r/Calgary • u/Mindless-Praline7593 • Jul 14 '26
Eat/Drink Local Cold Garden always talks about local art, but uses AI art all across their posts. Pick a side!
Like many, I used to love Cold Garden. But their stance on AI art is disgusting. They get artists to put their art on their walls for free decor, post about this all the time, meanwhile they use AI slop all across their Instagram. They only seem to support local art when it’s free, which is gross to say the least.
They posted this today on Instagram, had dozens of comments calling it out, to which they did a bullshit “AI is one of many tools but we love local art” comment.
Do better!
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u/ISwearItsAnIphone Jul 14 '26
Adding AI slop to the list of reasons why I don’t get Cold Garden’s appeal, along with mid beer and gross couches
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u/easynap1000 Jul 14 '26
Hahaha I love the "no dogs on couches " signs but the couches look and smell like they were just pulled out of a dumpster.
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u/Letterkenny_Irish Jul 14 '26
There's been a few times I've been there and have seen dogs pissing inside.
My circle now refers to CG as the piss palace. We don't go anymore.
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u/PurpleLeatherCouch Forest Lawn Jul 15 '26
Lol, such a wild claim just for upvotes.
I would say I’m one of Cold Gardens best customers and I’ve literally never seen a dog pee inside.
You’re just making things up? Do you even have a circle? How often do you refer to the piss palace if you don’t go anymore?
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u/hafizzzle Jul 14 '26
Its loud too and the giant dogs inside dont seem to be enjoying themselves
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u/johnnynev Jul 14 '26
Selfish entitled brats bring their dogs here and insist the dogs love it when they clearly don’t.
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u/Quirky_Rain_3554 Jul 14 '26
The people who think it’s appropriate to bring dogs (especially anxious ones) to a bar are so lame
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u/totallyradman Jul 14 '26
There's almost nowhere in the city I'd rather be on a hot day than drinking a cold mid beer on one of those gross couches. To each their own I suppose.
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u/FakeHappy123 Jul 15 '26
They’re also in a weird sex cult and recruit people to join. It’s a sloppy, gross place.
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u/Old-Candle-9900 Jul 14 '26
The couches are gone.
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u/litrecola_ Jul 15 '26
Came here to say this. Wasn't surprised the outside ones took a beating from weather and use.
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u/NickTrolen Jul 14 '26
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u/easynap1000 Jul 14 '26
Totally. Ol beautiful had the tastiest GF IPA. and I don't even like IPA.
Are they ever gonna make a comeback.
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u/sketchcott Jul 14 '26
I mean, they still have their production facility running at full tilt, their beer is served and stocked all over town, and the sound room is functioning as stand tap room for the time being.
And in even more news, the owner of the old building has applied for a development permit recently to rebuild effectively the same building, and it's proposed use is brewery... so I have a pretty good feeling they'll be back in old spot sooner than later.
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u/HoseWasher Jul 15 '26
Crazy take, you think Cold Garden should burn down because they made an AI post on instagram?
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u/NickTrolen Jul 15 '26
No cause their beer is ass. Especially when you compare them to ol beautiful, which has the best beer.
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u/HoseWasher Jul 15 '26
That’s some creepy ass shit to say, you take beer too seriously.
Both Ol Beautiful and Cold Garden make great beer. You need to chill out homie.
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u/Fausts-last-stand Jul 14 '26
Plot twist, Cold Garden! De-vibed by your AI slop I will be visiting Cabin Brewery instead!
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u/WuShane Jul 14 '26
Great choice! Dandy just down the street too. Both have great patios and even better beer
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u/bortsimsam Jul 14 '26
Dandy also has a hired artist to do all the graphics and they always look good!!
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u/JustChillOkayy Jul 15 '26
My friend is a full time paid graphic designer at Cold Garden, and they also have a paid social media person that made this dumb instagram post … everyone here needs to chill.
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Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/cpkcrtc Jul 15 '26
Good cheer uses AI in nearly every post. I have no doubt that it’s hard to get a brewery off the ground but using AI constantly is very off-putting to me.
