Entrepreneurial village raising Osborne Village

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This article was published 26/07/2024 (800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A long-vacant Osborne Village property that housed the original Basil’s and a handful of other restaurants over the years is coming back to life.

Not one, but two new establishments will be mixing drinks and serving food again in the building near the northwest corner of Osborne Street and Stradbrook Avenue.

Raya Konrad, co-owner of Clementine Cafe, the popular breakfast and brunch spot in the Exchange, is a co-owner of Baby Baby, which is expected to open at 135 Osborne in the fall.

“I’m really excited to open up in Osborne,” Konrad said Friday. “It’s a fun neighbourhood and I like the diverse community. I’m excited to contribute to the area and bring something new there.”

Konrad is no stranger to the Village; her family previously owned the acclaimed Segovia Tapas Bar, located a stone’s throw away on Stradbrook, which closed its doors during the pandemic. Her sister opened a cocktail lounge, Must Be The Place, in the space last fall.

Although Konrad hasn’t finalized Baby Baby’s menu yet, she said the hope is to create another fun evening spot in the neighbourhood.

Owners of Shirley’s, which will be sharing space in the building, have plans to open before the end of the year, according to the restaurant’s Instagram page.

Greek diner Pete’s Place, which relocated from West Kildonan after 17 years in 2017, lasted only seven months in the same building. Owners Peter and Samantha Vlahos cited high overhead and a lack of parking for their reason to shutter their doors.

The property has been empty since.

The building’s previous owner, Basil Lagopoulos, operated Basil’s from 1966 to 2008, when a water main break forced its closure. He repaired and renovated the space and opened again in 2011 as Bistrot by Basil, but it closed a year later and Lagopoulos retired.

Eateries named Black Rabbit and Ward 1 opened and closed after that.

Konrad said her mother Mel Dickin purchased the building from Lagopoulos and will be leasing it to her and the owner of Shirley’s.

“It was an extremely big undertaking,” said Konrad, adding that there have been extensive renovations to the space, including splitting the building into two separate spaces for restaurants.

Konrad will be joined by three other partners at Baby Baby: Daly Gyles and Nick Gladu, who both worked as chefs in the U.K., and Chris Gama, chef and co-owner of Clementine.

“I don’t know a single Winnipegger who doesn’t love that building,” said Zohreh Gervais, executive director of Osborne Village BIZ. “Everyone is always really sad whenever something that was there closes.”

Gervais was thrilled to learn the building had been sold and well-known local restaurateurs were involved. It’s been a while since there’s been a “foodie destination” with high-calibre menu options, Gervais said.

She said a key reason for the new activity is that there have been some positive changes around safety in recent months, pointing to a greater police presence on patrol in the neighbourhood, and expanded hours for SABE Peace Walkers, an Indigenous-led community support group.

“It’s really encouraging now that we’ve been getting more support and it feels safe on the street,” she said, sitting inside Cleocatra Cafe, which opened in July on Osborne. Patrons can enjoy coffee, dessert, cuddle with one of about 20 cats provided by a local shelter and, maybe, adopt one of them.

Gervais said for a long time large swaths of the Osborne strip were owned by a few people, creating a monopoly that made it difficult for businesses paying high rent. But more recent diversity in ownership has made it easier for entrepreneurs to take a chance on the neighbourhood.

“There’s some gems here that are really incredible,” she said.

Cloe Wiebe and Andy Koropatnick opened Crumb Queen and Andy’s Lunch, a bakery and restaurant, in September 2023.

Crumb Queen first started as a pop-up shop where Wiebe would make her cult-favourite honey crullers. She soon started looking for a place to open a permanent location, and the Village beckoned.

They both feel that they’ve had constant support from the community since they’ve opened.

“I feel so lucky to get to say that we’re in Osborne Village. We both grew up thinking that this area was the s—t,” she said, adding that she’s loves the feeling of working alongside friends who also own businesses in the area.

Koropatnick used to live in Osborne Village and saw restaurants come and go.

“It’s good to see that it’s two businesses that are locally owned and that have a good heart (moving into the Basil’s building),” he said, adding people who own restaurants in the city want to see neighbourhoods such as the Village thrive.

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca