The Vancouver Sun reports that plans for a $6 million, 387-square-metre bistro with 193 seats on English Bay beach have been given the green light, with Park Board special project manager Jim Lowden citing the commercial success of Kits Beach’s Watermark as a benchmark reason to go forward.
Poor Lowden. Poor English Bay. Woe is us.
Watermark, to my mind, has been nothing short of a civic embarrassment. From the start, the food concept has been rudderless, the service weak, and the bar program regrettably juvenile. Granted, it’s a stunning architectural and design achievement, but by allowing pub operators to run the show the Park Board almost guaranteed that the restaurant would fail utterly in what should have been its primary task: to showcase the very best of BC for the gazillions of tourists who would be drawn to the promise of the unparalleled location.
That this wasn’t mandated into the Watermark contract is something I think we should never stop being ashamed of, and it’s something our reputation as a food destination will have to continue to carry on its ass like a superating tumor until an earthquake or a tsunami washes it all away.
While it’s clear that the city has to secure revenue out of this, I believe they have a broader responsibility to ensure that these restaurants are in some way emblematic of what Vancouver is all about. With Watermark, they didn’t even try. Instead, they installed a dirt bike engine into a Ferrari chassis and called it good government.
Now, with the new English Bay project under way and with the Park Board and Jim Lowden still seemingly clueless as to how they dropped the ball with Watermark, I can’t help but fear for how sadly this next chapter will read. I truly hope that they consider how the new bistro will reflect on our Vancouver’s culinary reputation before they give tender to a business plan that prizes profit over quality again.
If they don’t, I think we’re looking at another recipe for disaster.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Is there any park anywhere in which a government – local, state or national – is showcasing the best of the region’s cuisine through a government run process?
I am not asking this rhetorically – I’m curious.
Not that I know of, but wouldn’t Vancouver be the perfect place to start?
Watermark isn’t government run, by the way. I’m sorry if I inferred as much. However, it did approve the operator, which makes them ultimately responsible.
http://www.tavernonthegreen.com/history.asp?headinfo=abouttavern&subhead=history
Does this count ?
Andrew: I think you were clear, I know Watermark isn’t government run – I meant exactly what you meant by “government run process” – that government selected the operator. Poor wording on my part.
Neil: my understanding is that tourists and bar mitzvahs are the mainstay of the Tavern on the Green. Sort of like Shaughnessy Restaurant at VanDusen Gardens- tourists, Kerrisdale ladies and weddings.
You are totally right on this Andrew. Those people have no clue. Watermark has been a big disappointment.
What business have these people run succesfully. Rosies, Elephant and Castle, Pizza Patio, come on. No serious success stories here.
Who ever okayed this company was not doing their homework.
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