Chronicle - Winter 2005

Volume 21 Winter 2005 Liberty Village • King West • King West Central • Entertainment District • St. Lawrence Market Area • Queen Richmond East

4 Find a Fitness Club

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Mobilia Furniture

7 Cool Space at Publicis

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BANZAI! TEAM RETHINKS SUSHI

8 Hernando’s Mexi-Cali Mix PLUS: Brack Electronics, Toronto Operas, Totum Tips and Incoming

Touchscreen menus and digital art create high tech Peter Street dining

St. Lawrence Market Area

St. Lawrence Market Area

Brack Electronics Under Sound New Management

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ith music and movies commanding more of our time and money, it’s hardly surprising to find high end home entertainment boutiques such as Brack Electronics carving a niche for themselves as the best place to learn about getting the most out of your media.

Oakville Audio, also specialists in the field since 1988, and offering similar products to Brack, has recently completed the purchase of Brack’s assets to effect a form of merger. Oakville Audio president Christian Royes says his company brings complementary expertise to the Brack store located at 44 Wellington Street East.

40 Years in Service Brack has catered to Toronto music lovers for almost four decades and its three-level Wellington Street East store features six different rooms, some wired for home theatre and others for sound, but all are loaded with quality components.

And it’s this attention to high end that makes the merger a good fit, says Royes.

“We have similar business models,” he explains, “and what we’re bringing to this merger is a focus on home automation and custom installation.” www.oakvilleaudio.com

Siegfried and La Bohème Start this Winter’s Operas at the Hummingbird

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he Canadian Opera Company continues its 2004/05 season at the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts with perhaps the world’s most famous opera, Puccini’s La Bohème. Puccini’s glorious music sets the stage for this quintessential tale of young love and heartbreaking loss.

La Bohème runs intermittently with Wagner’s Siegfried, part of the largest work in the history of Western music.

Second part of “the Everest of opera” Siegfried is the second installment in the Canadian Opera Company’s (COC) journey to presenting Wagner’s complete and monumental Ring Cycle in the company’s new home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in 2006.

Described as “the Everest of opera,” Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen

(The Ring of the Nibelung) is the largest work in the history of Western music.

Siegfried runs January 27, 30 (2 p.m.), February 2, 5, 8 and 11, 2005. With the exception of the January 30 matinee, all performances begin at 6:30 p.m.

Siegfried is sung in German with English SURTITLES .

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“Classic tale of heartbreak” sold out in 2000 La Bohème is set in the raucous streets of Paris’ Latin Quarter in the 1830s, and it is a celebration of the strength of friendship and the power of love.

La Bohème runs at the Hummingbird Centre, January 23 at 2 p.m., 26 at 7:30 p.m., 29 at 7:30 p.m., February 1 at 7:30 p.m., 4 at 7:30 p.m., 6 at 2 p.m., 10 at 7:30 p.m. and 12 at 7:30 p.m.

La Bohème is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES . www.coc.ca TM

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Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

Photo: Michael Cooper

West Central King WastKing Central

BANZAI! UPDATES JAPANESE RESTAURANT CONCEPT booth space (inspired by original Tatami booths) in the back for larger groups and longer meals.

LED Bar Display Designed by Toronto’s Precipice Studios, the space’s highlights include a 100-foot long mural “tattoo” by local artist Duro the Third and an LED wall display behind the bar whose clear liquid jars glow alternately red, green, blue or yellow.

A plasma screen in the middle of the restaurant features digital art pieces, courtesy of an arrangement with Pixel Gallery, giving the space a steady influx of new visuals to entertain patrons.

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ikolai Miljevic doesn’t think sushi is exotic anymore.

He’s probably right, given its place as a quick, downtown lunch staple. So why maintain the illusion of an ancient, far-away place when serving this Japanese standard? Why not just open a restaurant that looks like a restaurant in contemporary Japan?

“In other words,” he explains, “no bamboo, no false traditional décor to make the place look like something people think a Japanese restaurant should look like.”

Miljevic, along with business partner Vincent Ventura, has opened Banzai!, a shiny day-glo example of modern Japanese dining that draws on themes of sophistication, technology and play to create a high tech dining experience.

The neo-contemporary look of the space blends wood tones with a 60s palate of white and bright orange to create a cool, clean and well-lit lunch space for fast mid-day dining at the front and a cozy wood-clad

Importing the talents of Chef Shinichiro Aoyama, Banzai’s menu mixes much loved Japanese and western ingredients to create dishes like Maple Tamari Tuna, Wasabi Wings and Avocado Twist.

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Touchscreen Entertainment And if you see anything you like, you can access the art collection via touchscreen menus on the periphery and booth tables (there is a total of 16 screens throughout the restaurant), which also allow customers to scroll through the menu, learn about sushi (chopstick etiquette is one topic), and text message with other tables.

