In Good Company: Meet Ryan & Vince, Owners of Diner Deluxe at CY33
In Good Company with Diner Deluxe
From the bar to the brunch scene, Diner Deluxe owners, Ryan and Vince, have always loved working in hospitality. RNDSQR’s Alkarim Devani sat down with them to talk about what it’s been like taking over a beloved community hub, how they carry their ethos through multiple locations, and how they fit into new communities.
Their new location at CY33 will be opening spring of 2022.
Who: Ryan Turbide and Vince Wong
Professions: Owner of Diner Deluxe, The Shore, Friends With Benedict’s & Hi Five Burger
Alkarim: How did you get started with Diner Deluxe? What was the transition from the bar to the brunch scene like?
Vince: We started with Diner Deluxe in 2011. We were both working in bars at the time and I needed to leave the bar scene to be with my family more. Ryan was in the same boat and he approached me asking what I thought about brunch. At the time I was thinking, “I don’t.” But there was an opportunity; Diner Deluxe on Edmonton Trail was for sale. We had a lot of conversations about it and took a leap of faith in 2011.
Fast-forward 10 years and we’ve opened locations in Aspen, Mahogany, Kelowna and a pop-up in Victoria, BC. The brand itself has allowed us to do so much and it all started with a Halloween dinner at Ryan’s.
Ryan: Vince and I were longtime hospitality workers and fans of the Calgary restaurant and bar scene. We both needed a change. We were starting new chapters in our lives and Diner Deluxe came as an opportunity. It wasn’t specifically what we were looking for, but working late nights wasn’t setting us up for success as far as family goes.
We had another friend that dipped his toe in and said it was a good time for brunch and breakfast, so we took a leap of faith and purchased the business from some really great operators. They built a really good framework for us.
That location is OG and I love that you didn’t try to fix something that wasn’t broken. It’s always been clear you’re both big on relationships; can you talk about the ethos of going from nightlife to suddenly being in the kitchen of a breakfast joint?
Ryan: I think you hit it on the head. Whether you’re serving someone a rum and coke or a classic eggs breakfast, it’s all about hospitality. People go out for a drink, not necessarily because they want to grab something alcoholic. They go to listen to a band, see a DJ, or hook up with friends and share a good time and some of those great conversations can happen just as easily over a cup of coffee the next day.
“Whether it’s a bar and you’re serving someone a rum and coke, or a classic eggs breakfast, it’s all about hospitality.”
How did you bring things like culture, community and people into a breakfast joint? How do those things merge?
Ryan: I started in the industry at 14-years-old at a fast-food restaurant. I wanted to learn every aspect of this industry because I have a passion for food, hospitality and kitchens. In a way, the brunch scene is similar to the bar scene, you have your line and your list; we’ve just changed the hours. RNDSQR talks about activation and collision points; there’s no more people colliding than when trying to get in for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday. That became part of the makeup. We turned the music up. We had DJs make mixes. We would engage with people even before they were sitting down for meals. It all just became part of the process.
“RNDSQR talks about activation and collision points; there’s no more people colliding than when trying to get in for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday.”
I always appreciate how you two have maintained the relationship with the previous owner and pay homage to PJ from Cherry Lounge and Victor and Brad from the Concorde Group. Has it always been important to you two to acknowledge where you’ve come from?
Vince: Yes, I’ve learned so much from my time at Concorde. From starting out as a bartender to managing Mercury, opening Bungalow and then doing operations for Concorde. One of the most important things I learned was people skills.
Ryan: One of the things that stands out for me is they treated me as an equal, even when I was just a 19-year-old busser. If you could do the job, you could do the job.
Let’s talk Edmonton Trail. One thing I’ve always loved about your space is the community hub culture. How intimidating was it for you to come in and take over something that was so well established?
Vince: It was terrifying. We had a staff meeting prior to taking over and we approached it like any staff meeting we’ve ever done. We thought it was great, we thought it was energetic and that everyone was on board. The next day I think we lost 30% of the staff.
Not only that, but we lost a lot of the community as well. We had to talk to people who had lost faith in us and explain that we didn’t come into Diner Deluxe with a bag of money and say, “It’s mine now.” The owners made a decision to sell and they did it for their reasons. I’m glad they did because we were able to buy it, but it was a tough year for sure.
"We had a staff meeting prior to taking over and we approached it like any staff meeting we’ve ever done. We thought it was great, we thought it was energetic and that everyone was on board. The next day I think we lost 30% of the staff.”
Ryan: I say every day: Customers get to tell us what they want. We’re not a big corporate chain where we don’t take feedback. We can make things happen on the fly and we can impact that person’s brunch or that person’s day with how we do it. Every day is different and I think that’s such a positive thing.
