Restaurant Closings 2017 [Events]

2017 Jan 3
Fresco and The Guest Room will close on Thursday.

ottawacitizen.com

2017 Jan 3
I didn't know Maxwell's had closed too. Man, Elgin's get hit hard it seems.

2017 Jan 3
Pure Kitchen opened where Maxwell's was. Much better food (IMO).

2017 Jan 3
Maxwells and Fresco were old old old for Elgin and hadn't done much to update. I wouldn't worry about the street in general, it seems to be doing just fine if the crowds at the pubs, Camino and Morning Owl are any indication.

2017 Jan 3
CBC story about Fresco has a few more details -

"Jim Bickford, the co-owner of the restaurant, said a number of factors contributed to the decision to close including high rent and the increasing costs of running a restaurant.

Bickford said a Toronto franchise will be taking over the location."

2017 Jan 5
What's up with Slice & Co? Anyone heard anything?

2017 Jan 5
Could be renovations. Maybe they're learning how to make halfway decent pizza?

2017 Jan 10
Cornerstone down in The Market toast now too? About time...

2017 Jan 12
cornerstones = renos

2017 Jan 12
Vibe lounge.
Did anyone ever go in there, or was it just a drug front?
This CBC report is suspiciously without supposition. Just the facts.

www.cbc.ca

2017 Jan 12
Don Cherry's Nepean
ottawacitizen.com

2017 Jan 12
HAO sushi on Merivale is closed and replaced with a Hot Pot place.

2017 Jan 15
Taylor's Genuine Kitchen and Wine has closed (for now) and was sold.

Full story here: ottawacitizen.com

2017 Jan 16
Oh. Damn.

Interesting that the new place will be Italian food by the former Napo owner. Hope they can nail this.

2017 Jan 16
Centretown Pub closed.

2017 Jan 16
Fairmont Confectionary is closing for good on Jan 22. They will definitely be missed!!

2017 Jan 16
Here is the Ottawa Citizen article about Fairmont Confectionary closing: ottawacitizen.com

2017 Jan 28
Lavazza at Lansdowne gone. Looks like it was changed to Esspressions for about 20 minutes first.

Bummer, I liked their coffee.

2017 Jan 28
Hooch Bourbon House closed recently too..

2017 Feb 14
Looks like Swiss Pastries is closed for good.

www.reddit.com

2017 Feb 15
Corner Bar and Grill in Westboro is closed.

2017 Mar 1
The Village Cafe is closing as well :(

2017 Mar 2
Navarra is closed

2017 Mar 3
Navarra closure:

ottawacitizen.com

2017 Mar 3
Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut in the Glebe (formerly Truffle Treasures) has closed.

Sweet Bite French Pastry is opening there. sweetbite.ca is the address on the door but the site doesn't work.

2017 Mar 8
Swiss Pastries?

Their rum balls were my favorite.

The main chocolate and candy supplier for Swiss Pastry, farm boy (Bank st at least) and a lot of the smaller deli's in Canada is Euro Excellence/Chocodirect.

You can order stuff directly, but their website is still being redone, says to call to place an order.

2017 Mar 28
Berrymans (Bank near Flora, in Centretown) has finally closed its doors. Not overly surprised, the last few weeks (or maybe longer, I rarely went in there) someone told m they no longer had a menu, just (cheap or free) pizza when you order some beer. They were having trouble finding kitchen staff or something. As soon as I heard this, I had a feeling it was closing soon. I did hear that the owner was trying to sell, though not sure if he did sell it in the end.

I walked by yesterday and it was still open and I was thinking that it was strange they'd keep it open without much staff or food. Sure enough it was completely shut down today. Almost made it to 5 years (it opened in June 2012). I'm kinda surprised it lasted that long, actually. Wasn't really that impressed with the food at all (even for a sports bar).

