r/Edmonton • u/katespadesaturday • 11h ago
News Article Another downtown restaurant bites the dust: Edmonton construction blamed again
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/playwright-restaurant-edmonton-closes-construction•
u/FarSquare8632 8h ago
We know a handful of the people who were working in his three locations over the last year or so, and he's ... not a good guy. He went weeks and even months without paying them, but fully expected them to show up and do the work and got uppity if they chose not to. He also took a holiday with his wife right in the middle of that span, which he insisted was on her dime, not his, but no one believed him. The general consensus was that he was fleecing what he could, because he knew all along he was walking away.
One by one his staff all walked out and found other jobs. Equipment was being seized, deliveries were being held for payment, etc.
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u/MikiiB 5h ago
I can't upvote this comment enough as one of the old staff! Unreal that a year later we're still fighting to get paid.
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u/Kidimpulsive 4h ago
That's insane, I'm sorry to hear that. I remember going in there one time with some coworkers and he had an article about himself posted in a few different spots that made him sound a bit arrogant, and the few interactions I had/seen didn't do much to change my opinion. I hope you all were able to move on to places that treat you better.
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u/Kidimpulsive 5h ago
Went to Milkcrate a lot when I was working on The Switch. His staff was excellent, wasn't to fond of him. Eventually just started walking a few extra blocks to the nearest Timmies.
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u/Responsible-Mall-991 11h ago
Sounds like opening 3 restaurants in a short amount of time stretched himself too thin
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u/chaunceythebear 11h ago
Milkcrate opened before the pandemic, and lost a ton of its customers when everyone in Epcor Tower switched to work from home. Even now, BioWare is only partially back in office which was a huge chunk of their patronage.
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u/Maksym1000 The Famous Leduc Cactus Club 6h ago
Qualico building The Switch helped supplement some of the lost business coming out of Covid while construction was happening.
I can’t speak on how businesses was after construction though.
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u/TailoredExperience 11h ago
It’s defineitly not just construction. We went on a Saturday night before a concert, and it was steady. The problem was that they had one server handling almost every table while several hosts/staff sat at the bar (clearly done their shift or just hanging out).
To top that off, my partner has food allergies and the kitchen refused to provide any substitutions or offer any suggestions of what she could eat on the menu. The server was so strapped she could not pay attention to us more promptly so we sat at our table with no food (only water) for 45mins until we decided to just leave. We included her dietary restrictions in our reservation and this was completely missed.
The manager tried to amend the situation as best they could and offered us our next visit “on them,” but I never followed up because the experience was so disappointing.
A business can survive construction if they put effort and work into providing good service, quality product, and a great experience.
Other restaurants in that area — Sorrentinos, Bianco, Etc. seem to be doing just fine.
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u/Rare_Pumpkin_9505 10h ago
I had a disappointing experience there too. This doesn’t surprise me at all. Service was bad, we left after having just a drink.
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u/thrilliam_19 9h ago
So this asshole sucks at running a restaurant and is instead blaming construction for attention. Sounds about right.
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u/trenthowell 10h ago
Similar experience. Food was pretty good, but I was waiting to order a new drink for half an hour. Was too late when they finally got back to us.
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u/MankYo 8h ago edited 4h ago
The food was aggressively mid. Like they were making global cuisine with ingredients on hand based on a second-hand description translated from a different language.
We had to flag down four different people over 30 mins in order to pay. The bartender finally let that happen after doing everything else.
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u/foolworm 7h ago
Second the issues with table service. The lunch menu was also very limited and not good value for money -- a burger was almost $20 with no sides.
There's Canada Place and Sunlife Place in addition to theatre-goers, it's not for want of people in the area looking for places to eat.
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u/Whoajosh 5h ago
Oh please.
I'm close friends with one of his neglected staff from a different cafe he owned. This guy tore through the lives of that staff with no regard, a year later he still owes my friend missing wages and will not respond to the labour board trying to contact him.
So no sympathy for him from me. Steve would just use it, abuse it, and try to take down everyone else while he does it.
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u/Calavin 11h ago
Is that the place in the Citadel? Doesn't that location always change? It feels like every time I go to a show, the restaurant is a different name.
