Waterloo Region Connected

It's going to be interesting to see if some of the tenants change in the ground floor with the new owners. We've already seen the payday loan place leave. Darn hah.

Spokes Wrote:It's going to be interesting to see if some of the tenants change in the ground floor with the new owners. We've already seen the payday loan place leave. Darn hah.

Indeed. A tattoo shop down between Water and Francis has also closed, so Downtown's on a role!

Actually, the dollar store in the Walper is also closing in a couple of weeks and moving down to the location of the convenience store by Elements. (One less payday loan place, one less tattoo parlour AND one less convenience store - hard to believe we're talking about Downtown!)

panamaniac Wrote:

Spokes Wrote:It's going to be interesting to see if some of the tenants change in the ground floor with the new owners. We've already seen the payday loan place leave. Darn hah.

Indeed. A tattoo shop down between Water and Francis has also closed, so Downtown's on a role!

Actually, the dollar store in the Walper is also closing in a couple of weeks and moving down to the location of the convenience store by Elements. (One less payday loan place, one less tattoo parlour AND one less convenience store - hard to believe we're talking about Downtown!)

I thought I saw that the dollar store was moving too. Thought I might have been dreaming. Even if they're still in business across the street that's not a big deal. I'd love to see some really unique shops filling the Walper's great frame.

I hope Walper Tobacco stays; they've been around long enough.

DHLawrence Wrote:I hope Walper Tobacco stays; they've been around long enough.

I can't imagine it would be touched. Same with the barber shop. The florist shop on the Queen St side was a nice addition to the mix. When the cash store closed, I thought it would be a good location for the Silver Spoon people to re-open a chocolate shop (I recall mention when they closed down the street that they hoped to re-open elsewhere). I'm also looking forward to see the renovated restaurant space in the basement, when it re-opens next month.

panamaniac Wrote:

DHLawrence Wrote:I hope Walper Tobacco stays; they've been around long enough.

I can't imagine it would be touched. Same with the barber shop. The florist shop on the Queen St side was a nice addition to the mix. When the cash store closed, I thought it would be a good location for the Silver Spoon people to re-open a chocolate shop (I recall mention when they closed down the street that they hoped to re-open elsewhere). I'm also looking forward to see the renovated restaurant space in the basement, when it re-opens next month.

I feel like the Silver Spoon would do very well once the major residential projects downtown are all finished. Not that they should wait until that happens to reopen. But they, and many others are likely holding their breath for that to happen

The dollar store on the King St side was clearing out today. I hadn't noticed before, but the personnel business that was on the Queen St side has also moved out, so it seems like the new Walper owners are really shaking the place up.

Not necessarily a bad thing

IMO the tenants that have to be kept are the barber, tobacco shop and Coffee Culture. As well as some sort of bar downstairs, but that's not going to be Rum Runner (unless something's changed)

The old Rumrunner space is closed for renovations - given that the hotel's chef is now in charge of the operation, I expect that it will re-open (soon?) as a more up-scale restaurant and lounge. The comedy club will still be downstairs as well.

Lots of money being invested into the bar space downstairs. It should be quite upscale when finished.

The owners here are the same guys (Perimeter) who recently acquired the old TD Building where the Honest Lawyer was located (there are two exciting new businesses going in that space too) and are also building the new space for Google. Visionary stuff.

With Gilt and the new Walper, could we be on the cusp of a Downtown where grown-ups can get a cocktail? Boomers all over town wait with bated breath!

dubya Wrote:Lots of money being invested into the bar space downstairs. It should be quite upscale when finished.

The owners here are the same guys (Perimeter) who recently acquired the old TD Building where the Honest Lawyer was located (there are two exciting new businesses going in that space too) and are also building the new space for Google. Visionary stuff.

Any details as to what the downstairs will be like?

I've been really impressed with how much work Perimeter has done downtown. My guess is they'll continue to do it given how successful they've been.

panamaniac Wrote:With Gilt and the new Walper, could we be on the cusp of a Downtown where grown-ups can get a cocktail? Boomers all over town wait with bated breath!

And young professionals too!

With so many bars being geared towards students, we're a demographic searching for some element of good nightlife.

Spokes Wrote:

panamaniac Wrote:With Gilt and the new Walper, could we be on the cusp of a Downtown where grown-ups can get a cocktail? Boomers all over town wait with bated breath!

And young professionals too

With so many bars being geared towards students, we're a demographic searching for some element of good nightlife.

Well, OK, but have a mental picture of the lounge version of a grade school dance - all the boomers on one side of the room and all the young professionals on the other!