ottawa foodies

Just read in the Citizen that Juniper has now closed. So sad.

ottawacitizen.com

Article at link.

Very unfortunate. Full kudos for them trying to find the staff jobs.

With all the new restaurants in Westboro/Hintonburg the last 2-3 years something had to give. Not sure what those new guys were thinking, honestly.

I'd say given the price-point for these guys, Gezellig probably drove them out of business. Not that there is anything wrong with that - that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Kudos to the ones doing it right.

'the ones doing it right'?

Probably referring to supply and demand, or allium.

The food at juniper was *light years* better than gezellig.

Doing business right.

Never been to either place so can't really comment on the food.

It was a pretty big location too, after the move, must have made it that much harder.

It was a terrible location - in a car dealership? WTF were they thinking?

I am woefully ignorant of actual costs, etc. but I wonder if buying your location is an option for some of these restaurants or if you can only rent maybe the idea is to get out ahead in the next big area. How many small businesses have closed in Wellington Village/Hintonburg/Westboro in the last few years? The common denominator seems to be the shock of a sudden rent increase that is no longer affordable. I know there was a group in Hintonburg that was starting a family/community health center and they were specifically looking to buy for just that reason. I think they eventually found something after a deal for the Salvation Army space beside the library fell through. I suppose most restaurants might not have that initial capital though.

I know there is a certain cache to being in hot areas but do all the trendy restaurants have to be located in the same 4 or 5 areas of town (Market, Elgin, WW/Hintonburg/Westboro strip, Preston and then Glebe or New Edinburgh). I'm sure the rent in Vanier or one of the suburbs is fairly cheap, but I wonder if a restaurant there would generate the same buzz, irrespective of its actual food quality because of its location?

I've lived in Ottawa for 8 years and in Westboro for 2 of those years and have never eaten at that Subaru dealership,er..., I mean, Juniper. It has never appealed to me. Clearly I wasn't alone.

Juniper had very nice food, but I agree the location made it an unappealing destination. In fact, the only time I visited Juniper in the past decade was for an uplifting lunch after a disappointing Outback test drive. :D

In the restaurant industry, novelty is one of the attributes that makes a restaurant successful. Newcomers will always squeeze out older establishments--especially on the high end of the price scale where diners have limited spending opportunities.

I think it was pretty explicitly stated that the rent increase for Juniper made it no longer affordable to continue their business there, despite the admirable qualities of their cuisine. What's interesting about this is that people are actually surprised, when this is just a story that you could read about any restaurant closing in any moderate-large city in Canada or the US. I feel bad because people will lose their jobs, and whatever traditions people have with the restaurant won't continue on.

Plus side - Ottawa has an apparent labour shortage in food service workers, front and back of house staff are being hired all over the place. When another restaurant closed down, all the staff got snatched up and moved on.

Also, speaking of location - do any of you really know what makes a good location? Have you driven by Next out in Stittsville? You'd think, wow, what a terrible spot for a restaurant... but I don't hear about his business hurting. Maybe young flash in the pan restaurant startups should look where the disposable income is, and think about what makes a desirable location - like free parking perhaps? Heck, just ANY parking would be nice.

What I know about location is which restaurants I am less likely to visit based on location ...

I just looked on StreetView. I've been to Ottos many times, and would never have guessed that Juniper was attached. That (was) an awful location for a restaurant!

I find some of these comments perplexing. Do so many foodies really rely that heavily on the appearance or visibility of a restaurant's facade when judging whether they'll eat there? If a restaurant has good reviews and is generally accessible, I will go to it, car dealership be damned! Rarely do I ever enter a restaurant because I happened to be near it. It's usually a planned event for me. Maybe I'm the odd duckling, though!

I agree with ProsciuttoEggs. I have eaten at Juniper many times and once in the place, if I didn't know differently, I would never had guessed that it was once a car dealership. It was lovely inside. I have also eaten at Next because I know that I will get consistently good food there. I don't think, OMG it's in the boonies, why would I ever go there? What I care about first and foremost is the quality of the food and the care with which it is prepared and served. I then care about the ambience. Last on the list is the location. If it is worth eating at, and I can park reasonably easily, I will go there.