Bianca's closes after 23 years in St. John's

A high-end restaurant in downtown St. John's has closedits doors.

Bianca's hadoperated on Water Street for 23 years. However,the owner saidthe restaurant has struggled over the past couple of years with decreasing sales and high debt.

Co-owner Bianca Tzanovposted the announcement on the restaurant's Facebook page on Sunday.

She called the experience of running the businessa "tremendous ride" for a couple of immigrants who arrived in Newfoundland from Bulgaria with only the clothes on their backs.

Chef Gregory Bersinski, owner of The Black Sea and Bistro Sofia in St. John's, was one of the first chefs to start at Bianca's.

"There's a lot of people in the same business that went through Bianca's, working there either as a waiter, a chefor some sort.You learn as you go andmove on, open your own place, but I'm sure they remember those times at Bianca's," said Bersinski.

"Great times, great memories."

'You've got to be really strong'

Bersinski added that the restaurant business isn't for the faint of heart, and 23 years is a major accomplishment.

"It's a really, really hard business. You've got to be on the ball. It'sso many other things besides just cooking and serving so many other things,and you've got to be really strong. Really strong, like she is," he said.

A fellow alumnus of Bianca's is Jeremy Bonia, co-owner of Raymond's. Bonia, a now accomplished wine sommelier, said he was just 19 years old when he started as barkeep at Bianca's.

"Bianca hired me on when I was very young and taught me everything I know about the restaurant industry. I mean, I owe everything I have done in this place to her, really," said Bonia.

Hundreds of people took to commenting on the post, expressing their surprise and sadness at the loss ofthe popular eatery and bar.

"So sad to see a local, independent, beautiful restaurant with fantastic food in St. John's close their doors," one person wrote.

"Congrats on the success of 23 years in business and all the hard work of the Tsanovs! I hope the people of St. John's and community willcontinue to support our local businesses."

• View Bianca's Facebook post, announcing the closure: