Ottawa-Gatineau Restaurant News

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Jayday23

Here's some Elgin street related news:

1. Dunns has closed down. A sign on the door says they hope they can serve elgin street again soon.

2. Rene Rodriguez's new restaurant will be called La Bastille. It will be located in the 361 Elgin Street complex.

3. Nader Sahib of the Common Concept shop is opening a new restaurant on elgin. It will be called Nader. Not sure of the address.

Is their place out in the east end still operating?

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Is their place out in the east end still operating?

Don't know, but one just opened in Westboro a couple of months ago. Always been empty every time I've walked by..

[Jayday23]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Is their place out in the east end still operating?

Yes. They're all independently owned franchises.

[Jayday23]

Originally Posted by Jayday23

Here's some Elgin street related news:

1. Dunns has closed down. A sign on the door says they hope they can serve elgin street again soon.

2. Rene Rodriguez's new restaurant will be called La Bastille. It will be located in the 361 Elgin Street complex.

3. Nader Sahib of the Common Concept shop is opening a new restaurant on elgin. It will be called Nader. Not sure of the address.

even more news:

The former sugar mountain (286 Elgin) has been transformed into a non-food business (upstairs),while the main floor will be something called Avoca (sp.) Superfoods.

[rocketphish]

Dunn's Famous Delicatessen on Elgin Street closes after 20 years

Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: October 1, 2018

Dunn’s Famous Delicatessen, which opened 20 years ago on Elgin Street and has served smoked meat to countless weekend night owls over the years, has closed.

“I’ve lost my restaurant. … It just hurts is all it does,” said Stanley Devine, who owns the business with his wife, Ina Dunn Devine, the daughter of the Montrealer who opened the original Dunn‘s Delicatessen on Montreal’s Ste. Catherine Street in 1927.

Devine, 83, said business had dropped by half in the past few years as deli fare became less popular. “People started eating healthy. People aren’t eating smoked meat as much,” said Devine, who added that, for the same reason, delicatessens elsewhere are a dying breed.

Devine said he had been trying for more than a year to halve his $20,000-a-month rent by severing his 3,500-square-foot space in two and finding another eatery to share the space with him. But he was unsuccessful, and said upcoming construction on Elgin Street was a deterrent for prospective businesses that could have split his space.

On Monday, a sign on the door of Dunn’s proclaimed that the business’s lease was ending and thanked its customers. Devine said all of his employees had been paid.

The sign added that Dunn’s would be “be back on Elgin Street soon” and directed people to check the deli’s Facebook page for updates. Devine said he is looking at a much smaller space on Elgin Street for a new Dunn’s, but added he is not considering any other locations. “I definitely do want to come back to Elgin Street. My heart’s there,” he said.

Lawrence Evenchick, the restaurant’s property manager, said the property was available for lease and that no new tenant had been lined up. Evenchick said Devine “basically lived down there (at Dunn’s). He was a hard-working man.”

There are other Dunn’s-branded deli-style restaurants in Ottawa, in the ByWard Market and Westboro, on Bank Street South, and beyond, but they are independently owned and operated.

“They make a living,” Devine said.

phum@postmedia.com
twitter.com/peterhum

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...after-20-years

[Norman Bates]

The Quickie that was on baseline in Qualicuum near the QCH has been replaced by a Frank’s and Fat Albert’s.

[JHikka]

CoCo (bubble tea) has signage up at Bank/Somerset in the former Second Cup location. Looks like they're ready for opening soon.

[Jayday23]

the new food court in 50 O'connor/99 Bank has unveiled its list of vendors. Its pretty impressive. Great to see Bar Robo opening up a second DT location!

https://www.queenstfare.ca/

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

The Quickie that was on baseline in Qualicuum near the QCH has been replaced by a Frank’s and Fat Albert’s.

Fat Albert's still exists?????

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Fat Albert's still exists?????

Yep, there's one on Laurier east of O'Connor.

[Norman Bates]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Fat Albert's still exists?????

Their #11 (Fab Four) is arguably the best sub in town.

[TransitZilla]

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...nancial-centre

'Entirely new vibe': Ottawa's first food hall to open in former Hy's Steakhouse location on Queen St.

Peter Hum
Updated: November 1, 2018

A 9,000-square-foot, high-end, licensed “food hall,” bolstered by a stage for live music, is to open Dec. 7 in the Sun Life Financial Centre on Queen Street, where Hy’s Steakhouse had been.

The hybrid development, which is to be called Queen St. Fare and which will be steps away from the LRT Parliament station that is to open next year, will be a unique addition to downtown Ottawa and an attraction that could help spark the area’s after-hours revitalization, its proponents say.

“This is an entirely new vibe for Ottawa,” said Sean O’Sullivan, vice-president and general manager for Bentall Kennedy, which manages the building.

“If we are going to change the way people view Ottawa’s downtown, we need to be bold. With Queen St. Fare, we’re making a significant investment not only in our building, but in the downtown core and Ottawa’s food and entertainment scene,” O’Sullivan said this week.
​
The project will take up more than 9,000 square feet — 1,500 more square feet than the Hy’s space — and have a licensed capacity for 390 people. While details have yet to be finalized, it could be open as early as 7 a.m. for coffee and breakfast, offer lunches and dinners for downtown workers, and then morph into a cocktail space, still served by its food vendors, into the night. It could also offer music-themed brunches on weekends.

