So what about Ben’s?
Did you go there lately? I mean pre strike of course? The place was empty, dirty, rundown, and grim was written on all the employee’s faces. Really a depressing dining out experience. Yes, the heydey of Ben’s is gone, but it’s been gone for over five years. Restaurants come and restaurants go, and though Ben’s was an excellent example of longevity in a traditionally cutthroat business, it was also an example of “not evolving with the times”. Look, Disneyland isn’t the same as I remember it as a kid, and that’s as it should be. Nobody can take away your memories of Ben’s so let’s stop lamenting its closure and cherish any fond memories we have. Nonetheless, for such a prime location, it is a pity to see the place run into the ground. But now I wonder what will take its place.
I think they wanted to put an office building there, and Wikipedia seems to remember the same thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben’s_Delicatessen_&_Restaurant
There is already an L-shaped office tower designed to wrap around Ben’s. If you go to the corner of de Maisonneuve and Mansfield you can see a big sign with an artist’s interpretation of the design. (You have to look hard, but you can see how it wraps around Ben’s.)
Personally, I think they have a second set of designs in the drawer that includes the Ben’s space. Now that they’re closed and will sell the building, the developer will swap the L-shaped design for a bigger building that uses the entire space.
Just you watch…
I hate to see a landmark dissapear, even if it was one that I had no personal interest in. But from what I hear it will be used for a tower.
Regarding the paraphernalia being sent to a museum — one can only suppose that said museum is McCord? That’d be the most logical place…