I always thought it was cool how you’ve kept your regulars there. How do you build those relationships?
Ryan: There were so many opportunities with our staff to meet the community and impact their day. Breakfast is super personable. It’s modified; people are very specific about how they want something. If you can give that product and have a good time, people build it into their routine and want to be a part of it.
Eggs aren't necessarily the reason they came in, it might be some sort of interaction they had. If you see people coming in daily, weekly, it’s a great testament to what you’re doing. It gives you the fuel to keep going on those fourteen-hour days or those late nights and early mornings. You don’t want to miss out on that. It becomes almost like a clubhouse. A bit of a hangout and you get to see people grow.
“If you see people coming in daily, weekly, it’s a great testament to what you’re doing. It gives you the fuel to keep going on those fourteen hour days. You don’t want to miss out on that.”
I have so much respect for that; the fact that you guys didn’t come in and try to make that location all yours. You added your identity and your grit, but you also paid homage to retaining the things that were well-known. Yet, you’ve been able to grow through intuition about who the customer is and acknowledging the ethos of the community.
Vince: We had a guy who would eat there three to four times a day; he came with the furniture. He’s an amazing guy. He ended up becoming a great friend and a business partner because he gave us an opportunity instead of turning his back. We’re super fortunate. I’m sure we’ve lost a couple of people, but we’ve gained a whole bunch more along the way.
Ryan: You know, that OG original spot, it’s hard to recreate. We didn’t want to change too much. When we took it over we added different things to it, but the framework was there. The sandbox to play in was certainly vast enough that we had a lot of things that we could carry forward into other projects. We can hope that we bring that heritage along with it, be it through the staff or the menu, but we can’t recreate it. So our thing has always been to focus on how we fit in the community.
We don’t want that same sort of cookie-cutter design or aesthetic. We want it to look like it fits. So we’ve tried to do that with the other locations.
What drew you to the CY33 community? Why did you decide to open a location here and why is this space special for you guys?
Vince: Your verbiage really sold me: The talk of collision points, activations and being community-driven. I used to live in Marda Loop, so I knew it would be busy, and there’s a lot of young families.
Ryan: What I loved about CY33 and RNDSQR’s vision is the building fit. You love the idea of getting people in there, but want them to think about why they’re there. Be a fan of your community. Go check out the gym, check out the coffee shop, go to the local restaurant and check out the flower shop. Sleep here, yes, but get out and enjoy your area. Why are you a fan of your community? If you’re not in it and you’re not meeting people in your community, you could go somewhere else and get the same experience. What sold me on your place was that community, those interactions.
I’m envisioning a pop-up brunch in the courtyard with a DJ spinning records. For me, the building isn’t the thing that should stand out. It’s the people. It’s people like yourselves, but more importantly, the people that come to live and hang out in those spaces. I can’t wait for that day.
“What I loved about CY33 and RNDSQR’s vision is the building fit. You love the idea of getting people in there, but want them to think about why they’re there. Be a fan of your community.”
Those shutdowns really hit food and beverage, and doing delivery for breakfast is obviously challenging. I know it was bad, but I’m impressed by how you guys have weathered. I’m curious what you envision for the next five, ten years?
Ryan: We know now that takeaway is going to be a part of that. A friend with other restaurants in Calgary said to me, “You can’t put what we do in this box. You can’t box up the room, the staff and the hospitality and send it on its way.” A lot of people recognized that’s not what that was and wanted to support us. They started their day pre-pandemic with us and wanted to continue on. A lot of support was thrown our way.
Vince: We fought DoorDash and Skip for a long time. We always said, “brunch doesn’t travel well.” We wanted to stand by our dishes and we still do. That’s why our entire menu is not on Skip. Once the lockdown happened, we finally said, “Okay, let’s try it.” Once restaurants were able to open up we tried to turn it off, but these apps have an audience. This restaurant seats 66, but Skip the Dishes or DoorDash reaches thousands.
Ryan: It’s grown our audience. The idea that we can serve and host people in their own living rooms, or dining rooms, with our food, is cool.
“[The lockdowns] have grown our audience. The idea that we can serve and host people in their own living rooms or dining rooms with our food is cool.”
I love that you guys have taken something that’s been extremely challenging and found the silver lining. It’s great to recognize that your audience could grow exponentially if you could just figure out a way to service them. Alright, I’m going to finish my waffles here. Thanks guys!
Ryan and Vince: Thank you!
In Good Company is a RNDSQR interview series featuring people from the community. If you live in a RNDSQR building and want to be featured next, let us know!
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