'Great run' ends: Roberto Pizza closing to make way for young restaurateurs
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Roberto Pizza is set to have its last dining service Saturday evening, a few weeks shy of its 10th anniversary.
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The pizzeria was named after Ottawa restaurateur Roberto Valente, 46, who died in February 2015 after battling brain cancer. A portrait of him covers one of the pizzeria's walls.
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Richard Valente, Roberto's brother and business partner of Fratelli restaurants and the pizzeria, said the decision to close had been in the making for a year, but it was still a difficult choice.
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For two decades, the Valente brothers opened several locations of Fratelli restaurants in Kanata and Westboro. Some of Roberto Pizza's menu, pizzas named after the Valente brothers and their children, will be available at Fratelli.
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Their father, Pasquale Valente, 86, managed the pizzeria as a way to remember his son after his passing.
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'That was his place to go and honour Rob every day,' Richard said.
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Pasquale was unable to speak with the Ottawa Citizen due to health concerns.
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Taking its place on Preston Street will be another pizza joint: Schoolhouse Pizza. Richard said it was the 'right fit' to allow for a new generation of restaurateurs to settle in Little Italy. Richard and Pasquale wanted the new owners to move in time for the Ottawa Italian Festival, set to take place from June 6 to June 8.
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'It's time to pass the baton onto the younger generation,' Richard said. 'We wanted Schoolhouse Pizza to have a few weeks to get ready, and it would just be a great introduction for them.'
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Justin Laferriere, Schoolhouse's chef and partner, said they would be starting renovations in a couple of days. The idea of Schoolhouse Pizza began after Laferriere, an executive chef at Fairouz Cafe, expressed a desire to switch to casual dining.
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'It was becoming hard to find the pizza that I wanted to eat in the city,' Laferriere said. 'So I just decided to do it myself.'
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Ottawa Citizen
23-05-2025
- Ottawa Citizen
'Great run' ends: Roberto Pizza closing to make way for young restaurateurs
Article content Roberto Pizza is set to have its last dining service Saturday evening, a few weeks shy of its 10th anniversary. Article content Article content The pizzeria was named after Ottawa restaurateur Roberto Valente, 46, who died in February 2015 after battling brain cancer. A portrait of him covers one of the pizzeria's walls. Article content Richard Valente, Roberto's brother and business partner of Fratelli restaurants and the pizzeria, said the decision to close had been in the making for a year, but it was still a difficult choice. Article content Article content For two decades, the Valente brothers opened several locations of Fratelli restaurants in Kanata and Westboro. Some of Roberto Pizza's menu, pizzas named after the Valente brothers and their children, will be available at Fratelli. Article content Their father, Pasquale Valente, 86, managed the pizzeria as a way to remember his son after his passing. Article content 'That was his place to go and honour Rob every day,' Richard said. Article content Pasquale was unable to speak with the Ottawa Citizen due to health concerns. Article content Taking its place on Preston Street will be another pizza joint: Schoolhouse Pizza. Richard said it was the 'right fit' to allow for a new generation of restaurateurs to settle in Little Italy. Richard and Pasquale wanted the new owners to move in time for the Ottawa Italian Festival, set to take place from June 6 to June 8. Article content Article content 'It's time to pass the baton onto the younger generation,' Richard said. 'We wanted Schoolhouse Pizza to have a few weeks to get ready, and it would just be a great introduction for them.' Article content Justin Laferriere, Schoolhouse's chef and partner, said they would be starting renovations in a couple of days. The idea of Schoolhouse Pizza began after Laferriere, an executive chef at Fairouz Cafe, expressed a desire to switch to casual dining. Article content 'It was becoming hard to find the pizza that I wanted to eat in the city,' Laferriere said. 'So I just decided to do it myself.'