2017 Mar 28
Darn. I was thinking of going there Saturday, and it looked a bit empty.

Also, Luigi Panini maybe down too :(

2017 Mar 29
Sadly Luigi is indeed closed, been so for 6 months.
I've been going to Robz.

2017 Mar 29
Oops I was completely wrong about Berrymans. It was open today, so I guess it's just closed Mondays now. The menu and signs were ripped off the plaque at the front so it sure looked closed. Oops I guess because I've heard they don't have a menu/kitchen staff anymore, I assumed they finally shut down.

Can anyone tell me how to edit my comment? I wouldn't mind deleting the part of my note saying that Berrymans has closed as it was a mistake and I wouldn't want to confuse anyone looking to go there. TIA

2017 Mar 29
I'm happy to edit your comment but since the entire thing is about Berrymans closing I'm not sure what part you'd want to keep! :) Let me know...

2017 Mar 30
Berryman's is for sale if not already sold.

2017 Mar 30
I heard that Berryman's was for sale.

2017 Mar 30
The Berryman Pub hit five years last summer. It opened in July 2011.

No longer open for lunch or brunch, but open late afternoon and offering free slice of Domino's pizza with purchase of a drink.

2017 Apr 6
Bridgehead in Orleans has closed already.

It was open for about 10 minutes!

So sad ... felt like Orleans had finally joined the cool kids.


2017 Apr 7
There is still a Bridgehead near Gloucester Center. Are they company locations or franchise?

2017 Apr 16
Chen's desert house on Merivale looks to be closed now.

2017 Apr 16
Too sandy?

2017 Apr 17
It was no oasis

2017 Apr 17
They packed up the camels and left.

2017 Apr 18
Not surprised. Everything i tried there was dry.

2017 Apr 24
Does this count as a closing, I'm unsure. The Clocktower in the Glebe on Bank is closed for renovations. I saw the windows papered up on Sunday. (Which is a stroke of bad luck for them considering patio season weather this week, and sens playoff round 2)

2017 Apr 24
Depends on whether it's closer for physical or financial renovations.

2017 Apr 24
I'm not familiar with The Clocktower's business model (are the various locations franchises?) but I doubt they'd close their main location if they were having financial issues. Isn't that where they do the majority of their brewing too?

2017 Apr 24
They split the brewing between Bank St and Lowertown Brewery, not sure of the percentage done at each but that's what they do.

2017 Apr 24
I think they are just renovating the restaurant. Probably doing the downstairs room, which as far as I can remember has been a dingy cave which is always empty.

2017 Apr 24
Except the renovation sign says the downstairs room is available for private functions, as per usual. They've been planning and delaying this reno for more than two years, so it's good to see it finally happen.

2017 May 2
they are actually renovating the entire top (ground floor) of the Clocktower on Bank. Saw inside thru windows yesterday and place is completely gutted. The downstairs is still open for private parties, previously made reservations etc. Yep, they've been talking about these renovations for a couple years now and it's an old building so it really needs it. Place has been falling apart slowly for a long time now. I know a few people who work there and they said it'll be closed approx 2 months (it's been officially closed about 2 weeks now). Should be interesting to see what they do with the 'new' space and whether it'll be a lot different. Even the bar and all the booths have been taken out.

2017 May 2
The chip 'truck' that is on Baseline, beside the Tim Horton's, just east of Clyde. Huge sign says that it is for sale. Closing May 19th.

2017 May 2
JP Crispy Chips? They used to be good, but went downhill.

2017 May 2
With respect to the Clocktower on Bank St, as others have said, it is closed to renovate the main level. If you want to see it gutted, check out their Instagram, they have some photos.

I had been told they were closing for six weeks, but could easily see that stretching to two months as someone had asked.

To those who thought this may be financial, no. And given that they just opened another location (that makes six) with number seven coming soon to Rideau/Nicholas, I think that was a pretty silly guess. And no, the other locations are not franchises.

2017 May 2
Oh bollocks. Even though I was the one who posted it, I forgot they were closed for renos. Now where will I watch the sens game?

