Joe Pantalone: city councillor, benevolent shepherd (Photo: joepantalone.org)
Being a city councillor is a tough job—just ask deputy mayor Joe Pantalone. Fresh from killing Ossington’s buzz, he now finds himself on an increasingly lonely crusade to deny a liquor license to J.P. Challet’s new Harbord Street bistro, Ici. Ostensibly, Pantalone wants to ensure a bad precedent isn’t set and that the license doesn’t stay with the venue if the restaurant closes, causing the whole street to descend into a crime-ridden hell (you know, again).
While 285 people signed a petition in support of the alcohol bid and have voiced their support to Pantalone’s office, the councillor isn’t swayed.
In a recent Globe article, Pantalone claimed that “a lot of people in the community are being distracted by the fact that the applicants are nice people,” as though the intentions of Challet were beside the point and the failure of Ici was a forgone conclusion. But what really caught our eye was his Father Knows Best take on leadership:
Leadership means that you stick your neck out even though a strong segment of your community thinks otherwise, if you think that what is being suggested is ultimately for the detriment of the community.
Thanks, Dad.
• Councillor fights bistro liquor licence [Globe and Mail]
Hasn’t the Liquor License board said many times that the license is for the business not the premises? Meaning if this restaurant dies then whomever takes over the location has to re-apply with no guarantee.
How are ppl so out of touch?
G.
October 13, 2009 at 9:51 am | by Le Gourmet TVI wonder if Joe Pantalone has ever in fact opened a business from scratch. To deny a licence to a talented Chef especially in a recessionary environment where many high end restaurants are closing is the utmost stupidity on Joe Pantalones part. I have owned both a licenced restaurant in the financial district and a high end catering event company which I started from scratch in my 20′s and it is not an easy business. With the talent behind this new venture this particular restaurant will survive. A liquor licence is necessary to survive. If Joe Pantalone needs greasing to get this deal done I would be happy to send him a case of LARD.
October 13, 2009 at 11:09 am | by Trevor JonesI’m glad this douchebag lost the mayoral race.
November 7, 2010 at 7:39 pm | by Burt