Dine magazine perceives a "foodie" gap and aims to fill it

When is a magazine not? When it's a standalone annual restaurant guide. The Globe and Mail lobbed a quarter-page on Saturday to what it called a new "magazine" for Toronto from well-known "foodie", Sara Waxman.

Thing is, Dine will come out once a year (I think that stretches the definition of 'periodical' to its breaking point) and has what might be called an, um, imprecise distribution. Apparently not available for sale on newsstands. Perhaps distributed in a newspaper. Or in hotels. Otherwise controlled to a list of places not specified. Yet apparently supposed to fill a gap in the market with a paltry 10,000 to 12,000 free, oversized copies. (The idea may not be entirely original; there are various magazines called Dine throughout the United States.)

Masthead publisher Doug Bennet was quoted, correctly, as saying in this category there is a lot of competition; none of these competitors will give up their market share without a fight. Think Toronto Life, City Bites, Dining Out and so on.

Waxman, who has been a frequent contributor on food and dining to the Toronto Sun and other magazines, says that she couldn't find a consumer magazine solely dedicated to Toronto's dining pleasures. The Globe story reinforces this with a quote from the magazine's printer (!), also a partner in the venture, saying what a swell and much-needed vehicle this is to be. "There's no magazine out there that reflects the glamour of eating in Toronto," says Jay Mandarino, president of C. J. Graphics. Which is essentially nonsense.

As but one example, a pillar of Toronto Life's business case is its coverage of fine dining in Toronto and area, bolstered by annual, paid, dining and restaurant guide, its dedicated "little red books" and a dining website. Plus its Where tourist magazine which has sewed up most of the hotel rooms in town. We will leave it to St. Joseph Media to defend its own turf, but it's hard to see how Waxman's proposed magazine will do more than add another voice to an already fairly large crowd. (As reported here last week, a franchised "local food" magazine called Edible Toronto is also launching this fall in Toronto, also with controlled circulation.)

Mandarino is unabashed about what he thinks will be Dine's advertorial charms:

Ms. Waxman plans on targeting businesses from across the restaurant industry spectrum, including breweries and wineries, for ad sales. She says rates will be "very competitive." Having ads for restaurants that are accompanied by a review by Ms. Waxman will give the magazine an edge, Mr. Mandarino says. "With Sara's background writing for so many magazines and newspapers, that is going to be key," he says.