Couple fight to get their money back after Sarcoa closure

It’s now been two months since Sarcoa was forced to close its doors after the Hamilton Waterfront Trust terminated the restaurant’s lease.

Sarah Wakeman and her fiance Dean Davidson were planning their wedding at Sarcoa for next March. They picked a date, signed a contract, and put down a $2,000 deposit.

In August, after Sarcoa had its lease terminated, Sarah got an email from Jem Hospitality, which handled special events at Sarcoa, that her wedding would be moved to a different venue. The Atrium Banquet and Conference centre in Burlington had agreed to take on the weddings that were booked at Sarcoa, but some of the brides we spoke to said that this venue has a completely different feel and they weren’t happy with its location so close to the QEW. So they turned it down, forfeiting their $2,000 deposit.

“We were backed into a corner, either you book with Atrium and get that $2,000 honoured or you don’t book with the Atrium and good luck. It’s our money and we deserve it back.”

Jem told us the deposits made for events booked at Sarcoa wouldn’t be returned and that in the fine print the contract states, if the facility has been changed for whatever reasons the caterer reserves the right to substitute an alternate facility for the event at its sole discretion.”

Jem couldn’t tell us how many have rebooked at Atrium, or how many events they had on the books at Sarcoa.