Reports of the death of the Wharfside Seafood Grille may have been exaggerated.
A press release, complete with an image showing a stylized headstone reading RIP Wharfside Seafood Grille June 1992 - November 2013, was making the rounds Thursday, suggesting the restaurant will be dead and buried by the end of this month.
But management of the waterfront eatery wouldn’t say definitively that the lights will stay out.
General manager Bob Urner, who has worked at the Wharfside for the last two years, said he couldn’t comment on whether or not the owners, including Maria Hernandez, were planning to rebrand and try something new at the spot.
“I can say the name has been removed and stripped from the building,” he said, adding the name and any materials referring to Wharfside are being tossed.
Urner said he’s been told the restaurant is unsustainable as-is. Under different management, it has had run-ins with Canada Revenue Agency and provincial regulators such as the Labour Relations Board.
“They say the name of the Wharfside has been too trashed and thrown around in the city and it’s time to do something different. We need to close it because we can’t overcome all the negatives,” he said.
As a result, the Wharfside, at least in name it seems, is being buried.
The press release, written as an obituary, reads: “It is with a heavy heart that we regret to announce the imminent passing of Wharfside Seafood Grille and Oyster Bar. Exceeding over twenty years in business, she has been diagnosed with a mysterious fatal illness. The official prognosis has determined that life after Nov. 30 is not possible. We expect certain death on that day.”
The notice goes on to say not to send flowers, but donate to the food bank.
