The arrival of Sharkey's bar and restaurant 20 months ago in Bloor West Village -- just a stone's throw from long-time watering hole Shakey's -- is occasionally turning the cleverest bar-hopper into the village idiot.
Stephane Barjolin, operations manager at Sharkey's Village Café, at 2199 Bloor St. W., says staff have come to identify the location-challenged patrons who were originally destined for Shakey's Original Bar and Grill at 2255 Bloor St. W.
"If people are sitting by themselves and looking at their watches, usually after about 15 minutes we ask, 'Are you sure you're not supposed to be at Shakey's?' "
Once, coincidentally, both establishments were in the process of upgrading their sound systems. The contractor who arrived at Sharkey's spent about an hour pulling wires across roof beams before observing that the layout wasn't matching his diagrams. Even Mr. Barjolin admits that at first glance he failed to notice that Shakey's was printed on the work order.
The job continued for another 15 minutes until the installer asked how he was going to get the speakers outside. Hmmm, thought Mr. Barjolin, we didn't order speakers outside. Closer scrutiny of the work order revealed the mix-up. "The poor guy had to uninstall everything," Mr. Barjolin says.
Glen Bullen, manager of Shakey's, recalls waiting an hour and a half before he finally heard from the "very embarrassed" contractor.
One local brewer, Mr. Barjolin says, has sent so many deliveries intended for Shakey's to Sharkey's that they now "write the addresses only and not the name." Mr. Bullen says he has received boxes of wine from the LCBO that Shakey's doesn't sell.
And if things weren't confusing enough, Mr. Bullen says, a neighbourhood phone directory published in part by the local Business Improvement Association listed Shakey's name with Sharkey's address and telephone number. Mr. Bullen and Mr. Barjolin say that screwup has resulted in a number of Keystone Kops routines involving take-out orders.
Mr. Bullen says confusion over the two establishments began even before Sharkey's opened. "I'd say about 50 per cent of the delivery trucks arrived in our laneway to deliver new tables, dishes and other things," he said. "As much as I wanted to take them. . ."