Jamie Kennedy on bankruptcy, the electronic nose, Tim Hortons comes home
• Two reporters test the noise level on Ossington Avenue on a busy Friday night. In an apartment above Reposado, they found the noise was barely louder than normal speech—and much quieter than a neighbour’s barking dog. Perhaps the locals who successfully lobbied for a moratorium on new bars might actually be the most noisy culprits after all. [National Post]
• Jamie Kennedy admits to the Globe that quick expansion is what caused creditors to claw at his apron. Fellow restaurateurs weigh in, gently suggesting that he focus less on 100-mile fare and more on food cost. But margins be damned; Kennedy plans to sell the Wine Bar so he can plow ahead with his locavore utopia in Prince Edward County. [Globe and Mail]
• Sommeliers should watch their backs: a new high-tech wine analyzer can sniff out counterfeit vintages and may even be more accurate than a highly trained human nose. Developed at the University of Bourgogne, the gizmo can even pinpoint vino’s fermentation barrel by reading its lichen levels. [Telegraph]
• After 15 years as an American corporation, Tim Horton’s is about to be reclaimed by Canada. The cruller icon was spun-off from Wendy’s in 2006, so it was just a matter of time before the chain made good on its patriotic TV ads and came back up north. [Toronto Star]
• Despite the recession, Canadian chain restaurants increased their sales by 3 per cent last year. The Top 200 Canadian Chains Restaurant Report looked at 22,530 locations, representing 50 per cent of national restaurant sales, and determined that limited-service restaurants (Asian and Mexican fast-food) grew the fastest, with sales at full-service restaurants (Milestones, Jack Astors) not far behind. [Market Watch]
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