. If the fellow behind Imbibe doesn't see it as a good risk, I guess it won't happen. A different restaurateur might reach a different conclusion.
Like the folks down the street at the old Caesaria. How are the renovations there going?
Did he (the imbibe dude) ever return the money raised from his crowdfunding campaign?
(01-19-2016, 03:20 PM)MidTowner Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-18-2016, 01:47 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: [ -> ]I find that after B, I'll usually find the most interesting libations down at The Lancaster Smokehouse of all seemingly improbable places.

Thanks for the hot tip! I've only been to B once, but I found the beer selection at Imbibe much more interesting. I think downtown has room for it again. When RENerd says "critical mass," he's exactly right: there should be enough choices that, if you're wanting to have a beer or two with friends, you just "head downtown" and then choose.

I'll second the Smokehouse for beer selection.  Great menu of local crafts and they try to bring in new ones often too.

Definitely my favourite restaurant
(01-19-2016, 03:35 PM)MidTowner Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-19-2016, 03:30 PM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]Sure.  But if there aren't enough customers to make a (new) Imbibe successful (given the current demand and supply), it's not going to open just to make us happy.

No one can disagree with that. If the fellow behind Imbibe doesn't see it as a good risk, I guess it won't happen. A different restaurateur might reach a different conclusion.

This might not be the case though.  It could simply be that he plans on doing something else with his life, doesn't want to be an owner, can't get the money together, or any number of possibilities.  I don't think not opening a new Imbibe means that it's not a good risk.