Flagship Restaurant Miljevic and Ventura are both veterans of the restaurant and nightclub industries, originally in Montreal and later in Toronto (Miljevic opened Hotel at King Street West and Peter Street and has been here for five years), and began thinking about a sushi venue two years ago.

They started with the notion of bringing a large Japanese or British sushi chain to Toronto, but after six months of negotiations, says Miljevic, the terms were not agreeable.

“We decided to start our own chain and this is the flagship,” he says, explaining that future Banzai! restaurants won’t necessarily look like this one, but that this is where the brand is being established. www.banzaisushi.ca Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

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Queen Richmond East

Queen Richmond East

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FINDING FITNESS... FROM EAST TO WEST

Diesel Fitness • 99 Spadina Ave. www.dieselfitness.ca

Verity • 111 Queen Street East www.verity.ca While Verity’s focus is on community and on building an environment where women can relax with a number of spa services, fitness figures prominently in the business club’s list of strengths. And as the only downtown club with a pool, Verity is showing its commitment to fitness in no uncertain terms.

“When word got out that we had a pool, we had a number of people applying to be Aquafit instructors,” says Verity’s director of fitness Catherine Parkinson. She senses the Aquafit program, which involves using the water’s resistance to run and exercise, will become a popular activity at the Queen-Richmond club.

Still, with one of Canada’s top Pilates instructors, Sagrario Castilla (known as the grandmother of Pilates in Canada) offering her expertise to members, Verity endeavours to develop expertise in more than just aquatics.

The club’s poolside studios provide a calm space to indulge in some new programs such as Yoga in the Deep Winter, a six-week program designed to rejuvenate and revitalize.

Located at 111 Queen Street East, Verity’s spa amenities include massages, facials and aromatherapy, and as a business centre, the club can accommodate off-site meetings and catered events.

Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

Diesel Fitness has fast built for itself a reputation as Toronto’s go-to gym for yoga. Not surprisingly, co-owner Josh Feuer attributes much of this success to the high caliber of the instructors.

“A yoga program is usually an afterthought at a lot of gyms,” he says, “but we built a lot of our business around it and our instructors are as good as in any studio in the city.”

He cites the popularity of Diesel’s unlimited yoga and Pilates plans - where patrons pay a fixed monthly or yearly rate - as another factor contributing to the success of the facility’s fitness courses.

With some 200 classes per month, Diesel teaches everything from spin, Pilates, dance and kickboxing to several types of yoga and has added boxing conditioning to the roster (four new heavy bags were installed this past fall, the result of Diesel being used as a movie set for the upcoming Farrelly brothers comedy, Fever Pitch).

Given its commitment to yoga, Diesel has developed a new form of the ancient exercise called Heavy Metal Yoga, which incorporates the use of freeweights into the postures.

“So you’re building muscles as well as flexibility,” explains Feuer.

Other updates to the club include a new clothing boutique called Suite 99 that features exclusive fitness wear labels, and an expanded lunchtime menu thanks to an arrangement with Fusaro’s (just up the street on Spadina).

5 STEPS TO GET YOUR NEW YEAR’S FITNESS RESOLUTION BACK ON TRACK

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc. and Men’s Fitness Training Adviser Already putting off your promise to keep fit through to 2006?

If you’ve fallen off the fitness wagon, here are a few tips to get you back on track. After all, winter will soon be over (honestly!) and you’ll be ready to hit the beach. And you want to be ready for that, don’t you? Here are my five simple steps to help you lose fat and get lean.

1. Find a source of social support. It can be a friend, spouse or co-worker, but research from Stanford University shows the ideal social support is a professional that you feel obligated to report to on a consistent basis.

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Totum Life Science • 445 King Street West www.totum.ca One of the largest personal training company in metro Toronto, Totum Life Science has some 80 fitness and health care professionals in its employ and has garnered a much deserved reputation as the place to connect with highly educated fitness experts.

Working individually with trainers, clients range from beginners just starting out on an exercise program, to elite and professional athletes looking for more advanced program techniques. Despite the one-on-one relationship with their trainers, Totum clients still have access to an entire team of experts.

“If something comes up that I don’t have expertise in,” says Irvine, who holds a Masters in Science and is a personal trainer himself, “I either connect the client with another member of our team or get that information for you.”

Unlike many other fitness facilities where trainers work as freelancers in a gym, Totum’s staff operates like a medical clinic using the in-house expertise to solve fitness problems.

The King Street West facility employs four chiropractors (three of which are also personal trainers), 45 personal trainers, 12 rehabilitation practitioners, as well as a number of class instructors, Pilates teachers (two of which are instructor trainers), and world-class Thai boxing champion, Clifton Brown.

