The future of a beloved Vancouver restaurant located at VanDusen Botanical Gardens is uncertain due to an expiring lease that the City of Vancouver seems to be looking to replace.
Shaughnessy Restaurant, located in VanDusen Botanical Gardens at 5251 Oak St., may be forced out of the popular destination for tourists and locals alike.
Some of it pertains to the Park Board Procurement Policy. Shaughnessy’s 25-year contract is about to expire, and the City of Vancouver is opening up the bidding for other players who could take over.
The details about the potential future of the restaurant are in a City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board memo from last year that states, “If there are other qualified proponents that can deliver similar services, there is a requirement to go to market to ensure the highest and best use, as well as the top financial return.”
The matter was to be discussed at a council meeting on Wednesday, but the agenda item was withdrawn, and the City of Vancouver wouldn’t provide additional details on why. However, it did say the item would be rescheduled for a future meeting.
In addition to serving visitors to VanDusen, Shaughnessy Restaurant also hosts events, such as weddings, birthday parties and bar and bat mitzvahs. It has the capacity for 25 to 250 guests.
On a day-to-day basis, the restaurant serves elevated café fare, including their crab salad croissant and truffle and parmesan fries, as well as more exotic items like the garden biryani bowl.
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“We are truly overwhelmed with the public’s response, which has been incredible,” Shaughnessy Restaurant’s director of events and weddings, Carlle Chatten, told Daily Hive Urbanized.
Daily Hive Urbanized reported that there has been a recommendation to award catering company Truffle Fine Foods the lease to operate the soon-to-be-vacated Shaughnessy Restaurant space at VanDusen Botanical Garden, for a term of up to 15 years. We recently learned that the Hawksworth Restaurant Group will be taking over the space formerly occupied by The Boathouse Restaurant.
“Without the public and the Daily Hive article published last Friday, this issue may have gone unnoticed, and we want to thank our community immensely for all of their support of our family-owned and operated Vancouver business, not just now, but over the past 25 years,” she added.
It’s not just the restaurant at stake.
“We are not a multi-operational business. For others, this may be just another location. For us, it’s everything—we have everything to lose. Around 35 families rely on Shaughnessy Restaurant for employment. Many of our team members have been with us for decades.”
Chatten said she doesn’t understand why the success of their business isn’t being taken into consideration in the City’s decision-making process.
“We are at a loss to understand why the continued success and growth of the Shaughnessy Restaurant would be overlooked during this entire process. We are a proven, successful family business with deep community ties and 25 years of growth – disregarding this is a gamble with people’s livelihoods, as well as with a beloved and iconic institution the public values immensely.”
The City memo from last year states that as of 2023, “$9,000,000 in gross sales was achieved between both [Kits and Shaughnessy] sites, with the Park Board receiving $645,000 in rent and $93,000 in payments in lieu of taxes.”
It adds,” It is anticipated that with capital investments of several million dollars at both sites, a revitalization of facilities, and the offering of unique destination restaurant concepts, rent could conservatively increase to $775,000 – $850,000 within the first year of operations.
A petition, which was started four days ago, has now garnered over 1,000 signatures.
“As part of a newly established RFP process that began in 2023 by the City of Vancouver (under Mayor Ken Sim), venues on Parks board properties now have to go through a bidding process to regain their lease (despite the fact that Shaughnessy has held the lease for 40 years). This decision appears to have been made by a small group of 6–7 individuals, and it may ultimately redefine the identity and soul of this venue,” the petition claims.
One of the signatures, referring to Shaughnessy, said, “Every year for Mother’s Day, Christmas time, and on my mother’s birthday, we take her to her favourite restaurant.”
The Vancouver restaurant told Daily Hive Urbanized it would keep us posted about future developments with the City.
With files from Kenneth Chan
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