Mike Sholars
Editor-in-Chief
Blueberry Hill: a 20-year tradition
Blueberry Hill opened in July 1991 with the rest of the York Lanes mall, as a competitor to the food court in the Student Centre, the yet-unnamed pub that would become the Underground, and several other pubs around campus. This full-page ad from an Excalibur issue in 1992 suggests that some things about Blueberry have changed, and some things have stayed the same.
The York University Development Corporation (YUDC) has chosen not to renew Blueberry Hill’s lease agreement, giving the restaurant until August to leave York.
Lori Bentley, the director of finance and administration for YUDC, confirmed the decision.
“We are not going to do a renewal with [Blueberry Hill] in York Lanes,” says Bentley. “Based on our business strategy going forward, what we’re trying to do is improve [York Lanes] and bring it forward so it’s a better experience for everyone.”
This strategy will involve converting the Blueberry Hill space and former Travel cuts lot into three new spaces.
“We’re looking to upgrade the whole mall, and we need to take the space back in order to do the renovations we need. [Blueberry Hill’s] space is old and tired; the equipment’s gone,” she says. “So we’re just looking to bring it forward, and we’re looking for some progressive tenants.”
The decision comes as a surprise to Alex and George Kapassouris, the brothers who have co-owned the establishment since 1994. When the brothers met with YUDC on June 8, they “went there with an impression that we were going to have a meeting about renovating,” says Alex.
“They informed us that we have to be out by the middle of August. They haven’t returned any of our calls.”
The brothers explained that although their lease with YUDC ended in 2006, they have been operating on a month-to-month basis for five years.
“From our perspective, we never had offered them anything permanent,” says Bentley. “We talked to them, gave them the opportunity to put something together […] we made the decision that it wasn’t something we were going to pursue. In terms of that space, we knew we were going to reconfigure it some time ago.
Alex met with YUDC February 2010 to discuss the future of Blueberry Hill.
“They basically said to us that they wanted to renovate the space and asked if we were on board,” says Alex.
According to him, the idea proposed by YUDC was to combine the corner space of Blueberry Hill and the lot beside it, formerly the location of Travel Cuts, and shift both restaurants into “kind of an L-shape with the units,” as he explains it.
“We agreed [to the proposal] and moved forward with the architecture and design,” George said. “In the middle of June 2010, they said ‘We are stopping,’ for whatever reason. There were no details. So from last June until now, we’ve been expecting that at some point they were going to propose [an agreement].”
“Never was there ever the option of not having a space,” said George. “Then out of left field […] they wanted the space vacated by the end of August.”
Bentley explained that the decision to use the Blueberry Hill location to create new establishments is part of a larger plan that YUDC has for York Lanes. She stated the decision would be best “not just for the image of York Lanes, but for the whole experience of students, and what’s going to be best in the future.”
“We are going to redesign [the Blueberry Hill space] and bring life back into the mall,” she said, saying the new space will house “a variety of offerings, new spaces for food.”
A possible contender for the space is Hero Certified Burgers, a popular Toronto-based restaurant chain. John Lettieri, president of Hero Burgers, could not confirm, but indicated talks had taken place.
“There have been discussions with York,” he acknowledges. “But nothing has been confirmed. We’re always looking for good locations.”
For Alex and George, the decision is a hard one to process.
“If they told us years ago that we were to be gone, that’s one thing,” notes George. “But when it’s a month and a half? Give us some time! [YUDC] might make more money, but that’s just morally wrong.”
“We try hard. We can’t make everyone happy, but we try. We pushed to make it work […] now we don’t have any plans at all,” he says.
Bentley says the brothers were given the standard amount of time to vacate, considering their status as month-to-month tenants.
“We’re just doing everything with a vision for the long term,” she says, “to best serve the community.”
With files from Yuni Kim
Updates
June 15: A protest on Facebook gains 800 members as of this morning.
June 14: York students have organized a “Save Blueberry Hill – York University” Facebook group and an online and paper petition in reaction to recent events.
