Six years after his restaurant in the ByWard Market was destroyed by fire, the owner of Vittoria Trattoria said construction of the new building is set to begin this summer.
Domenic Santaguida told OBJ on Monday that building permits from the city are ready to be picked up and the goal is to begin rebuilding the heritage property late next month.
“We started at the beginning of the year, but we’re still dealing with some tariff-related stuff on the supply chain front,” he said. “There’s a little uncertainty on some items but, all in all, we’re generally ready to push forward.”
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
uOttawa grows Kanata North’s presence to meet rising innovation demands
When the University of Ottawa first opened its Kanata North Campus in the heart of Canada’s largest tech park, the goal was clear: To bring researchers, students, and industry closer
Care, Serve, & Give: Dr. Helen Tang is redefining what it means to lead with purpose
Dr. Helen Tang is a dynamic and multifaceted leader whose passion for community and philanthropy is at the heart of everything she does. As a devoted mother of two and
The April 2019 blaze caused more than $2 million in damages at 55-57 William St., which had housed the restaurant for nearly three decades. Efforts to reconstruct the two heritage buildings have been underway ever since but the pandemic and subsequent economic conditions slowed the process, Santaguida said.
With permits now approved, Santaguida said he’s waiting on some supplies before things get rolling.
“We’re not ready to build until we know that our steel is coming, which is mostly Canadian and manufactured locally,” he said. “Once we know that’s coming, everything else will kind of fall into place.”
He added, “We don’t have a specific timeline but we’re looking to really start construction some time late July … and hopefully be done sometime spring or summer of next year.”
Currently, a section of William Street in front of the former restaurant has been cordoned off as work on water and sewer services gets underway, including upgrading the waterline from a two-inch to a six-inch line and installing new storm sewer connections, which Santaguida said is needed to support the scale of the rebuilt property.
“It will be about five times the size of the previous building,” he said. “We had to dig the whole street up in order to put new services in … We want to be in and out of the street before Canada Day and the peak of tourist season. We’re almost going to hit that target.”
To pursue the rebuild, Santaguida joined forces with York Entertainment Group, which owns the adjacent building at 62 York St., best known as the former site of Stoney Mondays and Fat Tuesdays. The property was most recently home to a Starbucks that closed early in the pandemic.
An expanded Vittoria Trattoria restaurant will be built partly on property at the rear of 62 York St. The new establishment will include dining areas on the ground floor as well as in the basement flex-space. It will also include some retail space.
In addition, the redevelopment will include a residential building with 14 short- and long-term rental apartments as well as a 40-seat rooftop patio and event space.
Santaguida said the overall investment into the property will be around $7 million.
Despite the challenges of getting the project off the ground, Santaguida said he was determined to bring his vision to life on the original restaurant’s site and to stay within the Market.
“I’m still very bullish on the ByWard Market and I think it’s a gem of the city. We’ve been here close to 30 years. The ’90s were a little troublesome and I think we’re in a bit of a downturn now. But it seems like the current administration is looking for ways to improve it,” he said.
“I think we’re starting to capture the low-hanging fruit and getting daily wins. Hopefully we’ll get some traction and bring the Market back to a vibrant place again.”
