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Deluxe eatery loses namesake chef Bear
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Mon. Sep 21 - 9:20 PM

High-end Halifax chef Ray Bear says he has left a Barrington Street restaurant that faces more than $600,000 in lawsuits.

Bear Restaurant opened in November 2008 and still bears his name. But Mr. Bear said Monday he stopped working there 10 days ago.
“It owes a lot of money,” he said in a telephone interview. “There were promises there to look after it, but I just felt in my heart that business wasn’t going to be done in a correct way, so I had to leave.”

Mr. Bear, who is from Halifax, said he is looking for opportunities elsewhere.

“But I hope to return to Halifax as soon as I can.”

Court documents show several contractors are suing to recoup a total of $607,747 for renovation work done to the restaurant.

The largest suit comes from Brifox Ltd., a company that built Bear. It claims it is owed $546,638.

Brifox is suing several companies and people with connections to the project, including Mr. Bear and his financial backer, California businessman David Tabah.

Mr. Tabah heads a numbered company that owns the restaurant.

He said Monday in a telephone interview from New York that lawsuits against the restaurant have nothing to do with Mr. Bear’s departure.

“He abandoned the restaurant because he couldn’t take the pressure,” Mr. Tabah said.

He said he doesn’t know whether he’ll change the restaurant’s name.

“I have no firm plans for anything yet.”

In court documents, Brifox claims the numbered company that owns Bear Restaurant is “merely a shell, sham, a puppet or alter ego” of the people and companies named in its suit.

But in a countersuit, both Mr. Tabah and Mr. Bear deny those claims. And in court documents, they allege that much of the work by Brifox “was performed incompetently, negligently and in breach of good construction, building and installation practices.”

On top of that, “Brifox charged close to $400,000 over the agreed amount,” Mr. Tabah said in an interview.

Contractors have liens on the building, said landlord Louis Lawen. But the restaurant has been paying its rent, he said.

“If they weren’t paying rent, they wouldn’t be there,” Mr. Lawen said.

(clambie@herald.ca )