CBC
10-03-2025
- CBC
China's looming seafood tariffs just add to 'craziness,' says lobster organization
Social Sharing Nat Richard said he was stunned when he learned that China was hitting Canada's seafood sector with 25 per cent tariffs. The tariffs themselves were not very surprising — Canada had placed heavy levies against Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum in the fall, and retaliation was expected. But Richard, the executive director of the Lobster Processors Association, which has members across the Maritimes, said China's decision simply adds to the disorientation already caused by the unpredictability in trade with the U.S. "It just adds to the craziness we've been dealing with, the uncertainty," he said in an interview. While U.S. President Donald Trump is postponing 25 per cent tariffs against most Canadian goods until April 2, China's tariffs will come into effect March 20. The seafood products China is targeting include crab, shrimp, prawn, clams and dozens more, according to a list from the Canadian government. Lobster is also on the list. Richard said China only accounted for three per cent of frozen lobster exports in 2024, but live lobster is a different story. "China is the largest market," he said, adding it rivals the U.S. in terms of demand. WATCH | 'There'll be more indecision, and it makes it very difficult to plan,' says Geoff Irvine: On again, off again trade war 'terrible' for lobster market, industry says 3 days ago Duration 2:28 Richard said Statistics Canada data shows the U.S. and China together represented 83 per cent of Canada's lobster exports in 2024, including both live and frozen. Total exports represented $2.49 billion, with the U.S. representing about $1.9 billion and China representing $525 million. The incoming Chinese tariffs only exacerbate anxiety caused by the uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs, Richard said. With the spring fishing season just a matter of weeks away, he said the biggest concern is that U.S. tariffs will hit mid-season. 'That could be very dangerous for the industry,' he said. The Lobster Council of Canada said it was too early to make an official statement on Sunday. Stewart Lamont, managing director of Tangier Lobster Company in Nova Scotia, said he was disappointed and slightly surprised by news of the Chinese tariffs. But he said he wasn't shocked, knowing retaliation was on the way. Still, he said the trade war with the U.S. along with a busy holiday season have been too distracting to prepare for potential tariffs from China. "We've hardly had time to prepare for the tariffs potentially coming from America," he said. "It's a volatile, fluid, international market, so all of this is happening while the seafood industry has a lot on its plate." However, Lamont's company has been working on diversifying its markets for 30 years, and hasn't sold to the U.S. at all in the past two or three years. Lamont added that China makes up for approximately 15 per cent of exports from his company, and the rest goes to markets across Canada and in Europe.
CBC
06-02-2025
- CBC
N.B. lobster processors living with uncertainty as clock ticks on U.S. tariffs reprieve
Lobster processors in New Brunswick are relieved that U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports have been postponed, but there is still a possibility they will be implemented in March, creating anxiety in the industry. "That's the frustrating bit," Nat Richard, executive director of the Lobster Processors Association in the region, said. "It just extends the uncertainty, which is not great for business for sure." The United States is by far the largest consumer of Canadian lobster. A Fisheries and Oceans Canada report from 2021 pegged the value of Canadian lobster exports to the United States at $2.2 billion. The next nearest country is China, at $483 million. Richard said New Brunswick sends about 75 per cent of its frozen lobster products to the U.S., and the province makes up 50 per cent of the global supply of frozen lobster. If tariffs were implemented, it would likely mean U.S. importers would pay less for Canadian lobster. "While it's true that … tariffs are effectively an import tax paid by the importer, there's no question that we're likely to see a lot of it being pushed back on us," said Richard. "They're probably going to push back and there's going to be downward pressure on prices, on market prices." Integrated industries The concern for the lobster industry extends into the United States, as well. Chellie Pingree, the Democratic congresswoman for Maine's 1st district, said lobster often goes back and forth between the two countries for processing. "There are often times when our lobsters go to your processing facilities, and there are times when yours come down to ours," said Pingree. Kristin Vekasi, a political scientist at the University of Maine in Orono, said the two industries work in tandem. "The lobster industry is very complimentary in a lot of ways with Canada, in terms of having different fishing seasons and having different production facilities and being able to access different markets right through that co-operation," said Vekasi. Richard said New Brunswick buys a lot of Maine lobster to process into frozen lobster meat, making any tariffs bad news for all involved. "Inevitably there would likely be pain on both sides of the border for an integrated industry such as ours," said Richard. Diversification difficult While diversification of markets is something Richard supports, he said it won't be simple. There is an already heavily integrated supply chain between Canada and the United States to deal with. And while other countries like China buy more lobster, they prefer live lobster, while New Brunswick largely deals in frozen lobster meat, Richard said. It may be possible to sell more Canadian lobster to Canadians, but "our market is inherently smaller than the United States." "We're not going to absorb everything we produce here, even if every Canadian ate lobster for breakfast, lunch and dinner," said Richard. Tariffs would put New Brunswick in the position where the province would essentially have to grin and bear any U.S. action. "We're not going to walk away from the U.S. market, whether this is a tariff or not," said Richard. "It's just too large, and frankly, often it's the most attractive one as well."
