Last week, the news of Rebar Modern Food closing rocked Victoria’s vegan and vegetarian communities.
The eatery had been around since 1988, and had become a well-known hotspot for veggie-focussed cuisine throughout Vancouver Island, BC and all of Canada.
Around seven years ago, the business changed hands and many people in the city’s online communities determined the restaurant had lost its spark, though many remained faithful to Rebar.
Now, Rebar has a new owner who took over the business in September, and is looking forward to revamping the food and space.
However, the space will have a new name to mark the change in ownership and the direction that the restaurant is going to take.
The new owner, Satya Praveen Pottumutu, told Victoria Buzz that he has chosen to call the restaurant Urban Rebar going forward, to pay homage to the institution created nearly four decades ago, while also embracing a more modern take on its service and food.
Pottumutu was born in India, and has had a storied career as a chef, in other facets of hospitality, in IT and software development, in business and more.
He moved to Victoria in 2012 and became a Canadian citizen while also starting his own IT endeavour, Integro Software Inc., which is based out of Langford.
According to Pottumutu, starting a restaurant with his family behind him is his version of a mid-life crisis gone right, as his family is really passionate about food.
“I wanted to open a new Rebar and bring back the same experience of what Rebar was offering to its customers for decades,” he explained.
Pottumutu says that he has hired back a previous head chef from the restaurant’s golden years and retained one of the chefs who worked under the business’ last owners.
Ultimately, what he and his team will be doing with the menu is keeping it all the same, but refining the beloved dishes, adding some dishes that feature South Asian cuisines that are unknown to many in Victoria and he wants to implement happy hour pricing, while keeping current pricing the same as it was.
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One big change that will be coming to Urban Rebar is the introduction of some new proteins on the menu.
In its latter days under previous ownership, some fish had been introduced to the menu and Pottumutu says he will also have dishes with chicken and eggs going forward, but most everything will be able to be made vegetarian or vegan.
Furthermore, Pottumutu says he will eventually introduce catering and take-away spice blends, allowing customers to make Urban Rebar dishes at home.
In addition to the menu refinement, the space itself has had a bit of a makeover, while still retaining much of the artwork and quirks that are intrinsically tied to the space.
Despite all the hard work Pottumutu has put into the space, he has hit a snag in the approval process, so the Urban Rebar grand opening has been delayed slightly.
He had hoped to be able to be open by Wednesday, October 8th, but now he is thinking the restaurant’s opening will be delayed until October 16th or 17th.
Pottumutu says he cares a lot about community, eating healthy and creating a new community hub in a space that holds so much history.
He has big dreams for the space, the Urban Rebar brand and hopes to be able to welcome hungry community members into the space soon.
