It's been six months since David Adjey (aka The Opener) helped first-time restaurateurs, Stephen and David, transform a fruit-stand into a Morrocan-Spanish restaurant in Toronto's Kensington Market called El Barrio.
When I caught up with owner Stephen recently, I was sad to hear things weren't going as well as they should.
The biggest obstacle has been getting their liquor licence. Newbie owners Stephen and David had no idea the hoops they'd need to jump through to get a permit to serve alcohol. Because it was previously a fruit-stand, there was nothing in place to help facilitate its makeover into a fine dining establishment.
(chicken tagine)
You can imagine how detrimental that would be -- being a restaurant without alcohol is like popcorn without butter, burger without french fries, cereal without milk... well you get my point. To make matters worse, they are currently in litigation with the landowner.
And upon a bit of digging, Stephen confessed he's done away with the tagines (and the head chef, who left a week after opening) and put his beloved fast-food items on the menu. (Remember how he and the two Davids butted heads over that?)
(meat tagine)
He defended his actions saying business was slowing down and with the onset of winter, and no liquor licence in sight, he needed to change the menu to bring customers into his place. I'm sure I speak for The Opener crew and David Adjey in wishing El Barrio the best of luck!
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FNC: How instrumental was Dave to the success of your restaurant?
Stephen: The tagine idea was great and he taught me how to run the dishwasher.
(salmon tagine)
FNC: What lessons did you learn from Dave about running your restaurant?
Stephen: To be honest nothing beats first-hand experience. I learnt a lot just running and being at the restaurant. I'm there seven days a week 12 hours a day. We are struggling now but I have hope.
FNC: How was the overall experience working with David Adjey?
Stephen: He is a very creative guy. I loved the tagine idea but I don't think it was right for the area. David and I butted heads but I feel OK about all that. It was a very stressful time. The crew was very nice.
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If you missed the episode on El Barrio, you can find it in the video centre.
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Posted Wed, Oct 20 2010 1:12 PM by Catherine Jheon Filed under: Restaurants, The Opener, David Adjey
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