2017 May 2
Uh ... any other bar in Ottawa except the Manx?

2017 May 3
Yes. I was completely serious.

2017 May 3
Zaphod's is closing on May 14th: ottawacitizen.com

2017 May 3
Flying Banzini is no more.

twitter.com

2017 May 3
That's a shame about Flying Banzini. After the new chef/ partner came on and. Dave stepped back from the day to day of the restaurant, things went downhill.

Food portions kept getting smaller and some staff were interested in chatting to their friends rather than taking care of customers. My office used to go semi regularly and we stopped going.

2017 May 4
RIP Flying Banzini and Zaphod's.

2017 May 5
Too bad about Banzini.. thought it was a fantastic place to have around, but had also noticed portions getting notably smaller and not quite as good over the last year or two, and that's when I stopped going as well. All the best to the owner

2017 May 13
Well Flying Banzini were constantly on Groupon over the last few months which is not a good sign.

2017 May 23
Apparently D&S BBQ is closed!

2017 May 23
The Ethiopian place on Wellington West is gone (Sheba's Cove, I think?). I'm not entirely surprised as it was a big space and I never saw more than three or four tables occupied at once, but I'll miss having decent Ethiopian food in the neighbourhood.

2017 May 24
D&S is gone... m.facebook.com

All is sadness.

2017 May 24
Mltdown, the gourmet grilled cheesery in Rideau is closed. Boarded over even.

2017 Jun 5
Looks like Georgetown Sports Pub on Bank St is on its last legs. Rumour has it that the guys from The Senate are taking it over...

2017 Jun 6
I mentioned Rob's Vegan Kitchen in the Openings thread 2 months ago.. it is now closed, sadly. No idea how it came and went so quickly-- surely location didn't help-- hope he didn't take too big of a hit. Looked like a nice place with good food ideas.

2017 Jun 10
I need to know where do you live, so that I can give the nearest location of the restaurants. Thanks for the share. I will come soon.

2017 Jun 11
I uh what?

2017 Jun 11
It's a new hipster thing called manual geolocation. More or less the tin can and string version of GPS technology. 😝

2017 Jun 18
black cat bistro closing the end of the month.

2017 Jun 20
Some more info on the Black Cat. Sad, it was quite good when I visited.

ottawacitizen.com

2017 Jun 21
Did this Black Cat have any relation (apart from the name) with the original Black Cat Bistro that was a big part of Ottawa's dining scene back in the 80's (?).

I seem to remember that it's closed and opened before but my memory might be fuzzy.

2017 Jun 21
If I remember, the Black Cat was where the Royal Oak is now by Pretoria Bridge. Then it moved to Murray where Navarra was and then finally to Preston.

2017 Jun 21
Yep. Same owners or direct line.

2017 Jun 22
Prince Gourmet(not Princess),on Bank at Flora is closed.

2017 Jun 26
One of my favourite cheap eats in Hintonburg is closing. I've been told the Friday will be the last day of business for Wellington Sandwiches -- they've been there so long, it's a landmark! :(

2017 Jun 29
The timothy's at college square is gone.

2017 Jul 23
Reddit reports that the dog/human café Wag, on Bank north of Sunnyside, is suddenly closed. (www.reddit.com)

2017 Jul 25
Right after the cat café opens on Wellington. Coincidence? You be the judge.

2017 Jul 25
CATSPIRACY!!!!!!!!!

2017 Jul 25
Coup d'cat.

2017 Jul 25
Cats rule, dogs drool

2017 Jul 26
I, for one, WELCOME our new Feline Overlords...

2017 Jul 26
Weird I was at WAG like 2 weeks ago and no indication of a closure then...

2017 Jul 31
Le Kim Chi on Preston... Le Closed.

Bummer... wasn't as good as Alirang or Koreana, but solid and they were on Skip The Dishes.

2017 Jul 31
Bridgehead on Ogilvie @ Bathgate is closing. The sign out front says that they are "focusing on more walk friendly locations" or something similar. The place was always, always packed so I don't understand it.

