When Lambretta Pizzeria announced its permanent closure at the end of April, it looked like the pandemic had claimed another neighbourhood favourite.
Now, largely thanks to community support, the Roncesvalles pizzeria is coming back to life.
Owner Celina Blanchard says she felt like she had no choice but to shut down the restaurant after she was unsuccessful in negotiating rent relief with her landlord.
The closure became widely publicized and Blanchard, in part, credits this for helping to motivate her landlord to return to the negotiating table.
“I did go public and I did get a lot of media attention, which was wonderful,” says Blanchard. “I got a lot of support from the neighborhood. I had people emailing me directly, asking how they could help and I gave them the landlord’s email address. I know that he did receive quite a few,” she adds.
Blanchard says the two were able to come to an agreement on reduced rent. With the new terms in place, she was able to reopen Lambretta for pick-up and delivery this week.
She says they’re using their own online platform and executing deliveries in-house rather than using a third-party provider, which has allowed her to bring some of her staff back on part-time.
“We’re all very happy to be back and the neighbourhood is too,” she says. “We have so many customers that sent us emails congratulating us and telling us they’re going to be out this week.”
As with all restaurants across the city, continuing to rely on takeout revenue until dining rooms are able to reopen will come with its own challenges.
“I’d love to say that restaurants will go back to normal hopefully later in the fall, but we really don’t know what the situation will be for us and it is scary,” Blanchard says.
But she adds she’s staying positive and optimistic about the future. “I am grateful in the sense that I’m in a position where I was able to negotiate with my landlord but I know a lot of people that are not,” she says. “ I have a second chance here.”