More trouble at Lister Block restaurant

The high end Hamilton restaurant that opened two months ago in a rebuilt Lister Block — one year later than expected — appears to have closed again — at least temporarily. Over the past few weeks, the owner of 28 Lister and former employees have been battling through social media — each side hurling accusations.

We heard on Twitter that employees refused to open Wednesday night. Today, it was supposed to open for lunch but that didn’t happen. A bartender told us there was a kitchen problem and the city was told there were mechanical issues in the kitchen, the city expected it would be fixed in time for dinner. We are here at 6:10 and the doors are closed.

Several former 28 Lister staff members have been venting on social media but none agreed to talk on camera, including former chef Kelly Wedekind.

Web master Adam Archer shut down the 28 Lister site for non-payment. He told us he only got involved because his aunt loved the historic building. A local printer says he is owed thousands of dollars. And the security company that installed cameras and an alarm system is suing 28 Lister for seven thousand dollars. We’re told the work was done without even a down payment, because, the company told us, 28 Lister owner Chris Desroches kept delaying payment with excuses.

Desroches has a rambling blog of his own, accusing employees of theft and worse. He did not return calls, but did send a text saying he was in hospital on medical leave.
He was raving about the restaurant on opening night.

Local food bloggers disagree. Reviews of the food and service at 28 Lister have been abysmal, especially considering one of the steaks on the menu costs close to 140 dollars.

Desroches used to own La Costa restaurants. He shut down the one just a block away from 28 Lister 10 years ago. At the time he said it was because of Hamilton’s decrepit core.

Chris Desroches in 2004: “The parking is awful, the taxes are terrible. it’s a scary place to be. Customers have told me they’re scared to come downtown Hamilton.”

Hamilton Director of Facilities Rome D’Angelo says Desroches is not behind in his rent or operating fees. If that changes, he could be evicted within two weeks.

Rome D’Angelo: “I feel confident, regardless, of Mr. Desroches’ business practices. I feel confident that if he doesn’t make a go of this, there are reputable owners who would jump at taking this space.

It does not seem that the restaurant has been busy since it opened at the end of August. Some people have said that when they went, they were the only ones in the entire restaurant.

Even on opening night, when it was Supercrawl and the downtown was packed with people, very few of them were inside 28 Lister.