There have been some rumblings about this for some time, but now it’s official. Andre McGillivray is no longer an owner at the multiple award-winning Boneta restaurant in Gastown.

This is disappointing personally, as I felt he defined the place as much as his (now former) partners did (Mark Brand, Neil Ingram, and Jeremie Bastien). I’ll miss him there, as I’ve met few FOH personages who are anywhere near as entertaining. In my trade it’s uncool to have favourites, but then again I’ve never been very cool.

After a few minutes in the dark recesses of my archives, I was able to dig up the video above. It shows Andre, ridiculously bearded, ordering last minute essentials on the night before Boneta opened. The photo below shows Neil, Andre and chef Jeremie while the restaurant was under construction.

The copy of the press release will read as follows:

Happy New Year from Boneta!

First off, Boneta announces that partners Neil Ingram, Jeremie Bastien and Mark Brand have parted ways amicably in business with Andre McGillivray. All of us wish Andre the utmost success with his future endeavors.

Secondly, we would like to thank all of you for your extremely generous donations over the holidays. Your generosity helped us to raise over $1700 for the Food Bank. This translates to over $5000 worth of food for families who cannot feed themselves in these difficult times. Our sincere thanks to everyone who participated this year!

And thirdly Boneta would simply like to wish very happy New Year to all our friends and family out there; we can’t wait to see you in 2009 because, of course, Boneta loves you!

xoxo

Good luck with whatever comes next, Andre.

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Andrew Morrison is a west coast boy who studied history and classics at the Universities of Cape Town and Toronto after an adolescence spent riding skateboards and working in restaurants. He is the editor of Scout Magazine, the weekly food and restaurant columnist for the Westender newspaper, and a contributor to Vancouver and Western Living magazines.

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