An East Vancouver restaurant that describes itself as a place where “omnivores, carnivores, vegans, vegetarians and coeliacs can dine together” will close its doors this month, citing the ongoing financial impact of the pandemic.
The Wallflower Diner on Main Street has been serving brunch, lunch and dinner in Mount Pleasant since 2009. It is also a venue for comedy and art shows, trivia and theme nights.
Co-owner Heather Sillagi announced the impending closure on social media on Saturday.
“Eric (Nielsen) and I are extremely proud to keep The Wallflower going through the pandemic. We worked without days off for a very long time. We were really hoping someone would be able to pick up the pieces and preserve the legacy, but they are all broken,” she wrote.
The restaurant was put up for sale in May. The listing, which at the time listed a price of $269,000, was also shared on social media.
“Ok, someone out there must have a long-lost rich uncle,” the owners wrote at the time.
The listing for the establishment is still active and shows a reduced price of $225,000.
Looking through the Wallflower Diner’s social media feed, it’s easy to get an idea of some of the pressures that led to the closing. While many other restaurants were able to mitigate capacity constraints related to COVID-19 by expanding outdoors, the restaurant was not initially allowed to create a patio.
It was eventually allowed to have one table out front, something the owners called “sad” in a series of tongue-in-cheek posts, calling it “the world’s saddest patio.” They were able to add a few more tables thanks to the support of the Pulp Fiction bookstore next door, which offered its space on the sidewalk.
Another knock on the restaurant seems to be the Broadway Subway building. Located less than a block north of where the station will eventually be, the diner posted about the “seemingly endless construction” and the impact on area businesses.
Another post from December last year hinted at the end of government subsidies and the potential that businesses would have to be sold or closed despite the owners’ best efforts.
“We both worked non-stop during isolation, with no days off. Anyone who knows me at all knows that there is probably no other person on the planet who works harder to keep a restaurant alive than I do with my Cheers,” Szilagyi wrote.
Wallflower’s last day will be July 12, which Szilagyi said is also her birthday.
“All past and present staff and regular customers are welcome to say goodbye. It’s the end of an era! Thank you so much to everyone who supported us,” the social media posts concluded.
Add Comment