Latest news with #ChristianMena
Edmonton Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Oilers playoff run could leave economic hangover when it's done
Article content But what goes up must come down, and local restaurateur Christian Mena of the Sabor Restaurant Group said if last year was any indication, restaurant spending could dip when the playoffs conclude. 'People get excited and you're so conflicted, right? You want the Oilers to go all the way to the to the Stanley Cup, and let's kick ass this year, right? This is the year, boys,' Mena said, who acknowledged that his own restaurants don't tend to get the same playoff boost as others, on account of them not having TVs to watch the games. 'But by the same token, people are totally, for lack of a better term, blowing their wad during the Oilers. And then when it's over, you're like, 'OK, well, everybody needs to take a break here'. We kind of recoup. It's like February after Christmas,' Mena said. Moneris tracked the biggest spends near Rogers Place and around the city during Games 3 and 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The highest increase in spending throughout the city came on Game 3 with spending transactions rising 13 per cent across the city, compared to a comparable non-game day. Spending near the arena hit its highest for the series during the following game on May 12 with an increase of 69 per cent over a comparable non-game day.
Edmonton Journal
30-04-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
'We like building restaurants': Edmonton's Sabor Restaurant group keeps expanding
Christian Mena and Lino Oliveira of the Sabor Restaurant group have opened on Whyte Avenue and are also planning a Calgary expansion Christian Mena, co-owner of Sabor and Bodega, in the new Whyte Avenue location. Photo by Greg Southam / Postmedia Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Christian Mena and Lino Oliveira seem incapable of standing still. 'It's not really who we are,' allows Mena, co-owner with Oliveira of the Sabor and Bodega by Sabor chain of restaurants, which now includes a new Bodega on Whyte Avenue in the space until recently used by the Craft & Cork pub. 'I don't mean that in any kind of arrogant way, it's just that since we began we've always been of the mind to expand.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Since the original Sabor Divino opened in 2008, the partners and childhood friends have been fearless in pushing forward while others have retrenched. In less than two decades a number of Bodegas have popped up across the city and in St. Albert, while Mena and Oliveira experimented with new ideas like Urbano Pizza Co back in 2015. The constant testing has always been a fact of their partnership. Mena believes that their need to keep pushing comes down to a shared artistic sensibility. 'A huge joy for us is creating.' says Mena, who has been a musical presence in the city for decades, initially with the Latin-funk ensemble Maracujah in the '90s. 'I've been an actor and a singer my whole life, and Lino is a visual artist. He's an incredible painter and sculptor, and at some point, we realized that we actually like building restaurants, we like the design part of it. If you've ever been to any of our Bodegas, you've seen that they have the white wall that has all these things on it. I love going out and getting that stuff, and Lino loves putting it together.' Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The design element is one thing, but when it comes to the new location on Whyte the partners are especially excited about how Bodega will fit in with the vibe on the avenue. There's the patio space, of course, but also the large windows that remained from when the spot was an Elephant & Castle. Mena points out that he's particularly thrilled to have a Bodega open right across the street from Blues on Whyte, where his newest band The Payback often plays. 'It's funny to me that whenever we play there, people are like, 'Oh, we want to go get something to eat first.' In my mind, I kept thinking you'll be able to eat at one of my places very soon. The thing is, I used to go to the old Elephant & Castle to watch soccer games; it's a great historic building. It's a space I'm very used to.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The new Bodega on Whyte will have the privilege of being the first of the partners' locations that has a constantly functioning raw bar. The seafood bar boasts a menu that includes tuna tartare, oysters, smoked scallops, and a number of other items that can't be found anywhere else in the Sabor and Bodega chain. Mena notes that the long bar that was a feature of the old Elephant & Castle was a selling point for the partners, who had been looking for a location where they could incorporate a raw bar. Expansion to Calgary and Downtown Mena says that he and Oliveira are always looking for a situation where a raw bar can be incorporated. Which is why they're also thrilled to be opening a Bodega by Sabor in the Mission area of Calgary on 4th Street. Calgary has long been on the partners' minds, but it was only recently that a location opened up that they could envision as a spot for them. Mena says that it was in the first five minutes of walking in that they knew they had their new location, which is still in early in the timeline for an announced opening. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We had another place we had been eyeing for a while, but it just never worked out,' he says. 'Then Jessie, our publicist, said, 'Hey guys, this place has been closed for a little while. You should go take a look.' We walked in, and immediately we knew. The fact that it's in that area also made it appealing, because it's a very walkable neighbourhood. The landlords put us through it, of course, because we may be known in Edmonton but Calgary doesn't know us from a hole in the wall. We were definitely scrutinized. It worked out, though, and truthfully I think it's going to be one of our best locations.' Along with Roca by Sabor, which will be opening in the old Union Bank building sometime in 2026, Mena and Oliveira will have their hands full with their new eateries. Mena says that they're up for it, and are looking forward to changing as they move along, listening to customers, working with staff to create something unlike the other locations. Like a good musical improviser, Mena plans to adapt. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. With the original Sabor, that meant changing from a menu featuring only tapas, wines and cocktails to full-service dinner. When the restaurant group initially opened Bodega, they had to change the plan to not take any reservations, bowing to customer demand that they be able to reserve a spot. As with any creative artist or canny business person, inflexibility is not an option. 'You know, a lot of this has been trial and error,' Mena admits. 'Things that work in one place often don't work in the other. Bodega started off as a little place that we intended to be like a little version of a Spanish-Portuguese neighbourhood pub. It was really about going to get a small plate and a glass of wine or a cocktail. But then it morphed, not from our doing, but from the doing of the customer, from the demands of the customer. Now it's a place where people come to have dinner and spend special occasions. That was never our intention. So yes, we're always listening. There have been times where maybe we didn't listen enough, but we're absolutely trying to listen more and more.' Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun. Cult of Hockey Edmonton Oilers Politics News Politics