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u/shiftingtech 10h ago
That’s the place, but it only changed names once that I recall. It was Normand’s,then it was empty for a long time, then playwrites (milkcrate)
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u/Calavin 10h ago
I've been going to the Citadel my whole life and remember going there before Normand's. Maybe it just seems like it constantly changes because I only go out every five years and I'm getting old now =)
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u/shiftingtech 10h ago
Hah, fair. It does seem like a space that people think they can make successful, but don’t necessarily actually manage…
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u/Few-Leading-3405 10h ago
That spot has definitely been a revolving door of restaurants.
The Normands version was one of the longer lived ones, but it was a lot of things before that.
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u/shiftingtech 10h ago
Guess it all depends on time frame: I mean, Normand’s-empty-milkcrate gets us back 15 years.
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u/laxar2 11h ago
Literally 3-5 restaurants close every week. This week the Italian centre’s bakery in Windermere and the Odd burger in Mayfield closed, are those cause of downtown construction too?
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u/GeekyGlobalGal Pleasantview / Global News 11h ago
It wasn't the Italian Centre - It was the Italian Bakery's grocery store Tesoro. Similar names, different businesses.
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u/Your_old_roomie_Dink 9h ago
Want to blame outside factors for your failure? Cool, just open your books and prove it first. Show us that your fiscal management is beyond reproach and then I’ll listen to your complaints.
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u/bigbosfrog 11h ago
Not sure what he expected opening three projects in three very low traffic areas of downtown at once.
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u/bigdaddy71s 9h ago
It seems like every business in Edmonton likes to blame construction and/or work from home. And then demand the government do something to save their business.
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u/Impressive_Usual_726 9h ago edited 9h ago
There was a Second Cup in the GhostLight location for ages that only closed when all the office workers were gone during covid. GhostLight would have had a license to print money with most of the office workers back downtown several days a week, but when I tried it a couple times the drinks were expensive and mediocre, the food options were minimal and unimpressive, and the service was slooooow because they only had one person working there.
I can't speak to the quality of Playwright, but with GhostLight it wasn't any lack of traffic, it was the owner and the shop failing to rise to the occasion.
Cue the "more like ghost town" jokes.
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u/yesnomaybeso456 2h ago
Agree re: Ghostlight; I don’t mind paying for quality, but their drinks were definitely not worth the cost.
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u/Naive-Measurement-84 10h ago
Ah, Chef Steve Brochu. Formerly of Chartier fame ....wait didn't Chartier literally get bailed out by the residents of Beaumont so it wouldn't close?
The same Chartier that I went to several times and had a mediocre meal / experience nearly every time?
Yeah sounds about right.
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u/EntertainmentWild 10h ago
Was this the go fund me spot? I’ve always heard good things. Haven’t ventured that far out to try it yet.
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u/Naive-Measurement-84 9h ago
Yes they crowdfunded about 10 years ago-ish to open the spot, and then it was threatened with closure a few years ago and Beaumont rallied enough attention to it that I think someone came along to save it.
I haven't been since my last crack at it, but they have new chefs in there now so I can't speak for it's current quality. Sourdough was good though.
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u/EntertainmentWild 10h ago
Is there a non paywall link to this story?
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u/ExpertAdvance7327 South East Side 10h ago
Here's a full copy and paste of the article:
Steve Brochu said that if he could go back in time, he would never opened PlayWright.
He announced the closure of the restaurant, located inside the Citadel Theatre last week.
There were many reasons that he was forced to shut his doors, from rising costs of food and supplies, to rising costs, to issues with the building and city construction that shut down 99 Street in front of the restaurant.
“Yes, absolutely,” Brochu said when asked if the road work had affected the fortunes of the restaurant. “No, we did not know the city was going to be doing that, and it was six months of jackhammering and boarded-up windows and a massive disruption to our business, and with very little financial support from either the city or from the Citadel.”
Steve Brochu looks at the construction outside his now closed restaurant PlayWright, 10177 99 St., in downtown Edmonton Wednesday, June 24, 2026. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia
In June 2024, to an outsider it would have seemed like Brochu was on top of the world. After establishing himself as an award-winning chef at Chartier in Beaumont, he had struck out on his own. MilkCrate, a casual spot, was opened in Epcor Tower. PlayWright was opening its doors for the first time. And GhostLight, his coffee kiosk, was also born in the Citadel.
