Mr. Mikes SteakhouseCasual hopes to set up shop in Anvil Centre but fears it’s being put on the back burner because it isn’t serving up “upscale” enough cuisine.



Darren Flintoff, president of the Stonewater Group, said his company has agreed to terms with the city to enter into a formal lease for the restaurant space in Anvil Centre. Flintoff said the goal is to open a Mr. Mikes SteakhouseCasual in New West in 2017, but the plan is subject to council’s approval.



The Stonewater Group, owned by New Westminster residents Darren and Lindsey Flintoff and Bill and Kelly Ranford, is a franchisee of numerous Mr. Mikes restaurants. It also owns Oxygen Yoga and Fitness in Columbia Square.



“It will be our flagship,” Flintoff said. “This becomes a base for us to do more in our community. We do lots in our other markets, but we have always wanted to do more here. This provides us with a home base. It’s a win-win.”



With only about 3,800 square feet to work with in Anvil Centre, the company hired a designer to develop a plan for the space, which would include construction of a mezzanine to provide extra space. The company is willing to sign a long-term lease for the space and plans to spend $1.75 million converting the empty space into a Mr. Mikes SteakhouseCasual.



“We are going to bring in 2,500 people a week,” Flintoff said of the restaurant plan that could accommodate about 100 diners inside and others on an outdoor patio. “I’ll have a wait list and I’ll be able to say, ‘Go check out the Hall of Fame (in Anvil Centre) and I’ll text you when your table is ready.’”



Mayor Jonathan Cote said the city hasn’t made a deal for the space with any proponent. Anvil Centre opened in September 2014.



“We have been dealing with a few interested parties in terms of leasing the space, and we are looking at a variety of different options as to what the city would like to do with that space, both from either a restaurant leasing perspective, or even a non-restaurant option, all the way to the option of even some kind of civic use in the space,” he said. “Council has wanted to take a pause to make sure, given how important that corner is, we are getting the right type of use in there, and give some thought to the different type of options we are looking at. At this point, no decisions have been made and no agreement has been signed with the city.”



Cote said the city definitely wants the space at the corner of Eighth and Columbia streets to be a space that animates the street. He said the city is also considering how the space interacts with the convention centre and the office tower.



Flintoff, who has worked in the restaurant business for 30 years, said the space is too small for the “big guys” in the “premium casual” restaurant category like Earls, Joey, the Keg and Cactus Club, and the $1.5 to $2 million cost of outfitting the space for a restaurant it too expensive for many independent restaurants.



“We think this is perfect for the city,” he said of Mr. Mikes SteakhouseCasual.



While the city may be holding out for an “innovative upscale” restaurant like CinCin Ristorante and Bar, the Blue Water Café, Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill, Italian Kitchen or Black+Blue in Vancouver, Flintoff said they haven’t been knocking down the city’s door to lease the space. He’s offered to fly city council to Mr. Mikes flagship restaurant in Prince George to provide a sense of what the space in Anvil Centre could offer.



“It outcompetes Earls, the Keg, Moxie’s, Original Joe’s, everybody in the marketplace,” he said. “It’s the busiest restaurant in Prince George.”



Lindsey Flintoff said the Stonewater’s plan is to build an “extra sexy” Mr. Mikes SteakhouseCasual in Anvil Centre. A development agreement with the franchise owner requires the company to build a new restaurant by May 2017.



“If this doesn’t move forward in the next month, we have to look at something else,” she said. “It won’t be in New West.”



The company first expressed an interest in the Anvil Centre space two or three years ago and has looked at other potential locations in New West.



“We recognize that that particular group has some time limitations,” Cote said. “We are certainly hopeful they can extend those while we go through this process. We want to make sure we are getting this right. Having said that, given the type of interest we have had, expressions of interest on that site, we are still confident it is a very leasable space if we want to go down that direction. But we need to understand what our full options are before we make any final decisions.”



Cote said the city’s initial expectation had been to attract a “higher-end restaurant” to Anvil Centre. He said council will consider a few different options and opportunities for the site in the coming months.

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