Comments (1)

By Brians, October 30, 2009 10:12 pm

I wrote about Ici Bistro challenges in getting a liquor license back in September. On the 30th the AGCO had a hearing and the Globe and Mail is reporting today that the liquor license was granted!

Let’s hope this is the first in a number of setbacks for Joe Pantalone. The rumour has it that Mayor Miller is going to be supporting Mr Pantalone, although he let me know via Twitter that he hasn’t committed yet last night. Let’s hope he picks a candidate with more a more entrepreneurial focus.

Comments (3)

By Brians, October 29, 2009 10:51 pm

I was invited to sit in on a get-together tonight at one of the local Ossington businesses where about 25 of the local business owners came together to discuss the future of the neighbourhood. It was a powerful group of people, not by wealth, but by conviction and love of the neighbourhood. A true group of local entrepreneurs supporting both employment and the arts.

They were there to put together an organization to counter a proposal being organized by Deputy Mayor, Joe Pantalone. After a first strike at enterpreurship in May when he, pretty much single-handedly, stopped growth on Ossington with a moratorium on new businesses on the strip, he intends to push through a proposal to drive a nail through that coffin by imposing a harsh new set of bylaws which, essentially, kill all potential for the neighbourhood to grow and develop.

Local entrepreneurs are, as you can imagine, enraged.

The new proposal being floated before council will essentially end entrepreneurship in the area of the city. The proposal include such restrictions as:

• Limits on Restaurant Size to less than 1800 sqft – hardly enough to make money. (as a former restaurant owner, I can confirm this)
• Removing any potential of the restaurant use to ‘entertainment purposes’. Currently 20% of the eating area of restaurants can be designated.
• No patios are permitted anywhere. Whatsoever! (too bad for summer lovers in the city)
• No second floor restaurants. (where’s the cool local flavour in that? and what about cool rooftop patios? – and there are no other current restrictions on that anywhere else)
• Limits on window and door openings. (these don’t consider in other places)

The moratorium was imposed in May and I can’t see where there’s been any local study take place. The restrictions proposed replace the moratorium and are the same ones that have been imposed on College, Queen West, and Queen East. There’s been no discussion with local owners or residents. In fact, these regulations have been imposed suddenly, with a sense of local malice.

As a resident of the neighbourhood I haven’t been polled, asked, or even invited to a resident’s association to talk about how the great entrepreneurship and development in my neighbourhood affects me.

While the people I met with tonight seemed like a bit of a rag-tag group – busy, and struggling entrepreneurs struggling against comfortable local, government and, perhaps, corporate interests – I think they are genuinely protecting the vibrancy of the neighbourhood. If its a good neighbourhood in the day, at night, and on the weekends for residents and visitors, they succeed, and we all succeed – as residents, businesses, as a city, and as a culture.

Let’s hope they do, for all of our interests!

Comments (0)

By Brians, October 28, 2009 11:37 pm

I’ve been off for a while – busy with my day job – but there’ve been some happenings on Ossington while I’ve been gone. I reported at the beginning of October that Le Bar a Soup had closed. At that point someone tipped me off that Get Real Cafe, the hip veggie restaurant on the west side of the street was closed. I finally stopped by their place yesterday and there was a sign on the window: “Closed for a ’special reason”. Not sure what a special reason is, but it looks like it’s not opening again.

At the same time only a couple days ago Par’amour opened. Owned by the folks from Levack Block, it’s a high-end restaurant with a small menu. With appetizers at between $9 and $15 and mains between $20 and $30, it’s not a restaurant for the times. But perhaps the recession is over.

There’s also some activity been going on politically. A neighbourhood meeting happened while I was away. Update happening tomorrow after a local meeting. Stop back here soon!

Comments (2)

By Brians, October 12, 2009 3:40 pm

This morning, while out getting a coffee, I noticed that Le Bar a Soup has a For Rent sign in the window, as well as a bunch of old computer and electronics equipment which looks like it’s for sale. The first place to close on Ossington in a while.

I quite enjoyed this little soup spot, but I think it was probably hard for them to make a go of it in a neighbourhood which was better known and trafficed in the evening, rather than over lunch, which is when I tended to frequent the little take-out joint.

In August they had a sign in the window saying they’d be gone until September. Another one went up in September saying they were extending the closure. It looks like they ran off on the landlord.

Hopefully someone will make the location even better, but unfortunately it won’t be a food place, unless it falls into the the soviet planning of Mr. Pantalone.