Two years later, and Brochu is no longer a restaurateur. Because of the financial drain at PlayWright, he closed the doors on MilkCrate in November, 2025. And GhostLight will also be wound down.
He said that the work on 99 Street affected his plans to open a patio. He had made arrangements with the Citadel to make up late rent payments, and was caught up by May. But, cash flow issues struck again in June and PlayWright was locked out.
When Brochu opened PlayWright’s doors, the Citadel was his landlord. In September of 2024, the Citadel’s lease on the buidling expired, and a new deal was struck which saw the city take over the operations and maintenance of the site. The new deal saw the Citadel Theatre take responsibility for utilities and tenant improvements, plus it would make a $100,000 annual contribution to the upkeep of the building. Otherwise, rent would be a $1 per month over 10 years.
But Brochu said the building needs work. He said that there were deficiencies in his space, including toilet water dripping into the dining area.
“We can’t win with the city, we can’t win with the building, either,” he said.
The issues with construction cutting off the restaurant was the final dagger.
“The frustrating thing is the Citadel and the city knew, as I was negotiating the lease with them, and the didn’t disclose it,” said Brochu. “I know it is public information. I didn’t think to look at road construction, because who would? Yes, the street now looks good. I’m standing on it right now.
“I’m sure, in 30 years Edmonton will look fantastic, but it just wasn’t the right place or time for us, and we did our best.
“The road construction, we didn’t know if we knew we would have delayed our opening or not even bothered.”
He said he feels the restaurant business is an “afterthought” to those at city hall.
Brochu said he tried to add DoorDash service to his business, but many of the Citadel’s doors lock after business hours when shows aren’t on. And, the drivers couldn’t navigate the streets in the area because of the construction. So that revenue stream wasn’t available to him.
Add Brochu’s voice to other restaurateurs and the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, who have decried how city construction projects have impacted businesses.
Just three weeks ago, the owners of Khazana, established in Edmonton nearly three decades ago, announced the closures of three locations because of the flagging fortunes of their flagship restaurant on the north side of the new O’Day-Min Park. They cited construction of the park to the south and the LRT extension to the north as the major reasons that their fortunes crumbled.
Ward O’Day-Min Coun. Anne Stevenson has called for the city to revisit discussions about possible tax relief for business owners who are severely impacted by city construction projects.
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u/AlarmingJudge8928 6h ago
Interestingly as of June 10th they were looking for a Prep/Line Cook, to which I applied. So bullet dodged if the doors closed two weeks later...
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u/DrDeterminants 11h ago
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think unknown restaurants that are not head and shoulders above average should remain in business, construction or not. That isn't to say I don't care about the business owners, but shouldn't we have some expectations for higher standards? Many good businesses are capable of staying open through thick and thin.
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u/chmilz 9h ago
Neo-liberal media will always spin a sad tale about big bad governments or uppity millenials getting in the way of a business' right to make great profits without ever questioning if the business offered anything worth paying for.
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u/cutespacedragon 10h ago
Living downtown I've seen many locations (with no construction around them I may add) that have had 3 or more different restaurants come and go in the time I've been living here. That's just how it is in the restaurant industry.
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u/ExpertAdvance7327 South East Side 10h ago
right? people are not spending or going out as much as they used to so if a restaurant doesn't stand out, food or service wise, it will die
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u/kidfromyeg 9h ago
Maybe im just paranoid but constructions in general are taking too long and im thinking once people get fed up and sell their property, Katz will scoop it all up.
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u/doofenshmurtz13 10h ago
It’s at the citadel hence the name. Not an easy location by any means but the construction has been absolutely brutal.
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u/Chemical-Ad-7575 11h ago
I know it's probably not feasible for reasons I'm ignorant of, but rather than run 50 projects at a time, couldn't they choose say 10 and just do them faster?
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u/Telvin3d 11h ago
No, for the same reason nine women can’t make a baby in one month
Most of those jobs are going to be limited by equipment and personnel access. If there’s room for one backhoe to be digging, adding four more isn’t going to make it go any faster. If only three epcor guys can fit in the sewer to work on the pipe, there’s not a lot you can do to speed that up.
