ICI Bistro's Liquor License Trouble
by Malcolm Jolley

Toronto's Deputy Mayor, Joe Pantalone, insists he is not a puritan or out to spoil anyone's fun. In his City Hall office last week, the Councillor for Trinity-Spadina explained to me that  "There are lots of bars on Bloor and College, why do we need liquor on a part of Harbord that has always been residential". The topic of conversation is a liquor license application for a 24 seat restaurant on the northwest corner of Harbord and Manning in downtown Toronto. Pantalone is opposed to the license, but the decision to grant it is in the hands of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, a provincial agency. Pantalone is determined to everything he can, from speaking at the AGCO hearing, to writing letters to writing to Harinder Takhar, the minister of Government Services.

Chef JP Challet cannot understand why Pantalone is determined to keep his little bistro dry. He has been trying to get a license since the spring, but Pantalone's objections have kept the process slow. It's true that a number of residents in the area, under the umbrella group Palmerston Area Residents Association, initially opposed granting a licence to the 20 plus year veteran chef and his catering partners. ICI Bistro is across Manning from Harbord Collegiate Secondary School. Citizens were concerned that a licensed operation might serve underage students, or become a source of upset in the quiet neighbourhood. When Challet and partners Jennifer Decorte and  Peter Tsang called a meeting and explained they were offering a fine dining dinner service only, PARA changed its mind and endorsed the licence. Since the summer, the ICI Bistro trio have collected over 300 signatures from their neighbours, many of whom were encouraged to learn that Challet was moving into the apartment above the bistro. "I chose this location on purpose," he explained to me last week at an Ontario wine tasting, "I could go anywhere and my customers who like my food from 22 years of cooking would find me. But I really like the neighbourhood."

Jean-Pierre Challet has been the chef at some of Toronto and Ontario's finest restaurants from the Inn at Manitou to Auberge de Pommier to The Fifth. But this doesn't impress Pantalone. "I know he's a good chef, but in these times who knows if a small restaurant can survive?" Pantalone tells me, explaining that once the license is granted, it becomes attached to the premises, and usually remains in place with a change of ownership. Pantalone, and a small group of residents who remain opposed, cite a possible change of ownership as the reason for their opposition. Challet counters that the small restaurant is really the staging ground for his successful catering company Jean-Pierre & Co: "I want the restaurant to be a showcase for the catering, and to have a place to cook for my long time customers."

Pantalone claims to feel sorry for Challet, Decorte and Tsang. When I was in his office he suggested that had the three done their due diligence they would have known that the location had been the site of a stabbing in 1999, when it was an (unlicensed) arcade and that three other license applications in the area had been denied over the past 10 years. When I put this to Challet later that day, he was incredulous. "The first thing we did," he explained, "was ask the AGCO if they thought we would have any problems getting a license. They said no. It's only because of Pantalone's objections that we've had to go through this hearing process. He has the city's lawyers fighting us, but we don't have the money to keep hiring lawyers." Challet also noted to me that Pantalone has never visited ICI Bistro nor responded to his invitations to meet.

One person who is supporting Challet and partners is Rosario Marchese, the local Member of Provincial Parliament. The difference in opinion between the two elected politicians, suggests to some a greater struggle over licensing power between the city and province with ICI stuck in the middle. Pantalone claims the province is playing dirty tricks against him and his supporters, scheduling the meeting at the AGCO's headquarters at 90 Sheppard Avenue East on an evening when council sits, meaning he can't attend and making it difficult for his supports to as well. Through Anna Kinastowski, the City Solicitor, he has asked to adjourn the date to one he can attend. As of this writing, the hearing is still on and Challet and partners are rallying their neighbours to attend.

Malcolm Jolley is the editor of Good Food Revelation.