Tension over sudden closure of The Village Biergarten in St. Jacobs

There’s some tension over the sudden closure of The Village Biergarten in St. Jacobs.

A disgruntled worker posted from the eatery’s Instagram page this week, alleging the owner hadn’t paid staff on time, who were now out of a job with less than 24 hours’ notice.

The Village Biergarten’s owner, Denis Fontana, confirmed the closure to 570 NewsRadio via email.

He said they were “unexpectedly evicted from The Village Biergarten property, due to tardiness of paying rent” and pointed to low sales since January for the financial strain.

“It’s true that we also had to delay payment for some staff, and we have outstanding payments with suppliers,” wrote Fontana.

Fontana said he also incurred loans from lenders to try to stay afloat, “Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough.”

The establishment opened in 2019 and has some shared ownership with Block Three Brewing, but they aren’t the landlords.

“Block Three is not directly involved in the property and has no intention of taking over or operating The Village Biergarten,” said a statement from the brewing company. “While we won’t comment in detail, we can confirm that the closure is the result of a longstanding breach of agreed-upon terms.”

Block Three Brewing said the landlords of the property at 1381 King St. N. are currently seeking a new operator for the space. The location is listed for sale on realtor.ca at a price of $999,900.

The Village Biergarten was promoted as being “a bit of Bavaria in the heart of St. Jacobs” with one of the largest outdoor patios in Waterloo Region.