...Anyone else think they just want to be under the 20 franchise limit so they can hide their calorie counts?

2017 Aug 1
That's weird. That's the second one that's closed down; thought Orleans might have been a one-off due to lease or something, but now Ogilvie too. Healthy businesses usually grow, even slowly, not the opposite. If they wanted 'walk-friendly' locations why did they close their location next to MEC? That's just about the most heavily trafficked area in Westboro. The one on Golden is pretty far at the end of the shopping strip and the replacement shop next to Farm Boy is not in a location that would get much walk-by traffic other than people living there and Farm Boy shoppers. Iris St. and Fairlawn Plaza don't seem to any more walk-friendly than Ogilvie.

2017 Aug 1
I wonder if they expanded a little too ambitiously.

Surprising even so, as i frequent three different Bridgeheads (albeit none of those that closed) and they're pretty much busy or at least steady all of the time.

2017 Aug 2
Simple. Horrible city planning has created a dark tunnel of loathing and despair where nothing can thrive.

2017 Aug 3
Sash Gelato in the Market is gone.

2017 Aug 6
Fortune Express closed in July. I went for some dim sum today and they had a notice on the door that they got in a dispute with the tenant.

2017 Aug 12
Went to Margo in the Market for lunch today and found the windows shuttered and door padlocked. They made good food but had issues with having all menu items available consistently as well as actually being open during advertised business hours.

2017 Aug 13
Google claims that Margo is closed for renovations.

2017 Aug 13
Thanks, hope it's true!

2017 Aug 14
Relatedly the Extreme Pita on Bank which was "closed for renovations" now has a "for lease" sign up.

...honestly why does anyone bother pretending?

2017 Aug 14
"Two Brothers Restaurant" on Richmond has closed only a couple of months after opening. Only restaurant I can see succeeding in this space would be an AYCE sushi place.

2017 Aug 15
wrt "closed for renovations" I know someone who has gone through that. The "closed for renovations" in their case was they were loosing money, did not renew the lease, but were still trying to figure out if there was anyway to make the business viable. They wanted to their current cliental to still think of them for a few months, just in case they figured out how to start over.

2017 Aug 15
Other than the Clocktower Pub at Bank/417, and the Segue/Pomeroy House transition that was supposedly always a plan, i can't think of any 'closed for renovations' that didn't become 'closed'.

2017 Aug 15
MeNa was closed for several months, much longer than it was originally supposed to be closed

2017 Aug 15
I guess the proof is if they are, in fact, "renovated" when they reopen.

2017 Aug 15
ottawacitizen.com

Dick’s Diner is closing. Will be replaced with a Korean restaurant.

2017 Aug 15
Fnck.

I'll miss that place.

2017 Sep 13
Good Eats will be closing in their present location by December 8th. The building has been sold so they have to be out by then. They are now looking for a new location and new owner: www.facebook.com

2017 Sep 14
"Good Eats will be closing in their present location... now looking for a new location..."

Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.
Please stay downtown.

....they're going to end up in frnkking Kanata, i just know it....

2017 Oct 1
The KFC at college square is now dead and gone

2017 Oct 3
The only time I've ever seen anyone in that KFC parking lot was if they were using it to get around the traffic at that set of lights.

I mean, who wants to wait at a set of lights if you can speed through a parking lot to get 2 car lengths ahead. Am I right?

#douchebagdriving

2017 Oct 3
I only saw people use it when I was trying to get to the vets office next door.

2017 Oct 3
Hey! That KFC is where I hook up with my pot dealer.

2017 Oct 3
Wait, I thought it was meth that was sold out of fried chicken joints. Did Vince Gilligan lie to me?

2017 Oct 27
Anyone heard anything about Ace Mercado?

2017 Oct 27
Wholesale Wayne are they closed?

They had some brunch event planned for this Sunday so I would be surprised.

