Canada's Top Chef reality show winner Dale MacKay closed both his Ensemble and EnsembleTap restaurants after dinner service August 25.
He cited high rent, dwindling capital and a young son to take care of as his reasons.
"I learned quickly that opening a restaurant in the heart of Vancouver is something I should have done after building my business and expansion capital in markets that support my restaurant business plan," he said in a release.
"As it is in the Vancouver core, with the rents being so high and the market saturated with fabulous restaurants, I'd have to subsidize both operations far longer than makes good business sense – plus I have a young son to raise and he remains my priority."
In July 2011, MacKay won $100,000 cash plus a General Electric monogrammed kitchen worth $30,000 when he won the Food Network's reality show Canada's Top Chef.
He had already opened Ensemble at the corner of Smithe and Thurlow streets – a tough location that has frustrated more than one restaurateur.
For decades, the location was the site of Piccolo Mondo. Then, in late 2004, Stephane Meyer and wife Nathalie bought the restaurant and rechristened it Saveur.
André McGillivray and Steve Da Cruz finally opened Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe in the space in February 2010 after they delayed several planned opening launches and lost the late celebrity chef Anthony Sedlak as a partner.
A short initial lease and an unexpected lease rate hike were among the reported reasons for that bistro's sudden closure on December 31, 2010.
"I've got a longer lease," MacKay told Business in Vancouver when he opened ensemble in spring 2011. "For a restaurant, you don't want anything less than five years."
He was not available by press time to discuss whether he will be on the hook for the remainder of his lease.