O’Sullivan and Ottawa bar-owner Scott May, who has been involved with the project, refer to the project as a “food hall,” as opposed to a food court in a shopping mall that features more generic, mass-market eating choices.

Food halls with offshoots of premium eateries as tenants have taken off in recent years in New York and other cities, serving commuters, shoppers and discerning foodies. O’Sullivan and May have made research trips to New York, and O’Sullivan cited the Pennsy NYC, a food hall above Penn Station, as an inspiration.

However, the most unique aspect of the Ottawa project will be its stage, which will feature live music of all genres. May, who owns Bar Robo in Chinatown, likened Queen St. Fare to a festival surrounded by food trucks that could also serve beer, wine and cocktails.

The seven food businesses with outposts in the project will be: Bar Robo, which itself is a coffee shop by day and a licensed music venue by night; Green Rebel, the health-conscious food business that has several other downtown locations; Fiazza Fresh Fired, the real-time pizza-maker that has two other Ottawa locations; SEN Kitchen, which serves Vietnamese food in Lansdowne Park; Mercadito, a Mexican street food venture by veteran Ottawa chef Rene Rodriguez; Capital Burger Counter, a new local burger business, and Q Bar, a bar to be overseen by mixologist Jillian Dagenais, formerly of the Moonroom on Preston Street.

“Now you don’t have to choose between a taco, phở, burgers or pizza,” said May. “All of those and more are available with the finest barrel-aged cocktails and craft beer.”

O’Sullivan expects a flood of customers at the food hall, noting that more than 18,000 people work within a block of it, while the nearby LRT station is expected to bring 50,000 people through the building each day.

He added that after Hy’s Steakhouse, a meeting place for Ottawa’s businessmen, politicians and journalists for 30 years, closed in February 2016, other uses for its space were considered, including more office space, commercial space, or another restaurant.

However, after a greater consideration of downtown Ottawa and its dining options, the food hall concept gained traction.

May noted that Ottawa music-scene veteran Jordan David will book bands and events, and that food hall’s stage would be equipped with an acoustic piano. Ottawa festivals have already expressed interest in using the venue, May said.

May added that the food hall would be “completely trash-free,” relying on composting and recycling, that it would be a “safe, inclusive space” and that it would acknowledge that it was located on unceded Algonquin territory.

There will be an invitation-only launch for the food hall on Dec. 6, featuring special food and drink offerings and a performance by Ottawa band The Peptides.

phum@postmedia.com
twitter.com/peterhum
instagram.com/peterhum

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by phil235

Yep, there's one on Laurier east of O'Connor.

There's one near Bank & Heron and another one at St Laurent & Smyth.

[kwoldtimer]

Although the addition of a new bar and music venue is great, am I the only one who feels this food hall is being a tad over-hyped?

[McC]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

am I the only one who feels this food hall is being a tad over-hyped?

only if it fails to transform the very fabric of time and space.

[kwoldtimer]

It reminds me of the salad place that opened a year or so ago (I've long since forgotten the name) - the pre-opening hype made it sound like lives would be transformed by a new concept in salads!

[Kitchissippi]

This food hall would have been so much better if they had located it on the other side of the building cornering Bank instead of O'Connor.

[kevinbottawa]

The Pennsy food hall it's inspired by looks like a food court, although in the Citizen photo it looks like the Ottawa one has more of a market feel to it.

[jcphoenix]

I don’t know, as someone who lives and works nearby, I’m pretty excited about this addition. Bar Robo has had a great track record of live programming and this is pretty significant in terms of something that will be open on weekends and after hours on weekdays in the neighbourhood which has still been a problem as most places cater only to the office crowds and close up shop on weekends. I feel like the spread of food and beer places has slowly creeped its way down Bank from the Glebe side, but in the core business district, we still haven’t had significant progress, even with the addition of places like Paradise Poke and Sansotei livening things up.

The thing is, I walk around on weekends all the time and I frequently see people out and about. I think the area at this point can definitely support more food and entertainment options nearby on weekends. I love the idea of going somewhere so close for awesome drinks and music, or even just to chill out in the winter.

SEN is expensive but tasty and has some Viet things on their menu my partner hasn’t been able to find elsewhere in Ottawa,a cocktail place from the former mixologist from The Moon Room sounds awesome plus hoping for genuinely good Mexican nearby. And I’ve been really happy about Bar Robo’s vibe in Chinatown so pumped that they’re doing the music programming here. For the CBD, I think this is a pretty significant development.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by jcphoenix

I don’t know, as someone who lives and works nearby, I’m pretty excited about this addition.

I agree. I think this is going to do wonders for Queen St., which is already looking like a huge upgrade. I'd love to see this spread down the street.

If we want Queen and Bank to liven up, there is certainly lots of space in 240 Sparks. While 3 Brasseurs has done well, it surprises me how much vacancy is in the retail there.