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The George Street heritage limestone building that for more than 40 years was home to the Courtyard Restaurant is getting a new tenant: Beyond the Pale Brewing Company.
The 12-year-old craft brewer based in the City Centre complex plans to open a second location in the National Capital Commission property on the ByWard Market’s west side, hopefully in early November, Beyond the Pale’s co-owner Shane Clark said Thursday.
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“We’re getting more and more excited by the day,” he said.
From 1980 until its sudden closure in late February, the Courtyard was a popular venue for weddings, dates and fancy dinners. Owned by veteran Ottawa restaurateur Phil Waserman, the restaurant shut after giving its three-dozen staff a single day’s notice.
When the Courtyard closed, National Capital Commission CEO Tobi Nussbaum said the NCC had known the restaurant was struggling and that it had been given a heads-up that the Courtyard was planning to close.
“We were aware this is something they’d be contemplating because of difficulty paying rent,” Nussbaum said. “They were struggling and the decision was they had to close.”
Clark said Beyond the Pale had been looking for some time for a “landmark location” for a second taproom and several other locations in the ByWard Market did not pan out.
Beyond the Pale’s brewing will continue at the City Centre location, which also serves food by the SmoQue Shack, a barbeque purveyor. Clark said the new location would be a 200-seat restaurant offering lunch, dinner and late-night fare while also serving as an event space, as the Courtyard did. The Courtyard consisted of three dining rooms on two levels, including a banquet hall with a 25-foot ceiling.
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The chef at the new location will be Rich Wilson, recently of Beckta Dining & Wine and the former chef and co-owner of Pomeroy House in the Glebe.
Although Wilson comes from the world of fine dining, Clark said his fare for Beyond the Pale would be more casual and meant to pair well with beer, although it would still be mostly made-from-scratch with locally sourced ingredients.
Clark said Beyond the Pale received the keys to the building a week ago and had already removed 8,000 kilograms of debris.
The Courtyard was essentially abandoned, leaving behind lots of black melamine cabinetry and “’90s decor decisions,” Clark said. He added his plan was to gut the building to expose as much stone and as many wood beams as possible.
Clark is well aware that the ByWard Market’s reputation has waned in recent years, amid growing concerns about crime, harassment and safety.
“We hope we can be part of the revitalization down there. We’re hoping the next couple of years will be an upswing,” he said, pointing to Live Nation Canada’s plan to open a music venue in 2025 where the Chapters bookstore had been on Rideau Street.
“I think there’s a lot of positives for that area of the Market,” Clark said. “We’re willing to take a risk.”
The limestone building on George Street dates back to the late 1830s and was the site of a succession of hotels until 1880. Later, it was the headquarters of the Geological Survey of Canada, and during the typhoid epidemic of 1911-12 it was an emergency centre. In 1978, after the building had sat empty for decades, the NCC began renovations that led to the opening of the Courtyard Restaurant.
phum@postmedia.com
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