A former downtown restaurant owner finds success in west-end spot

There are a lot more dining options coming to west London, and Joe Duby wants to help feed the demand.

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The owner of fine-dining restaurant Gnosh, which opened in West 5 on Riverbend Road in fall 2022 and closed its downtown location last fall, sees the Riverbend neighborhood, located near the center of Byron, Oakridge and Kilworth, as a growing food hub.

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Duby and business partner Brad Brown are opening a pub next door to Gnosh at West 5 in June called Bili Rubin’s, which will offer casual fine-dining pub fare. And he’s in talks to open a third restaurant, an upscale coffee bar with baked goods and food.

“This area is a winner, there’s nothing but growth there. I looked at the restaurant landscape and the area is huge, Kilworth, Komoka, Strathroy and Oakridge,” Duby said. “There’s something to be said for being the first to market.”

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Bili Rubin’s will be the first of its kind in that market, he believes. It will feature upscale pub fare, lamb cabbage rolls and baked oysters, along with items such as chicken wings, fish and chips, Irish soda bread and cheese pretzel dip.

“There’s not really an ad here. I think there’s a real opportunity and we’ve built up good will for being here a year-and-a-half,” Duby said. “When other restaurants open, we will see a decline for a period, but we’ve built loyalty. We will be less susceptible to the roller-coaster.”

He has kept the Gnosh menu much the same as it was downtown. Sales so far this year are up 10 to 15 per cent over the same period last year, he added.

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Gnosh at West 5 and Bili Rubin’s join a growing list of area eateries, including BTRMLK’s fried chickenFusion Booth’s Indian food, the Green Window’s healthy fast food, the soon-to-open West Social, and pizza and shawarma restaurants.

Nearby, the Dolcetto Italian restaurant on Colonel Talbot Road now competes with the recently opened Italian chain eatery, Scaddabush, on Southdale Road West.

Duby initially moved to West 5 in 2022 as he considered a second Gnosh location and saw opportunity in the Riverbend area. He closed Gnosh downtown after core construction, COVID-19’s impacts and concerns with homelessness and vandalism hurt business there.

“There were so many issues with vagrants, drugs, the homeless. We were broken into and there was vandalism,” Duby said. “I also think downtown never recovered from construction. People got used to it being an island and not going there.”

He recently auctioned off items from the downtown Gnosh, including a black walnut bar, because no other restaurant was interested in moving to the Dundas Street space, located near Budweiser Gardens, and taking over the items.

“There was no interest, whatsoever,” Duby said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

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