Construction is underway at a new location for an Umberto Menghi-owned restaurant half a block north of the site where the legendary restaurateur operated Il Giardino for 37 years.
Menghi told Business in Vancouver February 10 that he expects the open the bistro, named simply Giardino, this spring at 1328 Hornby Street.
He closed his longtime restaurant Il Giardino, which was at the corner of Hornby Street and Pacific Boulevard, in spring 2013 and told BIV at the time that he wanted to spend more time with his family.
He remained busy operating his two Whistler restaurants, Trattoria and Umberto il Caminetto, and soon felt energized to reopen a Vancouver restaurant.
He announced in early 2014 that he would reopen a restaurant and received approval from a residential strata council attached to his site in May of that year.
Since then he dropped the "Il" from "Il Giardino." He has also been bogged down while working with the city to ensure that is abiding by his permits and with construction.
“We’re working with an ecology exhaust fan that the City of Vancouver wants,” Menghi said. “It’s an expensive item and a lot of people have to figure out how installing it is done.”
If all goes smoothly he could open the restaurant in April, he said. Otherwise it will be in May.
Seacliff Properties bought Menghi’s former restaurant site at Hornby Street and Pacific Boulevard from W.P.J. McCarthy and Co. owner William McCarthy and several similar sized lots directly north of the restaurant from Menghi.
Its director of real estate Ian Porter told BIV at the time that the company’s plans were to “look at rezoning the property” and that a condominium tower could be sought at some point in the future.
