two more bite the dust

Posted on January 11, 2012 by ottawaowl

Gow’s restaurant/tavern has been operating for a long time in Bells Corners – more than 30 years according to the Russian guy at the shoe repair/skate sharpening place next door. “Diner buffet”?

Here’s one of the many Gow’s fans – he’s been chowing down there since he was in diapers and loves it, even though he agreed with me that the atmosphere’s kind of drab, the choices in the buffet are limited and it’s not exactly your healthiest food choice. Sure yummy though, he said, and economical when it’s all-you-can-eat and you’re starving.

So a lot of people were surprised when Gow’s closed suddenly. Fewer customers? The armed robberies? The high taxes, especially the Chiarelli/BIA levy? The persistent graffiti? Just another sign of Bells Corners’ decline? None or all of the above?

The owner will try to sell it for a pretty price – does a million sound about right? More? The restaurant stuff is still there – it wasn’t picked clean like the Pizza Hut, so maybe someone will relaunch it as a feeding station, but I doubt it – the market’s pretty saturated already.

Sad news for fake Irishmen – D’Arcy McGee is no more, a victim of a bottom-line assassination. His Bells Corners watering hole, one of Rick’s favourite places to plot with his cabal, is closed, supposedly for renovations.

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15 Responses to two more bite the dust

wanderer says:

January 11, 2012 at 2:08 pm

Actually, owners/managers are getting out from under the yoke of the Darcy McGee’s chain, which demands enormous amounts of money from the present owner, and they are going private. Yeaaa!

They expect to open around Jan. 23 under a brand new name. They won’t have to follow the dictates of DM as far as menus and rules are concerned, so I’m expecting a great new menu from Nick and his managers. Good move, guys!
Congratulations!

– The new name will be “the Brewer’s Table” or something like that.

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- Sharon says:
  
  January 25, 2012 at 11:43 pm
  
  Any idea when it is actually opening, and if in fact it is called “The Brewer’s Table?”
  
  – The Brew Table should be opening any day now.
  
  photo courtesy of Tony
  
  Reply
Jayme says:

January 11, 2012 at 2:36 pm

In terms of Gow’s I think the issues is that there are just too many Chinese restaurants in a very small area.

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- TonyL1 says:
  
  January 11, 2012 at 8:12 pm
  
  No, Gow’s was there for 30 years, the small area had nothing to do with its closure. A few years ago, we had “Foodie’s Goodies” and we still have “Welcome Back.”
  
  Gow’s closed simply because Mr. Gow told me a year ago he was retiring, just like the pic Craig took of the sign on the door says….
  
  Reply
  - margaret says:
    
    January 12, 2012 at 9:15 am
    
    it’s all a matter of what the public wants too –
    just look at burgers – why does McDs and Harvey’s survive yet we couldn’t keep BK or Wendy’s –
    ok sometimes it’s a corporate pull out, but I never ate BK or Wendy’s, same with pizza, never chose the ‘big’ places always the smaller , same with food chains … it’s choice
    
    that’s what we used to have in BC – choice – and that is what is changing, we’re even losing car dealers and gas stations for crying out loud!
    
    Reply
margaret says:

January 11, 2012 at 3:51 pm

Heard D’Arcy’s was closed for renovations with plans to re-open as a similar place but just not a D’Arcy’s franchise – the hotel has to have something there and what D’Arcy’s offered seemed to be what folks from the community wanted and that’s what counts

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Gravy says:

January 11, 2012 at 6:13 pm

This would never have happened on Lloyd Francis Boulevard.

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- TonyL1 says:
  
  January 11, 2012 at 8:28 pm
  
  No, but it’s going to continue to happen on Richmond Rd., when it suddenly turns into Robertson Rd. at Baseline Rd., confusing car drivers due to the lack of new signage (I bet ya they mess that up), not to mention a nice chunk of Richmond Rd. which will then be missing.
  
  Just like the original problem we had at Al’s Steakhouse that could have been fixed with signage in the first place (so nothing gained). The numbers on Robertson Rd. have yet to change. The businesses on the strip still have to change their addresses! I hope they remember that this is still happening!
  
  Reply
  - margaret says:
    
    January 12, 2012 at 9:08 am
    
    have the businesses been informed yet of what their new numbers will be ?
    last I heard they hadn’t …
    thought the idea was to have this in place so they could send out their christmas cards with this news
    maybe it will come with their next tax statement
    or maybe it’s only going to the landowners and maybe the message might not get passed down again ….
    
    Reply
    - margaret says:
      
      January 12, 2012 at 4:10 pm
      
      just received the 2012 yellowpages – doesn’t look as though businesses were informed – all have their old addresses …. now I wonder what will happen when people can’t find 3685 Richmond Road … or 194 Robertson or whatever ….
      
      – I asked a strip businessman today and he didn’t know what his new number would be yet. He listed the many expensive and time-consuming things he has to do to accommodate Rick’s BIA renaming blunder.
      
      Reply
Gravy says:

January 11, 2012 at 6:16 pm

Quick, put some more banners up.

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Anonymous says:

January 11, 2012 at 7:32 pm

Saw today that Kid Kaf is gone… may be old news.

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- OttawaCouncilWatch (@OttCouncilWatch) says:
  
  January 11, 2012 at 8:28 pm
  
  Kid Kaf was for sale but the asking price seemed way too high, so not surprised it is gone.
  
  Rick Chiarelli’s plan to revitalize Bells Corners seems to be working great. I mean who would have expected that setting up a BIA with a completely unqualified sycophant in charge would lead to failure?
  
  Reply
Anonymous says:

May 11, 2012 at 6:14 am

As a former business owner in Bells Corners I am sad to see these places close.

I left because I found that support for local businesses just wasn’t there. The rent was so high that I just couldn’t make any money. To be fair it’s actually a lot cheaper here than in most parts of the city.

People talk about being sad that these business are no longer there, but did any of them actually frequent these places? It seems to be that everyone simply drives through Bells Corners now.

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A Frequent Customer says:

June 18, 2012 at 10:47 am

My family and I miss Gow’s tremendously. What customer service they provided! Yes, their menu wasn’t too varied, but they always knew you. Didn’t see the sign where the owner was retiring so this website answered a few questions. We always try to support local businesses and were sad to see the demise of one that had been around almost as long as we have lived in Bells Corners.

– Sometimes when a restaurant closes it’s a tragic event, involving broken dreams, dashed hopes and financial disaster. I don’t think that’s the case for Gow’s – the excellent people who ran it just decided to retire.

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