A longtime eatery in Downtown Guelph will soon close its doors.
Artisanale French Country Cooking on Woolwich Street announced on social media they will close after the Labour Day weekend.
"I've been in this business for a long time. Thirty five years I've been cooking and running restaurants," chef and owner Yasser Qahawish told GuelphToday. "I'm ready for something different."
Artisanale was originally located on Quebec Street when it opened in 2007. The restaurant moved to Woolwich Street, near Norfolk and Norwich Street, in 2012.
With his lease set to expire, and with the cost to rent the building going up — and all the pivoting required to stay open because of it — Qahawish made the decision to shut it down instead of looking for a new home.
"I can't afford to start all over again. If I was 10 years younger, I would be thinking of moving my business," he said.
The restaurant operates Fridays and Saturdays to a limited number of people who book their spot in advance.
He said they have a loyal customer base that has provided support, including when the restaurant shifted to a takeout model due to the pandemic.
"We're a small operation, we don't have a lot of staff anymore because of the pandemic," Qahawish said.
"As things have been opening up again, we became more specialized and became smaller than we've ever been. We do a lot less people cause of the staffing, but it's our choice."
That loyal customer base took to social media to react to the announcement.
"I have always been impressed, having worked in the restaurant industry for decades," Charlene Whitford wrote on Facebook. "I would love to work at the type of restaurant you have. Truly inspiring!"
"Really sorry to hear this. Wonderful food and service. Good luck with future endeavours," added Irene Ross.
Qahawish said he's already booked for the remainder of the summer.
"We are overwhelmed with our customers' response of closing," he said. "People from all over the country are going to come and eat. People that just wrote to us and said 'we're going to have to make it to Guelph to eat.'"
After the Labour Day weekend, he said he will use the month of September to sell off what he can, and that will be it.
While it's tough to say goodbye, Qahawish doesn't have hard feelings, and seems at peace with closing down.
"I'm not really even sure what exactly (the next stage) is," he said. "We're going to take a break, and do some travelling. I'm not going to run restaurants anymore."
He went on to say "in so many ways, it's a new opportunity for the future."
"I'm very positive about it," Qahawish said. "I'm a little sad because the customers are not happy, but at the same time, I'm feeling good about what the future is looking like."