2017 Oct 27
Should have replied "Nah, they don't sell meth either.".

2017 Oct 27
Not since he was traded to Vegas in any case.

2017 Oct 29
The French Baker in the Glebe is closing down

2017 Oct 30
The fnck?
Really?

....wow. Guess selling out on weekends didn't make Glebe rent.

2017 Nov 1
The Rex announced today that they are closing at the end of the year.

2017 Nov 2
French Baker in Glebe is already closed. I think Oct 29th was their last day.

2017 Nov 2
Little Victories is opening a coffee shop at French Baker's old location.

www.instagram.com

2017 Nov 6
The French Baker Glebe was not that great on a weekday. They don't bake and not sure how fresh their stuff were but the croissant looked big and doughy..

2017 Nov 9
Ace Mercado closing (as mentioned above) is confirmed. ottawacitizen.com

2017 Nov 9
Adios.

2017 Nov 10
In keeping with the quasi Mexican theme, Burrito Shack in the Glebe had the old "closed for reno's" sign in the window (since removed), now just dark.

2017 Nov 15
I know it's not really major foodie cuisine, but anyone know what happened to the Menchie's on Merivale? Apparently it's closed got good, but it was always busy whenever I went.

2017 Nov 15
The Streats truck (OConnor and Albert) is wrapping up in Dec.

All is sadness.

2017 Nov 15
OSoloMeal, if they run out of duck burgers on Friday before I get there I am going on a rampage.

Streat will be sorely missed, great food and great people.


2017 Nov 15
How in the world can you make an oat café a viable business? Wow.

2017 Nov 16
@EFoodie - i may have to buy lunch from them daily now until they're gone.

@AD_2 - do you mean Oat Couture on Bank? is that even open yet?

2017 Nov 16
Yes, the post above mine said Streat is closing, and if you look at their farewell post they mention that they are opening Oat Couture which I think is insane.

2017 Nov 16
Strap on your feed bag and have at it!

2017 Nov 17
Perhaps the beef is oat fed. . . . . . .

2017 Nov 17
OAT COUTURE IS THE STREATS PEOPLE?????

i did not know that.

They have the duck confit burger today. It tastes like happiness with a light dose of sadness sauce.

2017 Nov 17
This is what was on my desk 15 minutes ago...

Every bite gets a little closer to what might be the last Duck Burger I get to eat...

2017 Nov 17
....Did you steal that photo off my phone? Cause I too ate it.

2017 Nov 18
This may be old news but Woody's on Elgin has closed and reopened (or rebranded, I don't know) as something else. The name was right on the tip of my tongue as I started to type this but I can't recall now.

2017 Nov 18
Now called Jason Crew-Gee OA Woody’s. Jason used the run the place before.

2017 Nov 18
I don't think that's what it says on the building (I could definitely be wrong of course)... That might be the corporate name or something though.

2017 Dec 1
So Streat is only closing for the winter. They will be back in the truck downtown in the spring. If you look at the wording of all their posts on Facebook and Twitter they never said they were closing for good, just for the season. They also explicitly said earlier this week "After this it's see you at Oat Couture in the new year (Old Ottawa South) or downtown next spring?"

2017 Dec 2
Actually, from the truck itself yesterday it seemed quite ambiguous, on the lines of 'we'll see'. I felt that the more likely scenario was no truck. Part of a tweet from yesterday: "Thank you downtown for a very memorable last service of the season. That was a crazy line. We will miss all of you."

2017 Dec 2
Yes, "last service of *the season.*" Like I said in my post.

Either way, they have not definitively said that their truck is closing for good.

2017 Dec 2
Caribbean Sizzler on Bank St. has a "for lease" sign posted and is no longer operating. They made a good curry goat.

2017 Dec 6
A follow-up on Woody’s new name - Kat & Kraken

2017 Dec 6
Love it.

2017 Dec 30
Salt on Preston closed yesterday..

2018 Jan 4
Hasta la vista Havana Cafe.

Coño.

2018 Jan 4
What? No... :(

2018 Jan 4
Agreed. We need a 2018 thread.