This month, we are excited to feature Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality, one of Canada’s leading restaurant and event groups. With locations across Canada, O&B’s diverse portfolio currently includes a collection of unique and innovative restaurants, event spaces, a bakery, and several strategic partnerships. We sat down to chat with Natalie Ho, O&B’s Director of Event Sales.

Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants Spotlight Jacqueline Rae Weddings Calgary Wedding Planner YYC Wedding Planner Calgary Weddings Hudson Event Space Subrosa Calgary Buffo Calgary The Guild Calgary

Tell us about Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality. How did it all begin?

Oliver & Bonacini started in 1993 when our founders, Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini, opened Jump Restaurant in Toronto, Ontario. Jump is a vibrant restaurant, located in the heart of the city’s financial district, that gained a reputation for its excellence in food service and the ability to master the one-hour business lunch. From there, Peter and Michael continued to open unique concept restaurants and built the foundation for Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality, a company founded on the belief in the inspired quality of our product, fanatical attention to detail, emotional and intelligent service, and teamwork.

Can you tell us more about recent expansion?

In 2016, O&B opened its first property outside of Toronto. The Guild, Sub Rosa and Hudson in Calgary were created in partnership with Hudson’s Bay. We have absolutely loved working in Calgary!

Spring 2017 saw the opening of Le Mount Stephen, a boutique five-star hotel in Montreal in which we run events and catering operations within the ballrooms. Housed within the hotel is Bar George, a restaurant specializing in contemporary takes on classic U.K. fare, spiked with Québécois quirks.

Later that year, we also opened Shift Restaurant in Saskatoon, which doubles as an event space within the Remai Modern museum. In 2018, we opened Buffo Restaurant at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary and joined forces with the Concorde Group.

Most recently, we partnered with the JW Marriott in Edmonton, opening the upscale Braven Restaurant, a speakeasy bar called Alchemy, and the more casual Kindred Food + Drink within the brand-new Ice District hotel.

Also, can you list all the restaurants/venues under the O&B umbrella?

O&B’s current operations include à la carte dining, quick service, catering, group dining and special events across Canada. Unique concept restaurants include Canoe, Jump, Auberge du Pommier, Biff’s Bistro, Luma, Canteen, Bannock, Beaumont Kitchen, R&D, The Guild, Leña, Liberty Commons, Bar George, Shift, Buffo, Parcheggio, Beauty Barbecue & Smokehouse, Maison Selby, Braven, Kindred Food + Drink. We also operate a group of mid-range casual dining restaurants, Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill.

Our event venues include Arcadian, Malaparte, The Carlu, Toronto Region Board of Trade, and Village Loft in Toronto; Westin Trillium House in the Georgian Triangle; Hudson and The Pioneer in Calgary; Le Mount Stephen in Montreal; and Remai Modern in Saskatoon.

What is your favourite thing about being involved in the wedding/events industry?

The events industry brings together all of the passion that we possess here at O&B — a commitment to excellence in food and service, creativity, and the ability to surprise and delight our guests during their experience. At our core is a commitment to hospitality and emotional service. We love learning about our clients and figuring out how to make their event a success by connecting with the meaning of what they are looking to achieve.

This is such an exciting industry to be a part of, as it’s always changing and growing and challenging us to be better than we were at the last event. We welcome the opportunity to innovate and create. Most of all, we love getting to celebrate our clients’ important milestones and contributing to their events.

Hudson Event Space, Calgary, Photography by Tara Whittaker

How does the company stay up-to-date with restaurant/culinary trends? Is there anything new and interesting coming up in 2020?

Great question! We try to dine out a lot, and we take inspiration from many different places. We’re always quick to find out the newest, most creative food trends emerging at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) each year. We also engage in conferences like the Leading Caterers of America, where we get to connect with colleagues across North America who are doing amazing work. We look at our competitors as a source of inspiration and appreciate what they do while challenging ourselves to keep doing better.

What is the most challenging and rewarding part of your business?

We get only one chance to succeed at an event — and this is both the challenge and the reward. We work tirelessly to plan and communicate event details amongst our clients and teams, and we know how important it is to execute on the day of.

Tell us something interesting about yourself!

I’ve been with O&B for 15 years, starting as a host at one of our restaurants. At that time, I was studying to become a high school history teacher. Within the first week, I’d fallen completely in love with the restaurant business, the energy inside the restaurant and the passion of the people I worked with. I consider myself very lucky to have found such a fulfilling career at O&B and to be in a role well beyond what I would have imagined for myself 15 years ago. I also love travelling to each of our locations nationally and learning more about each city and its unique culture. I can honestly say I’ve fallen in love with the city of Calgary and always look forward to returning!