Restaurants that changed owners - Edmonton

[felix the hound]

There are a number of restaurants in Edmonton which i have not visited since they changed owners, such as Tasty Tomato, Il Forno, Cafe Leva, and Tagoyaki (formerly Sankyu). I tended to strongly associate the style and quality of the food at these restaurants with their respective owners. I wonder if these restaurants are seen today to have improved, stayed the same, declined or are just different.

[ihatepickyeaters]

I've tried only Leva since the ownership changed, and think it is quite good. the good: all coffee, madagascar vanilla bean paste for sale (only place in the city i've found), gelato, most pizzas. the not great: the extremely oily mushroom pizza, the desserts that sit in the case for a long time. the bad: running out of food, particularly brunch, almost every weekend.
btw, i think the gelato at de capo's is better.

[cleopatra999]

regarding Leva, I believe that it was 2 brothers that owned it, and one left, not an actual change. I assume this would make it pretty similar.

was not aware of Tasty Toms having changed.

when did Il Forno change over? I live right near by, but the 2 times that I ordered (1 time eat in pasta, next take away pizza), I was so disappointed I cannot imagine giving them any more of my time, money or calories! I would be open to trying again if there was a big change.

[felix the hound]

Ana Muze is the current owner of Il Forno. She bought it from Ralph Maio over 2 1/2 years ago. She used to be the manager at Packrat Louies for many years and before that she worked for the Sorrentino chainlet. Ralph Maio opened Sceppa, a trattoria, in 1977 and ran it with his wife for many good years. Il Forno was his second restaurant and was originally located in a strip mall on 142nd street ( Where Dr Groot is now)

[cleopatra999]

okay, that is about when we tried the pizza but after we had the bad pasta night.

do you recommend we try it again?

[felix the hound]

Since you seem to have had a bad experience there you might want to wait until you see some positive reviews from chow hounds you trust.

[Bryn]

I had a sit down there with my Dad 2 years ago and I had an amazing meal. I had lamb and Dad had bison. We both enjoyed our meals, but the waitress hinted that we were dating and she wasn't joking, so I was a little horrified.

[rob1234]

I didn't discover leva until the new owners but it's one of my favorite places in Edmonton. In fact they are catering our wedding.

Haven't been to the others before or after the change.

[worldwidestuff]

Tasty Tomato changed owners? When?
This was our go to place during tradeshows up there.

[felix the hound]

I was mistaken. Tasty Tomato did not change owners, there has only been a generational change and Angelo's son is now at the front, same hands in the kitchen, and Angelo is in the background. I stopped in today and got an update. By the way Tasty Tomato is celebrating 15 years this April.

[worldwidestuff]

Phew. Good news then. Angelo deserves the break.
Time for a road trip.