Favourite local establishment that no longer exists

1. Segovia Tapas Bar
2. Tiny Feast
3. Mondragon /  Music Trader (tie)

Segovia Tapas Bar opened in 2009 and closed in 2020, almost seven months ago. Co-owned by Adam Donnelly and Carolina Konrad, the contemporary Spanish restaurant had a reputation for being one of Winnipeg’s best, with both traditional and contemporary options contributing to an exciting, comforting and exceptional dining experience. 

Segovia’s 10-and-a-half-year lifespan is twice as long as the average restaurant’s, according to research by the Perry Group. However, the forces that led to its closure were anything but exceptional: Segovia was one of many businesses shuttered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In statements to Global News and Eat North, both Donnelly and Konrad said they couldn’t see a way for Segovia to continue without compromising Segovia’s core identity and quality. Donnelly is now working on a new culinary project: Midsommerbread, a sourdough bread company. 

A lot of reporting on the impacts of the pandemic on food businesses is focused on those struggling to stay afloat, directing readers to local businesses to support, with the unstated assumption that government assistance for our favourite haunts will probably begin and end with an advertising campaign. 

These campaigns tend to shirk responsibility. It becomes the duty of the victims of government mismanagement to order delivery once a week, to avoid affordable fast-food companies that have battalions of lobbyists, to bear the loads that taxes are supposed to carry. 

It becomes the duty of media to comply with this narrative and call on our readers to consume, rather than to mourn and demand more from our elected officials. 

As we document the struggle, let us document the loss. Donnelly and Konrad and the whole Segovia team will go on to great ventures, likely that are more suited to the new and emerging way that great food is made and served and consumed. The experience and endeavour of Segovia is now in the past tense. Let us sit with that. 

Published in Volume 75, Number 12 of The Uniter (December 3, 2020)