Does Niagara Falls need more casinos?
+ McRock Capital released a holiday video.
Good afternoon everyone.
For the next office hours, Milk Bag readers will interview Adrian Rocca, the CEO of Fitzrovia. You might recognize this name as the developer behind so-called rental communities across Toronto, including the Waverley and Parker.
I spent years living in a ‘glass box tower’ at City Place before moving to The Selby (owned by a Fitzrovia competitor) in 2020, so I can speak to the quality of life that’s unlocked by these purpose-built rentals. In fact, the only time I ever questioned my slightly above-market rent was after reading an email introducing the new in-house salsa instructor (of course I took a class).
If you have questions about the rental market or housing supply in Toronto, or about Fitzrovia’s approach to the business, Adrian is the perfect person to ask. Write in here, and the answers will be included in Thursday’s edition.
Today’s newsletter includes the province’s plan to build more casinos in Niagara Falls, there’s a new sauna in the east end, and McRock Capital released a holiday video.
Ontario is exploring options to “build more casinos” in Niagara Falls. Prediction markets have yet to come for casino revenues, which support the region’s $3 billion tourism industry. Roughly 13 million people visit every year (that number is, shockingly, not much less than some major European cities), but anyone who’s stayed at the Fallsview Casino lately might appreciate plans for a boutique hotel to replace the power station.
SSENSE now has until Feb. 19 to restructure its business. This protects them legally from banks and brand partners that are owed $200 million.
I think most people would prefer to speak to a knowledgable human about their money. Wealthsimple, which swept up the country’s young investors with its robo-advisor offering, now has in-person advisors.
McRock Capital also released its 5th annual holiday video. This year, venture capitalist Scott MacDonald and his team acted in a 13-minute video based around a charity fundraiser in Montreal last month. I can’t help but think of Blackstone, a NYC-based asset manager, which releases a holiday video every year and saw a song about alternative investments go viral in 2023. I called up Scott last night to talk about the process:
What do you think is the appeal of holiday videos from firms like yours and Blackstone? I’m personally drawn to the juxtaposition between buttoned up investors who break out into song and dance. “It is about seeing someone who might be up in their ivory tower, who you might only catch a glimpse of as they stroll through a lobby before disappearing into a black limousine, and then here they are dancing in an elf costume. People in our industry take themselves so seriously and for us, it shows you we take our jobs seriously, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s also our way of giving back and to make people smile.”
What does the production process look like, and how do you find the reaction? "Some people ask what happens if a board member doesn’t like it, but I find people love it. This year was a little different because we were raising money, but we do always work with the same team, and every year they want to raise the bar. We’ll come up with an idea over the summer and they’ll start planning and scoping out locations. A lot of people are involved, and we think of it as McRock team building.
McCain Foods sold $16 billion worth of frozen potatoes, Pizza Pockets and Deep’n Delicious cakes last year. One of four french fries eaten in Canada are made by McCain, which is still a privately owned company.
Burger Drops took over the menu at Linny’s last night. *chefs kiss*
Alter opened its second location, in Leslieville, this week. Toronto is starting to feel more New York-ish in the sense that you’re seeing more retail concepts repeated between neighbourhoods, which leads to more vibrant pockets of the city where people may want to live and work. Kotn, Nutbar, Rowe Farms, Craig’s, La Carnita, Honey’s Ice Cream, Jules Bistro, Blackbird, COPS, and so many more, have expanded from west to east.
Linguistics experts and editors are asking Mark Carney to stop using British spelling in official documents. Kind of like your friend who went on exchange and now won’t stop pronouncing ‘bruschetta’ like that.
Onyx Storm was the most-borrowed book from the Toronto Public Library this year. Runner-up was Mel Robbins’s Let Them Theory.
Live Nation is hiring a creator strategist in Toronto. A friend’s reaction to me sending her the role, which probably includes lots of free tickets:
Ah yes. Certainly the #1 thing preventing economic prosperity in Ontario is a lack of casinos.