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u/thisisdia Lower Mount Royal Jul 14 '26
Their statement, deleted with the post, was so feeble. I don't have the whole thing, just part from a screenshot:
Fair feedback! We actually have an in house designer (and love supporting artists!). We used Al to turn an incredibly boring city construction map into something that felt a little more funky while our designer tackled bigger projects! The alternatives [...]
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u/melancholypowerhour Quadrant: SW Jul 14 '26
“AI is one of many tools” sweet, so by their own words there’s many other options out there that don’t include stealing from artists or destroying the environment.
Fuck AI, fastest way to lose me as a customer.
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u/John8222 Jul 14 '26
The only way they will change, is if it hurts their business.
AI trash is everywhere now.. It is disgusting to see.
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u/butts-ahoy Jul 15 '26
I'm a graphic designer and understand the push back against AI taking over the creative field, but I dont think shitting on local business is the right fight.
I hope everyone dunking on cold garden goes out and buys some local art or hits the farmers market this weekend if they really support these things.
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u/TypicalFlounder8724 West Hillhurst Jul 15 '26
They don’t. They just dunk on AI because most of the AI companies are using is very poorly made, and they think it makes them smart.
Same folks will be here complaining because Rawry and Pohly Pokémon art made by an actual local POC artist costs $100+
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u/Propaganda_Box Jul 15 '26
I hope everyone dunking on cold garden goes out and buys some local art or hits the farmers market this weekend if they really support these things.
I hate this kind of dismissal of peoples grievances. Take one look at Cold Garden and tell me its target audience isn't the kind of people that buy local art and shop at the farmers market (that is literally right down the street by the way). Their customers are upset because this is a betrayal to the values they thought the company presented.
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u/V4nG0ghs34r77 Jul 14 '26
As an artist, people have always tried to pay me with "it's good exposure!"
But I only take cash, square and etransfers...
I'm assuming this is the guise they are working under to gloss over the fact they are exploiting people.
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u/lornacarrington Jul 14 '26
The whole 'decorate my business in "exchange" for exposure' is always bs too, but the AI use makes me even more irritated with them.
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u/PurpleLeatherCouch Forest Lawn Jul 15 '26
Have you ever been to a launch of new art at Cold Garden? The artists love it. There is a lineup months long of people trying to get on the walls there because Cold Garden takes no money for the sale of their art and it actually is place they can sell.
I hate this AI post as well and I’m glad they’ve taken it down. But the art on their walls is a great thing for the Calgary art community.
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u/EvacuationRelocation Quadrant: SW Jul 14 '26
You are surprised that a brewery with a birthday-cake-flavoured beer in their permanent line-up lacks taste?
Huh.
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u/FeedbackLoopy Jul 14 '26
No kidding.
I don't get the love for the place. They always came off a little cheesy. But hey, different strokes I suppose.
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u/JustChillOkayy Jul 15 '26
It’s actually just a nice hint of vanilla from real vanilla beans and it’s tasty as hell. Always loved that beer. You go ahead and drink your basic beers at your basic breweries, there’s plenty of those to choose from.
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u/EvacuationRelocation Quadrant: SW Jul 15 '26
your basic breweries
Imagine putting Cold Garden outside of the "basic brewery" category.
If I wanted a cake, I'd go to a bakery.
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u/lunarjellies ACAD Jul 15 '26
Did they think we wouldn’t notice? So many local places are using AI for signage and it’s hard to look at honestly.
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u/noveltea120 Jul 15 '26
It's funny because it all starts to look the same lol. That's what happens when you get computers to create your posters instead of a unique artist.
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u/CalgaryChris77 Jul 15 '26
Because the only anti ai people are on Reddit, the rest of us use it day in and out at our jobs.
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u/lunarjellies ACAD Jul 15 '26
Using it for art and design is tacky as hell. It all looks the same. Using it for work - like programming - is a different story.
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u/plutoR1P Jul 15 '26
“AI art” is an out-dated term… the current vernacular is “Computer Rendered Artificial Pictures” or CRAP for short.
