Cellis Osteria closes - just not enough business to make keeping it open worthwhile.

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

July 4th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Some of the bounce has gone out of Brant Street.

The Cellis Osteria has closed – there just wasn’t enough business to justify keeping the restaurant open was the explanation management gave.

Cellis - vibrant not

Staying alive in a tough restaurant market in the downtown core doesn’t square with the comments from the Downtown Business Association that the area is”vibrant”.

The restaurant underwent a re-branding and a menu upgrade a while back – didn’t seem to make enough of a difference.

The site at the corner of Brant and James is the proposed location for a 28 storey tower that is currently in the hands of the city’s planning department.

From civic sq

This proposed 28 storey tower – yet to be approved by the city – could be the beginning of a long over due boost to Brant Street.

Public reaction to the proposed tower was more than decent when it was first shown to the public and the statutory public meeting didn’t raise any major issues – other than changes the building will make to traffic and a concern over the number of parking spaces.

There has been some discussion about the structure overshadowing the “iconic” city hall. Hard to see or even understand anything that is iconic about city hall – other than that it is where it is.

It is inefficient and the object of a study on just how well it serves the city’s administrative needs. That report is in a filing cabinet and isn’t likely to be made public for some time.

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5 comments to Cellis Osteria closes – just not enough business to make keeping it open worthwhile.

  • William

    Please don’t conflate the closure of a restaurant with downtown vibrancy and pushing the developer’s agenda for out of scale development. The restaurant was mediocre, reflected in its mediocre ranking on TripAdvisor and Yelp. The higher rated restaurants are busier.

    Building condos for wealthy, down-sizing empty-nesters is not the formula for downtown vibrancy. More than enough of these condos for this demographic are on their way and will do little for the true mixed use we really need.

  • James

    That’s a shame, I always enjoyed Celli’s, and Costa Nuova before that. Never had a bad experience at either. I had a feeling this was coming though, they were very rarely busy and the writing was on the wall once the redevelopment plans were announced. Maybe the owners will rent space in the new building? More people living downtown will do wonders for the restaurants and smaller retail establishments in general, assuming they’re able to hold on long enough after the minimum wage jump kicks in. Could be some tough times ahead if some of this intensification doesn’t start happening soon.

    • Shannon

      I agree, James. Still not enough people living downtown to support the restaurants. I’d love to see downtown really come to life at night. During the week especially, it’s a ghost town. Restaurants do well when stores and other businesses are still open in the early evenings and people are out on the street, shopping and walking around, and THEN decide to go for dinner. It’s not a truly vibrant downtown when folks just drive in from somewhere else to go for dinner on mom’s birthday, park, eat, and get right back in their car to go home.

  • Centerline

    Bring back Pee Wees Pizzeria and the Back Room

  • Penny

    Cellis Osteria closed ….. I have said for many years what would probably do really well downtown is a family style restaurant. We have enough Italian restaurants. A really good casual bistro that serves a nice all day breakfast as well as simple, home made fare at reasonable prices that would become a neighbourhood restaurant that people come a few times a week. Times of changed, most families want a place to have a nice meal not spend hours “dining”.

    The last thing the downtown needs is another “special event restaurant” – the type of restaurant where people go for birthdays and anniversaries only.

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