No sign of restaurant one year after lease

It’s been a year since ’28 Lister’ signed a lease agreement with the city of Hamilton to rent restaurant space at the restored Lister Block. But the Chophouse still hasn’t opened its doors. And passers by aren’t the only ones wondering what’s going on with the space. Restaurant employees hired over a year ago have also been left in the dark.

We spoke with a server hired at the end of last July. At the time, he was told 28 Lister would open sometime in summer 2013. Now, a year later, he was told it would open July 8th. But just four days before it was set to open its doors. Employees were once again told there were more delays.

When Daniel Dowden was hired as a server last summer at 28 Lister, he says he was told things were progressing quickly. Training started in the form of classes to learn about the restaurant: “And then slowly the emails were coming in that things were getting pushed back.”

Dowden says employees were told that they’d be compensated for training once the restaurant opened: “We were all told that after 3 months we would get paid and it’s been almost a year now and I’m still waiting for that 3 month mark.”

Then came the middle of June. That’s when Dowden received an email stating 28 Lister would open July 8th: “They said this is very attainable July 8th we can do it. And this is what everyone took as their two weeks notice to their jobs.”

Dowden put in notice at his current job — but four days before 28 Lister was set to open, he says front of house manager Ryan Legault sat down about 20 employees to let them know they should seek other employment because there were more delays.

Daniel Dowden: “I spent I think 7 hours last week polishing glasses and washing them and putting them back in boxes for us to be told at the end of that week that nothing was happening still.”

Legault told us, he informed employees the restaurant didn’t know when it would officially open as they still had to wait on inspections — it could be weeks, or it could be soon. so he told them to look for other work in the meantime.

Hamilton’s Director of Facilities Management Rom D’angelo says when 28 Lister signed a lease with the city, the expectation was the restaurant would open by Christmas: “We had some exhaust systems that we had to run to the outside and we had to run it through some of the heritage features of the building which created some construction delays.”

He says he expects city inspectors to go through the property within the next week: “We are talking to our legal department in regards to if there is no opening what are the options.”

But D’angelo says there is no breach of contract – the tenant is paying rent and operating costs and he’s anticipating 28 Lister will be open by the end of this month.

Dowden says this experience has caused him financial stress with jobs past and current. As for compensation, Legault told us employees will be paid for the time they’ve already put in once the restaurant opens.