'I know we can do it': Bistro opening shows faith in core's COVID comeback

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Opening his first restaurant just two days before the first COVID-induced lockdown has not scared Rami Sefian out of growing his business.

The restaurateur has opened Mezza RestoBar, his second downtown eatery in two years and one of 35 new businesses in the city centre, even as core traffic remains scarce.

“I still believe it will come back. There is something about downtown, it has character the outskirts don’t have, a uniqueness you cannot copy,” Sefian said.

“London is growing and I think (it) will be another metropolitan area.”

Sefian Launched Chickpz on March 15, 2020, two days before eateries were locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Against all odds, his business flourished, thanks largely to online orders as many office workers have stayed away from the core for two years.

But Mezza, on Dundas Street across from the Central Library, is not fast casual like Chickpz. It’s a bistro-style restaurant offering upscale Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food.

“I feel great. We will do a grand opening in March, but this is a soft opening and we heard that restrictions are being lifted,” Sefian said. “Opening Chickpz was scary, but now I know we can do it.”

On Thursday, restrictions on seating in bars and restaurants will be lifted and on March 1, proof of vaccination no longer will be required.

Sefian is not alone in his faith in the core. Downtown London reported 35 new businesses opening and four others expanding in the city centre area in 2021, said Barbara Maly, the agency’s executive director.

“It is obvious people see opportunities,” she said. “There is no place in the city like the dining district downtown. There is a diversity of dining and restaurants from fast food to high-end. There is a cluster of restaurant activity.”

Sefian decided on a second restaurant in the summer as restrictions began to ease, but before the Omicron variant took hold.

“We decided to jump in,” he said. “This is what we know what to do. We need to have faith it will be successful.”

The bistro style made sense to him, because he believes customers will want to get out and meet in person again soon, he said. “People are craving social interaction.”

Sefian, 33, was raised in London after his family moved here from Scarborough when he was 11. He studied marketing at Fanshawe College and took a culinary program at Westervelt College. He worked at several local restaurants and was a district manager at Tim Hortons before opening his own business.

“Restaurants chose me, I did not choose it. I have worked as a porter, a dishwasher, a manager, and I was always most comfortable in a restaurant setting. I have worked in an office and I did not like it,” he said.

“One of my first jobs was at the Hellenic Centre as a porter, running food back and forth. It was a lot of fun.”

ndebono@postmedia.com