Other in-house experts include Totum co-owner Dr. Stacey Irvine, a chiropractor and strength and conditioning expert, who has worked as a sessional lecturer and research assistant at U of T and the University of Saskatchewan and has made several television appearances imparting fitness advice.

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2. Eat six small, balanced snacks and meals per day, rather than two or three large meals.

3. Commit to eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources, rather than processed foods like muffins, fast food, and sugary snacks.

(Try www.fitday.com to monitor your food intake.)

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Kingcentral West Central King West

TOTUM TIPS

4. If you want to lose fat, start by reducing your caloric intake by 200 calories per day. One easy way to do this is to replace sweetened beverages with water or Green Tea.

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5. To get lean, you’ll need to include some form of strength training and cardiovascular training. If you haven’t worked out in years, start conservatively and get professional advice on how to structure your workouts in the safest and most efficient and effective manner possible.

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The good news is that you don’t have to spend hour after hour in the gym to get great results.

A good program should have you in and out of the gym (shower included) in only an hour.

Pretty small investment for such a great return, isn’t it?

Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

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St. Lawrence Market Area

St. Lawrence Market Area

Front Street Furniture Retailer Mobilia: Sofa, So Good.

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aybe it’s the black-and-white Holstein-patterned Corbusier lounge chair in the window, or maybe it’s just the location, but there’s something about Mobilia’s Front Street East store that exudes a hip confidence.

It could also be the fact that behind that pane of glass lies a 20,000-squarefoot showroom, one of the largest downtown furniture stores, that is loaded with a bold selection of Europeanstyled contemporary furniture concepts.

Despite its expansive showroom, this is one of the smallest of Mobilia’s 17 stores (a typical company retail space weighs in at 40,000 square feet) but size isn’t the only difference between this St. Lawrence Market area store and the company’s other locations throughout the country.

Urban Clientele Some pieces are sold only here because it serves an urban clientele – a lot of condo dwellers. So red leather sofas and industrially-inspired table lamps have a home here more than in Mobilia’s suburban stores. For the most part, though, the company’s showrooms all stock essentially the same product.

Mobilia prides itself on matching high-end, contemporary furniture with modest prices, and thanks to the company’s buying power, prices are indeed competitive.

Functional Furniture If one had to choose a theme for Mobilia’s collection, it would have to be adaptability. Think of 700 square feet of open condo space that must be a dining room, lounge, bedroom and breakfast nook. Anything that goes there has to perform more than one function and a lot of Mobilia furniture does double duty.

Tables hide leaf inserts, armchairs hide single beds, coffee tables convert to backgammon boards and there’s even a quick change sofa, the Chameleon, whose moveable back cushions and armrests allow it to be reconfigured in any number of ways.

Think of 700 square feet of open condo space that must be a dining room, lounge, bedroom and breakfast nook. Anything that goes there has to perform more than one function and a lot of Mobilia furniture does double duty.

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Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

Italian Leather Leader Though a Canadian company, Mobilia has its roots in Germany where founder Hans Kau was born. In 1959, this airline employee was posted to Canada and found his new country lacked the stylish furniture of his homeland. Kau began importing items for himself and, on occasion, selling to friends. He soon found enough of a demand to open a small boutique above a grocery store in Montreal.

Today, Mobilia is the largest independent retailer of Italian leather upholstery in eastern Canada. And this quiet, comfortable Front Street East space, lit brightly by banks of halogen lights and made warm with an earthy palette of beige broadloom and brown exposed ceiling, stands as a stylish backdrop for a large collection of the company’s innovative furnishings. www.mobilia.ca

QUEEN-RICHMOND CENTRE ENHANCES ADVERTISING FIRM’S STREET CRED

Connecting in Toronto Despite a merger in 2002 that positioned Publicis as the fifth largest communications group in the world (18,000 employees and 130 offices throughout the globe), it is apparent from its Toronto location strategy that it is never too big to stay connected to the local consumer.

It’s a strength Publicis has leveraged for such clients as CIBC, Hewlett Packard, allStream, Kia, Nestle, Priszm Brands (Taco Bell and KFC) and Hitachi.

Lindsey Ash, director of administration for Publicis’ Toronto office in the Queen-Richmond Centre says things can change on an almost hourly basis in the communications industry and that having street smarts helps to read the trends.

“In order to do our best work with our clients, we need to know who their customers are and what strategy will best reach them. And to do that, we need to know what’s happening

on the street. All of that revolves around being involved with the city and not being in a sealed building where your only information comes from a news outlet,” says Ash.

A Brick and Beam Culture Taking 48,000 square feet of space at 111 Queen Street East just over four years ago was indeed a question staking out its own space in the city.

In 1999, Publicis had decided to open a Toronto branch and hired 55 people to start the business.

(A mostly administrative office remains in Montreal.)

