A new tasting menu at Pearson costs $35
Just don't get too excited.
Happy federal budget day everyone.
It was fun to meet some of you at The Logic Summit yesterday and cool to hear about the economy directly from Tiff Macklem. On the topic of trade tensions between Canada and the U.S., a line that stuck with me is that you can either ‘kick back or strengthen the team’ (always a sports analogy). As I read through today’s coverage, the new spending is being positioned as an investment in the latter, but it’s too soon to tell whether any of it will land.
In the meantime… why Drake is at the centre of another lawsuit, $35 tasting menus are coming to Pearson Airport, Tim Hortons opened a clothing store.
NEWS:
There will be no more “butt cheeks hanging out” at Hooters. The original owners have taken back control after private equity buyers led the sports bar chain into bankruptcy this year. They’re calling it a “re-Hooterization.”
The origin of Drake’s Spotify streams is at the centre of a new lawsuit. The lead plaintiff, the rapper RBX, seems to have gotten ahold of Drake’s Spotify data and alleges that billions of streams are thanks to a “network of bot accounts.” Spotify acknowledges and warns against working with those who manipulate streaming numbers to steal revenue from artists (in 2019, Rolling Stone found fake streams could be costing artists $300 million a year), and says it has protections in place for legitimate users.
A book by a former data employee confirms how irregular activity is flagged, but it’s easier to look for anomalies than for inflated numbers.
Interesting that more CEOs aren’t trying to take control of the earnings narrative like Harley Finkelstein. But then again, could they pull it off?
Quantum computing company Xanadu will go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Investors, who haven’t seen a tech IPO in Canada in four years, are excited. The money raised on public markets, along with significant government funding, will help the company build towards deploying quantum computing systems at a commercial scale.
Pearson Airport is offering $35 tasting menus. For better or worse. This is great news for anyone who likes to get to the airport three hours early.
Mamakas will open a second restaurant in Rosedale next year. It will be across the street from Manita’s second location, another Ossington staple.
City Hall is debating whether more neighbourhood restaurants like Badiali should exist. Yes, really. A clip of one resident’s complaints has been widely shared as the city mulls over opening up rules for retailers.
“It’s become not only routine to keep tabs on our friends’ locations, but expected.” Hannah Alper wrote about her complicated relationship with location sharing as a fourth-year student at Western, something anyone who’s grown up in the era of Snap Maps can relate to. I share my location with several people purely for convenience, but would draw a hard line at some of the behaviour she described as common among her peers: using locations as a conversation starter (there are exceptions, but it’s nobody’s business why you’re at the mall), or showing up anywhere unannounced.
Tim Hortons has opened a clothing store in the Eaton Centre. Kind of. The temporary location will sell merchandise throughout the holidays.
The Fairmont sells branded pillows at its Canadian boutiques for $135. A few years ago I made a non-exhaustive list of luxury hotels that sell their bedding, including W Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, and Marriott.
