Joey Tomato’s finds its market niche between fine and family dining
Wendy McLellan
Province
An artist imagines what Joey Tomato’s will look like on a sunny day on West Broadway in Vancouver.
You’d think the prospect of competing for business with four similar restaurants on the same stretch of road would be enough to consider a change of location.
To Jeff Fuller, it just means he’s picked the right place to open Vancouver‘s first Joey Tomato’s. “It gives me comfort,” said Fuller, president of the Joeys brand of his family’s restaurant chains.
“There’s a large population in the area, and a lot of lunchtime customers. I definitely think there’s room for one more.”
Construction is under way for a new Joey Tomato’s on West Broadway just east of Granville on the site of the old Kit’s Pub. The restaurant, scheduled to open next April, will compete for business with an Earl’s — also a Fuller family operation — and a Cactus Club a block away, as well as another Earl’s and Cactus Club a few blocks east.
All three restaurants put themselves in the “premium casual” category. “There seems to be a niche between fine dining and family dining,” Fuller said.
“I think there’s a big push for the premium feeling, but that you don’t have to save up for.”
He defines the category as stylish restaurants with high-end finishes and quality sound systems along with a well-priced menu.
Customers linger at the tables — and you’re not likely to find crayons and high chairs available.
Plans for the new restaurant on Broadway include full-height windows, an arched cedar ceiling and rooftop patio. The ladies washroom is two levels joined by a suspended staircase and the men’s washroom has LCD screens hanging above the urinals.
Joey Tomato’s has two B.C. locations– in Coquitlam and Kelowna — and the Coquitlam-based firm is looking to expand, said Glenn Green, director of concept development for the Joeys brand, which includes the OPM Asian bistro in Edmonton and Cucina Cucina in Washington and Oregon.
Green said the company is actively looking for sites in Vancouver‘s Yaletown, Coal Harbour and in the Burrard and Robson area. It is also scouting the North Shore for future expansion.
“We feel we’re leaders in premium casual dining and it’s time we introduced what we have to the B.C. market,” he said. Fuller opened the first Joey Tomato’s in Calgary in 1992 and has since opened nine more restaurants, including one this year in Seattle.
The Fuller family also owns Earl’s restaurants and the Saltlik steak houses in Calgary and Banff. A new Saltlik, under construction on Vancouver‘s Alberni Street, is scheduled to open in December.
© The Vancouver Province 2005