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onnecting with your client’s client is the essential goal of any advertising firm. Publicis calls this street-smart thinking, and to this end, the international advertising giant has kept offices above a retail concept space it has owned on Paris’ Champs Elyssées since 1958.

culture. It’s not how we saw ourselves in five years.”

Publicis Toronto’s general manager, Andrew Bruce liked the street-smart attitude of the new location, slightly off the beaten path but close enough to Bay Street, and work began on the open concept space.

Clubhouse and Deck Spanning the second and third floors of the Queen Richmond Centre, Publicis’s offices have an administrative area with clusters of workspaces (ten-by-ten-foot work areas for everyone from the president to assistants), some 15 different meetings rooms of various sizes, a large boardroom, a separate creative department (adjustable lighting and double workstations for teaming), the “clubhouse” (a cafeteria/casual work space) and a 2,000-square-foot deck.

Well known in the European marketplace, the Publicis logo’s lion head is likely to gain prominence as the firm nurtures its brand awareness by hosting a number of client parties and even offering its space to clients for use as an off-site retreat. The exterior is also scheduled to go to work for the agency as the Richmond Street fascia will soon bear the Publicis letters and logo. www.publicis.ca

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“We looked at some bank towers,” recalls Ash, “but it didn’t fit our culture. It’s not how we saw ourselves in five years.”

Lindsey Ash, Publicis

In less than a year, the team had landed Microsoft Canada and CIBC as clients, two wins that would drive the growing agency out of its Sherbourne Avenue and Bloor Street East diggs to unfinished brick and beam space at 111 Queen Street East.

“We looked at some bank towers,” recalls Ash, “but it didn’t fit our

Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

Queen Richmond EastEast Queen Richmond

Above: The Clubhouse is a casual meeting place that doubles as an event room.

Right: The open concept gives everyone, including the president and GM a cubicle.

Upper right: The suspended stairwell hangs by a single steel stringer.

Far Right: Publicis‚ lion head logo.

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Incoming Red Bull Establishes a Downtown Presence

Kids Publisher Plans Summer Move to King West Central

"We felt that this area matches up with Red Bull," says Jim Bailey, the drink’s Canadian vice president of marketing, discussing the February move to King West Central. With space in Vancouver, the 5,300 square feet it will occupy at 445 King Street West is its second office in Canada. It is also currently looking for office space in Montreal.

For nearly half a century Scholastic Canada has introduced young people to the joys of reading, taught young minds about Canada and the world and run its operations from Markham. But the latter is about to change as Scholastic moves into 602-604 King Street West this summer. Taking up some 3,500 sq. feet will be Scholastic Canada‚s marketing, sales and editorial departments, leaving the administrative and warehousing functions in the 905.

“We wanted to be closer to the city. That’s where a lot of marketing, publishing and editorial offices are located. We wanted to be closer to that community,” says Scholastic Canada co-president Iole Lucchese, explaining that 90% of the staff relocating to King West already live in the city.

www.redbull.com

www.scholastic.ca

The Community Chronicle is published four times a year by: Allied Properties REIT 469 King Street West Fourth Floor Toronto, ON M5V 1K4 Editor: Yvan Marston yvan@gravitydesigninc.com Design/Layout: Gravity Design Inc. scott@gravitydesigninc.com

Festive California-Mex Fare at St. Lawrence area Hernando’s Hideaway

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ith festive yellow lights strung casually about its space, paper mache Gekkos clinging to the wall behind the bar, Agave cacti cut-outs and Dos Equis on tap, there’s little mistaking Hernando’s Hideaway for anything but a Mexican restaurant. Still, owner Helen Mark says what most people commonly refer to as Mexican food is actually Tex Mex. And Hernando’s, she explains, is California-Mex. “We do more sauces and we don’t do the rib and steak thing,” says Mark of the difference between the two styles.

She says the sauces also tend to be fresher and that the emphasis here is on Enchilladas, Quesadillas and Nachos, rather than heavy meat dishes.

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Community Chronicle • Winter 2005

Some Tasty Favourites “People love our Fajitas and our Guacamole is really tasty,” says Mark pointing out a few of the Wellington Street East dining room’s customer favourites. In fact, she says the

vegetarian fare has a particularly good reputation adding that, “most people don’t know they’re eating veg.”

It’s often communal snack fare that gets ordered here as patrons pile in before or after a show at CanStage and the Hummingbird Centre. “And if hockey ever starts up again, we’ll get a bit of the ACC crowds,” says Mark.

Cheese Covered Nachos Nachos, while always a pub crowd pleaser, have the distinction here of being evenly covered in cheese.

Not piled high with dry ones in the middle, says Mark.

As we scan the menu, Mark confesses that although there are a number of popular foods, one of Hernando’s great strengths is its Margueritas. www.hernandoshideaway.com

www.alliedpropertiesreit.com