Taylor says he has debts to pay, but he struck a favourable deal with his landlord and he will be able to walk away from the 55-seat restaurant “while the damage is still minimal and can I hold my head high and have some dignity.”
The restaurant’s staff of 18 is out of work, but Taylor said the cooks, at least, will have no trouble finding other work.
With his wife, Sylvia Taylor, he also owns the 30-seat Taylor’s Genuine Food and Wine Bar in Old Ottawa South, which will continue.
“Taylor’s is alive and well,” he said. “Ryan Edwards is the chef and he’s doing a great job. I’ll work there part of the time, too. I still have mortgage to pay.”
Taylor, who moved to Ottawa from St. Marys, near Stratford, Ont., 18 years ago, has been credited with bringing the local food movement to Ottawa restaurants, training dozens of chefs along the way.
“He was such a trailblazer in farm-to-table cooking — I was devastated when I heard the news,” said Stephen Beckta, owner of three Ottawa restaurants. “He’s added so much to our culinary landscape in Ottawa. I had some of my greatest meals and have some of best memories of eating at Domus.”