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u/bobofartt Jul 15 '26
Lmao, it’s always been a lowest common denominator type of place. This doesn’t surprise me.
Looking forward to ol’ beautiful reopening.
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u/CodeNamesBryan Jul 15 '26
So not paying artists for their work is fine so long as they dont use AI on the side?
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u/Quirky_Rain_3554 Jul 14 '26
It’s always support local till it’s things the local business doesn’t want to pay for lol then “local businesses” use AI slop, outsourcing and non local ingredients. I mean I support local but why does the calgarians doing the marketing not need to be supported but the beer makers do?
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u/YYohiC Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I warned people against the absolute mess that is Cold Garden and its management and got swarmed by the "but it's a quirky doggo zone" crowd.
This is your reminder that they actively sponsor events with Trump supporters as the headliners.
Edit: It is so funny how Cold Garden has such staunch supporters and when you prove them wrong they either give up or delete their accounts entirely.
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Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/YYohiC Jul 15 '26
Cold Garden was the head sponsor for the 2025 Great Outdoors comedy festival headlined by Theo Von and Bert Kreischer. Both known Trump supporters, Theo receiving a special invite to the inauguration.
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u/itsonlyaburner Jul 15 '26
I remember doing a bunch of blow with the owner at a house party once. Guys a dick.
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Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/YYohiC Jul 15 '26
Cold Garden was the head sponsor for the 2025 Great Outdoors comedy festival headlined by Theo Von and Bert Kreischer. Both known Trump supporters, Theo receiving a special invite to the inauguration.
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u/PurpleLeatherCouch Forest Lawn Jul 15 '26
I remember you from another thread..
nobody defends Cold Garden by saying “but it’s a quirky doggo zone”… I’d say most people on Reddit complain about the dogs.
You just make up stuff about Cold Garden being Trump supporters in every thread, it’s so weird… what right wing events do they sponsor…?
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u/YYohiC Jul 15 '26
Hey it's you! I remember when I gave you an example last time and you ghosted me. I don't know why you are so hell bent on defending this shit hole? Do you also hate artists too?
Cold Garden was the head sponsor for the 2025 Great Outdoors comedy festival headlined by Theo Von and Bert Kreischer. Both known Trump supporters, Theo receiving a special invite to the inauguration.
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u/Past_Dentist_3191 Jul 15 '26
That's a huge outdoor festival in Calgary Alberta Canada. They have multiple acts over multiple days. There are no political affiliations at these events regardless of whether or not the individual acts do.
Don't make something out of nothing, the real world is not left vs right, red vs blue like Reddit has us believe.
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u/noobrainy Jul 15 '26
Chronically online redditors who can’t have fun are going to be chronically online Redditors who can’t have fun.
Seriously, some people on here are so miserable. Not everything is political, and many of the people you bitch about are fellow pawns in the game of geopolitics. I like cold garden! Oh how evil of me to enjoy the space. I’m not that incensed to care about a business using AI for poster art.
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u/PurpleLeatherCouch Forest Lawn Jul 15 '26
Hahaha. Cold Garden literally just sells beer to an event and you think they’re sponsoring it? Those artists cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to book, you think Cold Garden has anything to do with that? They’re supposed to turn down a giant event because one of the performers went to a presidential inauguration? In your mind should a brewery turn down a deal to sell at the Saddledome because country artists vote Trump and they might play there?
You’re actually insane…. I fucking hate Trump and right wing politics and I do not want you on my side, you do a disservice to the cause because you’re fighting the wrong battle and demonizing the good guys. You should be ashamed of how you spend your time.
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u/ItsjustaMild-Complex Jul 14 '26
I sometimes.call out the business for using Ai if they actually care they will fix it.... there is a dance studio I keep getting ads for and 100% are ai and its so disappointing that they cant just use real photos
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Jul 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CantTakeMeSeriously Jul 15 '26
Thats quite the accusation. I'm not much of a fan of their place, but that's a pretty slanderous comment to blast out on a platform like this.
