Acclaimed chef to close Beechwood Gastropub
Low revenue, exhaustion contribute to decision after year-and-a-half
The Beechwood Gastropub in Vanier is to close at the end of August, with its much-respected young chef-owner Harriet Clunie citing insufficient revenue and her exhaustion as two of several reasons for the closure.
“I’m at a level of burnout that’s unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced,” Clunie, 33, said in an interview this week, explaining that her business, which she has owned for a little more than a yearand-a-half, had “perpetually been short-staffed.”
The closure means that Clunie has had to withdraw from this fall’s Gold Medal Plates competition in Ottawa after being invited to take part for the first time in the prestigious annual event.
“I had to back out. That was a really hard decision,” said Clunie, who in past years had assisted other chef-competitors at the annual culinary fundraiser for Canada’s Olympians.
A young veteran of Ottawa’s restaurant scene, Clunie cooked at Navarra, Das Lokal and the Elmdale Oyster House and Tavern before taking over the Beechwood Gastropub’s kitchen in February 2016. The restaurant was opened in late 2014 by restaurateur André Cloutier. In March 2017, Cloutier sold the business and Clunie became an 80-per-cent owner.
“I don’t regret it,” Clunie said. “It was an opportunity that fell into my lap. It seemed to make sense at the time.”
But she added that, as a first-time business owner, she likely made a batch of mistakes. When she took over, she should have closed the restaurant for a month to become better organized, she said. She should have been more active in promoting her restaurant on social media, she added.
The gastropub won over some “wonderful regulars, but it just wasn’t quite enough,” Clunie said. She even put her business up for sale last December, but later took it off the market when she grew more optimistic. In late April, it was announced that Clunie would compete in the Gold Medal Plates competition, which is to take place at Oct. 11 at the Shaw Centre.
However, this spring and summer did not bring the boost in business that Clunie had hoped for. Great weather drew people to cottages instead of dining rooms, she said. People are opting to use restaurant delivery services rather than dine out, she added. Rising food costs and Ontario’s increased minimum wage contributed further pressures. “I’m not alone in saying this has really been a hard year,” Clunie said.
There will be no farewell dinner to mark the restaurant’s closing, Clunie said. However, whatever food is left will be donated to Ottawa-area shelters.
She hopes that her business, which is at the address of the previous well-regarded restaurants Farb’s Kitchen and Zingaro, can be sold in September as a turnkey operation. Clunie said she has received offers to cook this fall in Ottawa kitchens, but she will first take some time off. “I’m a bit of a wreck.”
Clunie remains proud of the food that the restaurant turned out, and was pleased to have participated in fundraising events. “We’ve done a lot of good,” she said.
“It’s not all doom and gloom. I learned a lot. It’s only going to make me a stronger chef.”
I don’t regret it. It was an opportunity that fell into my lap. It seemed to make sense at the time ... I learned a lot. It’s only going to make me a stronger chef.