Wednesday, November 10, 2010

University of Winnipeg Part 3



What does the University of Winnipeg have that the University of Manitoba doesn't? The answer is a bar.

Today the university announced that the old bus depot will house Canad Inn's Garbonzo's Pizza as well as a medical clinic and the university bookstore which is reported to be 6000 square feet. Hopefully, they will have more university apparel for men. Take a look at their website and they don't have anything listed for guys? We don't buy university clothes?

There used to be a few Garbonzo's Pizza restaurants in the city but they have retrenched to their Canad Inn location on Pembina Highway.

I am curious as to why they didn't build a Tavern United at the university. It seems a sports bars set-up might be a better fit. Certainly the beer prices are better at Tavern versus Garbonzo's according to their website.

This restaurant/bar could be a good thing as long as they try to fit into a university setting and keep the price points within the student budget. If Garbonzo's doesn't work out, I'm sure the university will have others lined up for the spot.

Once again, good work to the University of Winnipeg is their ongoing renewal.

It didn't help them in the latest Maclean's ratings though. They dropped from 8th to 10th. However, they rank very well in western Canada.

MACLEAN'S RANKINGS - UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG


SUBJECT
Overall Ranking...10th (Canada)...3rd (Western Canada)
Student Services...3rd (Canada)...1st (Western Canada)
Reputational Survey...5th (Canada)...1st (Western Canada)
Student Awards...7th (Canada)...2nd (Western Canada)
Social Sciences & Humanities Grants...8th (Canada)...1st (Western Canada)
Operating Budget...9th (Canada)...4th (Western Canada)
Library Acquisitions...10th (Canada)...3rd (Western Canada)


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2 comments:

Christian Cassidy said...

Mmm...Garbonzos. I grew up in North Kildonan and the two main places to drink and eat at the same time was Angelo's and Garbonzo's (Henderson and Springfield)!

Nice choice - thankfully not some international chain. Too bad Sorrentos didn't move up from Ellice. That was THE U of W hotspot in the late 80s and 90s.

What a great transformation of that area in the past few years.

John Dobbin said...

In the early 1980s, many student went to the Union Center on Portage but it closed when they made the move to Broadway. There have always been students who went to Sorrentos but there have been many too afraid to walk that stretch of Ellice after dark.

I was assaulted myself on the way to class just after sunset along Ellice.

I maybe went to Garbonzo's once or twice. If I recall, they once had a location downtown as well.

The location immediately inside the university is likely to make the restaurant more of a hotspot than anything a half block ever could.

We'll see how long this all takes to come together.