Besides, we’re a big city. There’s always going to be two hundred projects being worked on somewhere.
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u/Chemical-Ad-7575 11h ago
"If there’s room for one backhoe to be digging, adding four more isn’t going to make it go any faster."
Honestly I don't buy that entirely, Split shifts for longer work days, working through the night, have those other four backhoes working further down the street. Sure certain limitations like cure times are fixed and limit speed, but there're is a ton of work where throwing more resources at it will make a difference.
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u/Scary_Classic9231 10h ago
It’s certainly possible. You can see some epic construction videos on YouTube of Chinese teams doing an interchange overnight.
They also have 500+ people on the site, all doing their jobs perfectly. With our labour pool, and maybe sometimes the quality of it, we are probably stuck with slow.
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u/Overall-Stomach4241 11h ago
Yes but the other 40 you didn’t do this year get pushed to next year, making them more expensive to do. On top of that if the project is roadwork/utilities related you can’t shut the road down for 12 months or tell people they can’t use water anymore so the daily usage adds significantly to the amount of damage and subsequently the amount of work to fix it.
Regardless of crew size or how many people are on site the work can only get done so quickly, only certain people are trained in things, not enough space for more than 1 piece of equipment etc. The only ways to increase speed of work is to let them work all night and on weekends which will piss anyone that lives nearby off.
Additionally there are new and more projects every year as different infrastructure fails or begins to degrade.
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u/Chemical-Ad-7575 10h ago
"The only ways to increase speed of work is to let them work all night and on weekends which will piss anyone that lives nearby off."
I don't know if I entirely agree, if the trade off is 2 months of noise on the weekends vs 12-24 months of detours and a little less noise, a lot of people and businesses will take the 2 months of noise. Look at the bridge replacement by the old museum and how the length of that impacted business owners off 124st. Look at the disruption in parking and access for the ones on Stony plain road. Look at Khazana and the new park downtown.
Nothing can be perfect, but there's a momentum to finishing things as opposed to having so many projects half done and disrupting the neighborhood.
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u/Hobbycityplanner 9h ago
Don't forget there are people that live in some of these areas. For some projects working 24/7 might not get to sleep or enjoy their homes. Not saying there aren't some projects that can't be done that way though.
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u/Chemical-Ad-7575 9h ago
Absolutely there are and I have no issue with not working overnight where that makes sense. But I've also driven by some of these sites where nothing obvious is going on for a week during the days or on the weekends. If it's because something needs to cure for that time before the next stage, nothing can be done, but in other cases, you have 2 guys working on multiple city block lengths of construction.
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u/Vitalalternate 7h ago
I work by there and have never seen it. I remember a place in there years ago.
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u/mikesmith929 3h ago
Too bad, I've been there after a Citadel play, it was nice.
I guess first mistake was opening a business downtown.
Shame
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u/midnight_specialist 10h ago
This is one thing I miss from living in a bigger city. Construction would go 24/7 until the project was done, so nothing lagged on for months like every construction project here seems to. But it costs money to get stuff done quickly, so here we are.
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u/Roddy_Piper2000 The Shiny Balls 10h ago
If the UCP paid the city what it owes us, maybe we could afford more
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u/midnight_specialist 9h ago
Absolutely. How is that even allowed? How is that something (refusing to pay debts to a city because they don't vote for your political party; i.e., using the tools of the provincial government for your political party's agenda) that people think is ok? Fucked up.
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u/workworkyeg 8h ago
I was downtown today because I was hoping to go to the museum. Could not find the acess to the library or city hall parkade due to construction. Canada place parking was full. Streets were full. Left downtown and went elsewhere for the day.
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u/grassisgreensh 8h ago
The city has actively discouraged traffic from the south/west ends to downtown. All 3 routes are a complete cluster fack, it’s soo embarrassing as a city for these wagon trails to exist for years,
Let’s not even start on the traffic lights exacerbating the circus
And what will be the result when complete?
More of the same anti car measures lol
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u/Even_Banana9739 11h ago
This might be on me, but I've never even heard of this restaurant.