The Mayflower Restaurant & Pub will soon close after 35 years of business at Elgin and Cooper streets in downtown Ottawa.
A new restaurant is set to move into the space occupied by the Mayflower Restaurant and Pub, which is considered by some locals to be a staple of Ottawa’s pub scene.
The new restaurant will move into the Mayflower’s location at 247 Elgin St. and take over the shop next door, E.M. Tailors and Dry Cleaners, says the Mayflower’s general manager, Bob Jones.
Ken Goodhue, owner of The Highlander Pub on Rideau Street, and two other partners will be opening the new restaurant.
Goodhue says details of the restaurant are still being determined but noted it will be Scottish themed and that he hopes construction will start before the end of the year.
The Mayflower, which has been open for 35 years and considered by one of its four owners, Alfred Friedman, to be an “icon” in the Centretown community, is expected to close in October due to lease issues.
“We’re not able to negotiate the lease,” says Walter Krepski, another Mayflower owner.
A few businesses in the area say they are sad to see the Mayflower go but are glad to hear the space will be occupied by another restaurant.
Martine Nelson, the owner of Red Velvet, a women’s clothing boutique in the same building as the restaurant, says she has enjoyed being neighbours with the Mayflower but is looking forward to a new restaurant moving in.
She says if the new restaurant is more upscale, it would cater well to her clientele and perhaps benefit her business.
However, Gamal Abdel, owner of The Connoisseur Hair Studio, located beside the restaurant, says he is a bit worried about the Mayflower closing.
“We get lots of customers from the Mayflower,” he says.
Eric Elgar, general manager of Mags and Fags, which sells magazines and newspapers and is located across the street from the Mayflower, says he is unsure whether the restaurant closing will hurt his business.
Elgar says the Mayflower is a staple in the neighbourhood and, “their (the Mayflower’s) regular customers are our regular customers.”
But he says he is happy a restaurant will be moving in as it will not directly compete with his business and that restaurant-goers often buy a newspaper before going to eat.
But there is no doubt Elgin Street is an excellent place for a restaurant, Jones says.
“Elgin Street has a reputation for being one of the entertainment districts of Ottawa. People know they can come here and go to a variety of places.”
Goodhue, the owner of the new restaurant, agrees Elgin Street is a good location for a restaurant.
“It is a neighbourhood designed for people.”
Goodhue says he understands that people will miss the Mayflower but he says he hopes the new restaurant will also be a place where Centretown residents can come together.