May 13, 2005 - Glebe Report

39 Glebe Report May 13, 2005 GCI
BY JAMIE KRONICK
& CODY ELLIOT
The Worksa locally owned and
operated burger restaurant, now
with its third location, this one located
the Glebecommits itself to
in
providing their customers with a great
burger, a friendly environment, and a
very refreshing welcoming attitude.
With an amazing selection of over 60
high-quality burgers, over 35
delectable milkshakes, and something
to please absolutely everyone, The
Works is turning into the classic
neighbourhood burger joint where
people go to chat over a good meal
at a very affordable price.
Ion Aimers is the man behind The
Works. This self-made man debuted
in the restaurant world working at
The Keg Steakhouse in Victoria, BC.
After climbing the corporate 1-adder
and growing in seniority, Ion moved
to Ottawa and started his first
restaurant, LA Wings, located in the
Byward Market. After three very
successful years in the market, Ion
wanted more, so he sold the
restaurant and began working
towards a vision; that vision has
materialized as The Works.
The Works opened their first
restaurant on Beechwood in
November of 2001. With no
reputation to build on, Ion and The
Works had to lead by example with
their high-quality foods. After creating
a massive buzz in the Beechwood
area, with people coming from all
over to taste these burgers, Ion
decided to open another restaurant
in Westboro. After another big
success in Westboro, Ion, wanting to
expand yet again, his newest location
opened in the Glebe this past
November.
Quality and atmosphere are what
keep people coming back to The
Works again and again. So what
makes this restaurant different from
other burger places? The Works is by
IT WORKS!!
no means fast food as there are no
TVs and no bar in any of the restaurants.
Someone can come in
during their lunch break and order a
plain burger with just ketchup and
mustard on it, but it's still going to take
20 minutes to make. That's what
makes The Works special. It's a family
restaurant with the emphasis on being
a place you can go to relax. It's a
throwback to the era of the classic
burger joint where kids can go after
school, hang out and enjoy
themselves, or a family can come for
a nice sit-down meal.
When Ion started The Works chain
he knew where he wanted to put his
restaurants. He purposely didn't put
them in shopping malls and instead
opted to have them in
neighbourhoods with a strong sense
of community. He advertises in local
papers rather than citywide
distributed ones, appealing to people
in communities.
If Ion could recommend anything
from the menu he would tell you to
get the Hamburger Mary: a brokenyolk
fried egg, crispy bacon, ripe
tomato, cheddar & mayo on your
choice of patty. The idea for the
burger stems from his earlier days in
Montreal. In terms of milkshakes, he
would recommend Ryan's Ashbury
Shake: a mix of peanut butter, caramel
& Oreo invented by his son.
,The restaurant met and exceeded
our expectations from a burger joint
again and again. We were amazed
with the variety and quality of the
burgers and toppings, the friendliness
of the staff, and how personable. Ion
Aimers was. He agreed to meet with
us on such short notice to answer our
questions, showing his dedication to
the community. It made our overall
experience that much more
enjoyable. If you're looking for a place
to have a great meal in a great
atmosphere, head on over to The
Works.
NEWSLETTER
CURRICULUM? MORE LIKE CURRICUSUCK
BY AMAN SINGH, GRAHAM BARR
& CON NOR WILSON
The new curriculum and the
elimination of OAC have spurred
controversy over the past few years.
It was a long road to change the
education system and it has been two
years since the last of the OACs
walked across the stage at graduation.
But -what are teachers' and students'
opinions on the system? Should it be
changed, and how has it affected
students and teachers on an academic
and personal level? We took to the
streets to find out.
The pressures of the last year of
high school are much more intense
for the students. They have to think
about what is the next step in their
liveswhether they want to go
straight into the workforce or
continue education. Grades are of utmost
importance if university or
college is your selected path. Since
Grade 13 has been eliminated, many
teachers at Glebe have noticed
heightened stress levels in students.
And more and more students are
getting part-time jobs, as well as the
added workload that comes with the
condensed curriculum. Our surveys
have shown that 80% of Grade 12
students carry a part-time job
throughout the year. Some teachers
even saw a drop in homework and
assignment quality since the
curriculum had changed. Sloppy work
and poor explanations were backed
up with excuses like "I was too tired to
complete the work" and "I forgot to
do it, I was busy preparing for my
calculus test." Teachers have also
noticed that students, worried about
admission to university or college and
the future in general, can develop
depression, unhealthy diets and a lack
of sleep.
"It is a maturity issue," says a teacher
at Glebe Collegiate. "Many
students aren't prepared to face the
challenges of the application and
attendance of university. There is a
realizationtoo late for somethat
university is now here; many want an
extra year to adapt and mature."
Students at Glebe seem to be in a
lot of stress in Grade 12. At Glebe
there is an even division between
people that want Grade 13 back and
people that don't. While competing to
get into university, students are forced
to work unreasonable hours at night
to make enough money to pay for
tuition fees. Many of the teachers
believe that the students are too
young to go into college/university,
and that the competition is unhealthy
for immature students.
It seems apparent that both
students and teachers agree that the
Grade I 2s are under far more
pressure than what they would have
experienced in the old curriculum.
With university acceptance being a
must for a top job, students vie for
grades and money to guarantee a spot
in a university. This is a difficult task,
and takes a person with experience to
handle such a situation. The age at
which we graduate may be too
young. With an 8% loss of graduation
diplomas earned from 1998 to 2003,
more students seem unable to handle
the stress. The new curriculum is still
new and as the years go by hopefully
some wrinkles will be ironed out.
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