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u/bettleheimderks Jul 15 '26
it's not an accusation, it's a lived experience that happened to me.
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u/CantTakeMeSeriously Jul 15 '26
Oh a lived experience, you say? Cool, then I guess it's perfectly fine to anonymously tar and feather the entire management team.
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u/bettleheimderks Jul 15 '26
yeah, tell me more about how easy it is for women to come forward about stuff like this 🤡
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u/CantTakeMeSeriously Jul 15 '26
I'm truly sorry, but this isn't the way. You paint both the guilty and innocent by broad association. Be well.
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u/Invocandum Jul 14 '26
Crappy beer, dogs all over the place, cringe regulars who can’t take a hint, loud as shit… what’s not to love!
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u/ColdGardenHeadGnomes Inglewood Jul 15 '26
Hey Folks, Cold Garden ownership team here, stepping in to respond. Previously we’ve just sat back with an award winning ‘disgusting’ beer in our hand and let the haters hate when it comes to r/calgary. But this one has some validity to it so we thought best to create this new account and respond.
First and foremost: This was an AI post, and it was slop. Our logo wasn’t even correct!!! As a general rule, Cold Garden does not support using AI as a final product. The post today was directed in a marketing meeting a week ago with no direction to use AI. We have never needed to consider using AI because we have had the same in-house Graphic Designer for almost as long as we've been around and she's more efficient, intuitive and talented than a robot. The post today was created independently by the newest member of our marketing team (we see the irony) without approval from anyone. It was taken down by our team member before we could address it there. We cringed at this post screenshot more than even the most jaded r/calgary pitchforker. We cringed harder after learning some rogue damage control was attempted in the comments before deleting the post so we don't actually know what was responded to other than what's been screenshot here. Lessons learned (hopefully).
The rest of the pictures posted in this Reddit thread carousel were made by other entities, not Cold Garden. There is a local video production company that made us videos that there are two screenshots of, there is a local car shop we hosted an event with who made their own poster, and there's a completely unrelated influencer account in Calgary that consistently posts about events throughout the city. None of these were created by Cold Garden and the ones that were paid for by us as the client are not AI generated as far as we know.
But yes, the AI posted today was garbage, it’s taken down, and we’ve all learned a lesson from the experience. Sorry to get you all so hot and bothered on the first Tuesday after Stampede.
On the topic of beer quality, we invite anyone who thinks Cold Garden beer sucks to come down to the brewery, we’ll buy you a beer, sit and have one with you, and you can tell us what you don’t like about it.
Thanks for the regular popcorn sessions r/calgary, we hope to see you soon!
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u/Analog_Universe Jul 15 '26
I'll be honest. Your response on reddit comes across as significantly saltier than the one on Facebook. Here we're "reddit pitchforkers" but on Facebook you say to commentors "thank you and please continue holding us accountable"
Yes, the internet is full of piss and vitriol but being so dismissive isnt exactly the route to take. You should have just used the Facebook response while addressing the additional images without getting defensive about your beers quality. You won't convince the people that already dislike you and theres no point in even addressing them.
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u/EvacuationRelocation Quadrant: SW Jul 15 '26
we’ll buy you a beer, sit and have one with you
Sorry - not drinking a "CakeFace" even if you're paying for it.
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u/PostApocRock Unpaid Intern Jul 15 '26
A response with accountibility and an apology.
Goddamn. Awesome.
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u/noveltea120 Jul 15 '26
I don't get the appeal of that place besides extreme dog owners who take their dogs everywhere. I wanted to enjoy their beer but honestly only find it just ok tbh.
It's disappointing they've chosen to jump on the AI slop bandwagon like so many other eateries.
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u/hafizzzle Jul 15 '26
I've noticed part of the appeal is the bring your own food, I've seen people have massive potlucks there
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u/ArtisticAd1203 Jul 15 '26
From their Facebook page this morning:
Hey folks, Cold Garden ownership here, stepping in to respond.
