Citing years of construction havoc, downtown London cafe closing

Downtown London cafe Rebel Remedy is closing its doors, but the owners will stay on site and transition the storefront to become a kombucha-making business.

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The take-out restaurant and bodega at 242 Dundas St., will shut down Dec. 23 because of a drop in sales due to a downturn in the restaurant business, inflation and fatigue over ongoing core-area construction that has restricted foot traffic, said Shayna Patterson, who co-owns Rebel Remedy with Julie Kortekaas.

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“There has been downtown construction five of the seven years we have been open,” said Patterson of the reconstruction of Dundas Place followed by bus rapid transit construction that is ongoing.

“That has had a big impact.”

At the same time, the street also has been closed to vehicle traffic for several months during four consecutive years, and additional road work on Queens Avenue and King Street has played havoc.

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“It was a huge blow,” Patterson said. “We love new things happening in cities, we want cyclists to feel safe, but the city has a lot of vehicles.”

Ward 13 Coun. David Ferreira, who represents the core, said he has heard from businesses how construction is hurting sales and making drop-off and pick-up orders difficult, “but construction is something we need to do.

“We just have to get this done as quickly as we can. I will do whatever I can for business in the core,” he said.

Rebel Remedy will transition to making more Rebel Kombucha and adding more flavors. The now sells the sugared tea beverage at five restaurants and businesses in London and two outside the city, and interest is growing, Patterson said.

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“We have been making and bottling it from scratch since Day 1. Now we are getting calls from Toronto, Kingsville and Waterloo. We are closing Rebel Remedy, but we will still operate there with a different business,” she said.

Barbara Maly, executive director of Downtown London, a group that represents merchants, applauded Rebel business owners for staying on site with a new business.

“They have an opportunity to grow the business and change the business model. It is excellent when a business sees an opportunity elsewhere and Rebel Remedy is a creative, inventive business,” she said.

But Maly said she believes foot traffic has increased downtown this year as the city has held more events on Dundas Place, such as festivals and markets.

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“With activations taking place, more people are coming downtown. It has drawn an audience,” she said.

Rebel Remedy’s owners cite inflation as another factor in the cafe’s closing, saying take-out orders have slowed. Recent figures from Restaurants Canada bear that out. The industry group said in federal budget submission in October eight in 10 restaurant companies reported lower profits in 2023 compared with 2019 and 70 per cent of Canadians are visiting restaurants less frequently.

“Business is down for us significantly and our product costs have gone through the roof,” said Patterson of the salads, sandwiches and baked goods it sells.

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