Chez Sophie shuts down restaurant on Esplanade Riel

CTV Winnipeg: City selects restaurant for Esplanade Riel

In a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page, the owners of Chez Sophie say they are closing their location on Esplanade Riel.

The Facebook post appears in French and says the owners have realized the seasonal income was not sufficient to meet the expenses of running the location on the bridge.

The restaurant took over the space two years ago after being selected by the City of Winnipeg.

The $2,000 per month rent was waived for the first year because Chez Sophie agreed to spend $200,000 upgrading the site.

Putting a restaurant on the bridge proved controversial from the start. Many complained that it would be difficult to access.

St. Boniface city councillor Matt Allard acknowledged there are challenges with the space.

“I think we need to take a hard look at how we use the space and what’s really possible given the costs associated with the space,” said Allard.

The city and Chez Sophie had a five year lease agreement when the deal was made in early 2013.

Allard could not say whether there would be penalties for Chez Sophie ending the lease early.

He also couldn’t say whether council would consider lowering the price of the lease for that space to offset operation costs.

Salisbury House previously occupied the location for seven years, before the city ended the lease agreement.

With files from Meghan Roberts