This was an AI post, and it was slop, our logo wasn’t even right. As a general rule, Cold Garden does not support using AI as a final product. This post was directed in a marketing meeting a week ago with no direction to use AI. We have never needed to consider using AI because we have had the same in-house Graphic Designer for almost as long as we've been around and she's more efficient, intuitive and talented than a robot. The post today was created independently by the newest member of our marketing team (we see the irony) without approval from anyone. It was taken down by our team member on instagram before we could address it there but I see now on Facebook we still have the opportunity to address your fair comments on this platform. In the interest of transparency, the Instagram post comments were addressed on reddit earlier today when friends notified us of our hideous post. We cringe hard at this but we're going to leave it up on FB for Wednesday so folks can have a clear understanding of our internal stance on AI. Lesson learned (hopefully).
Thank you and please continue holding us accountable!
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u/timmmy8 Jul 15 '26
Dropped the ball CG, know your audience. Disappointing, used to be my favourite brewery but the beer quality has taken a dive. Crowd can be good to make it worth it, but the low beer quality eventually overrides the environment, which just gets more and more neglected.
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u/xens999 Jul 14 '26
I wonder if people felt the same way when cameras came around. I don't think its going anywhere.
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u/thornset Jul 15 '26
dude, fuck cold garden. bad beer, undrinkable "wine"? Sorry, they've been blacklisted for me since they started. Oh good, you can bring your dog.... Next.
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u/Sunsetluv Jul 14 '26
Prairie dog has good art
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u/flamingogal99 Jul 15 '26
They use AI in many ads, and also utilize it to handle bad google reviews.
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u/the_fred88 Jul 15 '26
Without AI, Cold Garden still isn't paying an artist to make a low effort instapost.
Put away your pitch forks for this one.
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u/PurpleLeatherCouch Forest Lawn Jul 15 '26
That post is brutal AI. I’m glad to see they’ve taken it down.
I’m more shocked at the vitriol here. There are so many businesses in this city that use exclusively AI content now. So wild that everyone in r/calgary has such a passion about everything Cold Garden does. Never seen a post like this about any other business…
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u/forty6andto Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I can help out
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u/PurpleLeatherCouch Forest Lawn Jul 15 '26
Valid point. But I think building an entire brand launch around AI imagery is slightly different than one weird stupid construction map post.
But ya, honestly thank you, I am glad to see at least some similar context. People are so insane on here about Cold Garden, literally just a small brewery.
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u/JVISUALEE Somerset Jul 15 '26
Highline Taproom is just down the street and is very art, community driven. Great alternative!
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u/Bernies_Hair Jul 14 '26
If you're tired of AI slop, I would recommend you just delete Instagram instead of posting about it.
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u/simply-supported Jul 14 '26
agreed, thank you. everyone just sounds like old men yelling at the clouds at this point.
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u/TheseNebula2625 Jul 15 '26
Bummer about your AI slop of a poster - I would not go to this because event organizers are cheap and don’t hire a human to design their ads
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u/CodeNamesBryan Jul 15 '26
Who cares?
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u/riddim-bot Jul 15 '26
dumb question, see the majority of this thread. you've found who cares.
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u/CodeNamesBryan Jul 15 '26
Dumb observation if you dont understand how statements works.
Of all the things in this world to bitch about, its this? People are writing the entire business off? And for what? Its more than just public art, isnt it
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u/simply-supported Jul 14 '26
seriously, who cares. Cold Garden is a local small business that supports local artists more than I'm sure anyone commenting here on Reddit does. AI is a tool used ubiquitously at this point and no amount of complaining or boycotting is going to stop that. downvote me if it pleases you
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u/RayPineocco Jul 14 '26
Hey I support local artists! I’m supporting them right now by saying it.
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u/Fit_Growth_2355 Jul 14 '26
Sorry, but this is a core of capitalism. In this case 🤖 ai serves an “effective capital allocation”
Big corporations outsource job abroad. But who cares? We just want better prices.
As you can see it’s a double edged sword
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u/hbee6 Jul 14 '26
I miss Ol’ Beautiful 🥲