Boardwalk Burgers is now open in Charleswood!
Charleswood has long stretches with limited commercial development, making it a bit of a drive for residents to access grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants. The Safeway in Charleswood Mall and the No Frills in the Westdale area, along with some Shopper’s Drug Marts, are the primary options. Residents often need to travel further for other stores and restaurants.
There are not many spots for commercial development in Charleswood, which is largely a sleeper suburb of Winnipeg. However, an opportunity arose when No Frills Charleswood underwent renovation, creating three spaces for other businesses on either side of the grocery store’s entrance. In one of those spaces, between the Liquor Mart and No Frills, a 1,690-square-foot restaurant called Boardwalk Burgers Fries Shakes opened. This restaurant is new to the Winnipeg market.
Boardwalk, which started in 1981 in Maryland, has grown to 750 locations worldwide, with 22 of them in Canada and six more planned. Known for its lightly salted fries and variety of shakes, Boardwalk is considered a mid-priced alternative to higher-priced burger spots, offering a step up from the big chains. The Cheema family, along with six employees, owns the Winnipeg franchise, which quietly opened on May 25, with an official opening in July.
The 6650 Roblin retail area has slowly transformed into a mix of housing, retail, and offices, though not without challenges. Resistance to change has been strong, and multi-unit housing projects have been slow to develop. The Charleswood Condos, for instance, were built only after a decade of the land sitting vacant. The No Frills renovation was relatively smooth, resulting in an insurance outlet and a new restaurant, while a third space remains available for lease.
Longtime landlords are realizing the need to update and appropriately size their properties for the market, and Charleswood is no exception. Space is in demand but hard to find, and sometimes, the available spaces are too large. This issue has affected leasing in areas like Osborne Village, where spaces went unused until recently. Now, two restaurants are being built where Basil’s once stood.
Charleswood residents now have a local dining option and may even attract visitors from farther away who want to try Boardwalk Burgers.
This has been a guest editorial by John Dobbin.
To read more from John, visit his blog Observations, Reservations, Conversations
