In an industry where restaurants come and go with fatal regularity, Beckta Dining & Wine must be doing something right.
On Monday, the popular fine-dining establishment celebrated its 20th anniversary in business by hosting a pair of back-to-back cocktail parties in the wine bar of Stephen Beckta’s eponymous restaurant, located at 150 Elgin St. in the historic Grant House.
Beckta, an Ottawa success story, has dedicated most of his life to the restaurant industry. He also owns Play Food & Wine in the ByWard Market and Gezellig in Westboro.
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The self-made businessman got his start in Ottawa at the age of 13 at the long-since-closed Malibu Jack’s (of Good Friends, Good Times Nacho Dip fame) in the ByWard Market.
“They really took me in and made me part of their family,” said Beckta, who knew back then that he wanted to one day open his own place, filled with the kind of folks that he could love, care and value. “That was my dream.”
And he made it happen. After years of learning and gathering experience abroad (including in New York City), he returned to his hometown and opened Beckta Dining & Wine on May 1, 2003 at its original spot on Nepean Street, where North & Navy, a Northern Italian restaurant, is now located.
The shelves of autographed bottles spotted in the wine bar certainly allude to some of the memorable times at Beckta’s. Lorne Michaels, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Erik Karlsson, R.E.M., Malcolm Gladwell, and Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein are among some notables who’ve celebrated there.
For Beckta, it doesn’t feel like 20 years have passed since he first launched his business. “It really feels like five years,” he told the room while speaking so naturally and without notes. “In the restaurant industry, you’re so focused on this service or this table or this night,” he said of the in-the-moment attention the restaurant gives to its customers.
“And so it feels like we’re still teenagers in a lot of ways; like we’re just getting started. Twenty years is a big deal, especially for fine-dining restaurants,” said Beckta of a clientele known for being fickle. “They want the newest, the freshest, the hottest, and this kind of thing.”
Beckta touched briefly on ways they’ve changed things up, including their move to the Elgin Street location. “But, the thing that has always been constant and consistent is our desire to care for people deeply through a sense of hospitality,” said Beckta.
He spoke proudly of his team and their shared values, and of their loyal clientele, who are like family. He delivered a touching thank you to his wife of nearly 20 years, professional leadership team coach and executive advisor Maureen Cunningham. She’s been with him every step of the way. “She, against her better judgment, married a restaurateur,” he said, eliciting chuckles from the crowd.
This fall, their son, Seanan Beckta-Cunningham, 17, will be off to university, with plans to study political science (a chip off the ol’ block, as Beckta is a self-professed political junkie).
Beckta gave full credit to his managing partner, Clay Cardillo, whose contributions during the pandemic were immeasurable. “He was the glue that held everyone together during the darkest times in our industry, in our history,” said Beckta. His warm words were followed by a sincere hug between the two men.
Attendees included Ottawa Centre Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe (with his wife, Ginny, and his new director of communications, Tahera Mufti). Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, is a regular. “I love this restaurant,” Goldberg, who was named Ottawa’s CEO of the Year in 2019, told OBJ.social. “I’ve had many social meals in this restaurant, I’ve had many business meals in this restaurant. I love this restaurant because it’s like going into a big, beautiful, elegant home where you feel welcomed.”
Goldberg said he also admires the way the restaurant managed through COVID. The Beckta group of restaurants responded to the pandemic by successfully launching fine-dining meal kits and custom-curated wine cases.
Also “thrilled” for Beckta’s success was Michael Crockatt, president and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “Steve Beckta is an incredible part of the tourism industry in Ottawa,” he told OBJ.social. “His restaurants, including Beckta, are an important part of the visitor experience. He understands, and his team understands, the economic importance of events and visitors to our community.”
Among those spotted in the crowd were Jacquie LaRocque, principal and founder of Compass Rose, Thistledown founder and chair Fiona McKean (you may have heard of her husband, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke), Ottawa husband-and-wife architects Robert Martin and Danica Robertson (they did the design work on the Beckta, Play and Gezellig restaurants), and Tamarack Homes and Tartan Homes vice president of planning and development Michelle Taggart. She sits on the board of BGC Ottawa with Beckta. He’s been the chair for the past six years and is a proud alumnus of the non-profit organization, which helps thousands of kids in our community each year develop new skills and build confidence. He’ll soon be passing the volunteer leadership role to Robyn Osgood, COO and managing director of McMillan Vantage.
Guests also included Ottawa artist Andrew King. He has several works hanging in the restaurant, including a painting he gifted to Beckta to celebrate his restaurant move to Elgin Street in 2014. The work captures the former Elgin Theatre cinema, where a young Beckta would escape to watch matinées, including the blockbuster hit Top Gun. That night, King gave Beckta a framed sketch of his original restaurant. “He really has been very supportive of us,” said King, who was in attendance with his partner, Alie Fowler, who is also an Ottawa visual artist.
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