A Toronto restaurant is fighting for “fair treatment” from its landlords after two-years of blocked entrances and reduced visibility impacting its business.
Starting Hibachi Teppenyaki & Bar, a teppenyaki chain with locations across the GTA, was a realization of the Canadian dream for founder Kee Zheng, a lengthy Instagram post by the restaurant shared on Feb. 24, reads.
For the past two years, though, operations at the chain’s downtown Toronto location have been more like a nightmare.
“For nearly two years, our entrance has been blocked and our Hibachi restaurant sign was removed and never restored. Without clear visibility or proper access, customers have struggled to find us. The impact on our business in the heart of downtown Toronto has been significant,” the caption of the post reads.
A story highlight on the chain’s Instagram account elaborates. In 2020, Hibachi alleges, a representative from 1 Hotel, with whom they share an address at 550 Wellington St. W., approached the restaurant, asking if the sizeable Hibachi sign could be removed while the hotel underwent renovations.
After those renovations were complete, the restaurant says, not only did the sign stay down, but a wall was erected inside, blocking the interior entrance to the restaurant from the hotel, restricting it to street-level access, for customers who know the restaurant is there in the first place.
“What began as one man’s dream has grown into a restaurant that supports many employees and their families. Behind our doors are chefs, servers, hosts, kitchen staff, and managers who rely on this business for their livelihood,” the restaurant’s Instagram post reads.
“When our access is restricted, it doesn’t just hurt a brand — it hurts real people.”
Today, the restaurant says, a small interior door has been added, but Hibachi’s sign and street number still haven’t been restored. Deciding that enough is enough, the restaurant’s team took their concerns to the streets (and social media), picketing for “fair treatment” from 1 Hotel and the property owner, Mohari Canada.
One of the Instagram stories posted by Hibachi.
“We are not asking for more than what we lost. We are asking for fairness. We believe our sign and street number should be restored, and our entrance reinstated to its original dimensions and kept open during our business hours so customers can find us,” one of Hibachi’s Instagram stories reads.
“We are simply asking for the opportunity to operate our business without being hidden or restricted.”
For 1 Hotel’s part, though, in a statement made to blogTO, the hotel says that it isn’t behind the challenges the restaurant is facing.
“We are aware of the claims that have been raised by Hibachi. We want to clarify that this dispute is between Hibachi Restaurant, its landlord, Freed Developments, and the property owner, Mohari Canada. 1 Hotel Toronto is not involved with this matter, and we hope the parties involved are able to reach a satisfactory resolution soon,” 1 Hotel says.
Mohari Canada has not responded to blogTO’s request for comment on the dispute as of the time of publication. To date, there’s no sign that Hibachi Teppanyaki & Bar’s requests have been met.