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Buvette Daphnée, the acclaimed ByWard Market restaurant that suddenly closed in late May after staff refused to work for its chef, introduced Monday that it’s to reopen on the finish of the July.
“We took a small break, however are completely satisfied to announce our reopening on the finish of the month,” the William Avenue wine bar and eatery mentioned in an Instagram put up Wednesday morning. “We’re so stoked to welcome you again to our cozy area.”
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The restaurant, a self-described Montreal-style wine bar, was a near-instant success after it opened late final summer time. It cracked this yr’s Canada’s 100 Finest Eating places checklist, rating 97th, and was additionally named one of many nation’s 10 greatest new eating places by that journal.
But on May 31, staff walked out that afternoon earlier than Buvette Daphnée’s dinner service may start. Tensions between chef Dominique Dufour and each front- and back-of-house workers had lengthy been simmering, primarily based on allegations that Dufour’s lack of administration abilities led to chaos, excessive stress and uneven visitor experiences on the restaurant. Some workers additionally advised this newspaper that Dufour had verbally abused two staff, and that her resolution to terminate a server was the final straw that prompted the walkout.
“I take full duty for not being the chief anticipated of me for my crew and by my crew,” Dufour advised this newspaper in an emailed assertion final month. “I acknowledged that there was a communication breakdown, between myself and the workers, which I didn’t know how you can navigate.”
Dufour mentioned she was six months pregnant along with her second baby and could be “stepping again” from the restaurant for well being causes.
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The Buvette Daphnée Instagram put up makes no point out of who’s to be in command of its kitchen.
Dufour got here from Montreal to Ottawa in 2018 to open Norca, the restaurant on the Lodge Le Germain Ottawa. Inside a yr, she left the boutique lodge and opened her restaurant Grey Jay Hospitality on Preston Avenue. Dufour then appeared on the 2020 season of the hit Meals Community Canada present Prime Chef Canada, elevating her profile nationally. Grey Jay moved to Echo Drive within the fall of 2021, nevertheless it closed on New 12 months’s Eve of 2022.
Earlier than it closed, Buvette Daphnée at its greatest handled company to elevated small, shareable plates and astutely chosen wines, served in a wonderful area with distinctive hospitality. This writer was among those who sang its praises.
Dufour had been invited to prepare dinner this Sept. 25 on the 2024 Ottawa version of Canada’s Nice Kitchen Get together, a contest involving six Ottawa cooks that can ship its winner to the 2025 Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa.
However the native occasion introduced final week that Dufour would not be collaborating. Teegavarapu Sarath, chef-owner of the Indian fine-dining restaurant Kathā on Preston Street, is to replace her.
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