“We’ve decided to give the people what they want”: Why Jen Agg is finally taking reservations at Rhum Corner
After 12 years, you can now book a table at the Haitian hangout
Recently, while on a trip out west, where she’s completing the final pass of her forthcoming book, restaurateur Jen Agg announced over Instagram that Rhum Corner, her long-standing Haitian hangout, would finally begin taking reservations. Since it opened in 2013, the restaurant has turned away scores of patrons simply because the place was jam-packed and the wait list was too long. Like many restaurateurs reckoning with the current economic moment, Agg decided something needed to give.
“The neighbourhood has changed since we opened Rhum, and at an impressive 12 years old, it’s not the hot new restaurant anymore,” Agg says. “So after much discussion, we’ve decided to give the people what they want—a guaranteed table on a Saturday night. But we’d also really like to see you on a Tuesday or Wednesday.”
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Agg says the move fits into a broader industry reality. “This is a huge part of why people don’t understand what’s happening with restaurants. They go on a weekend and assume there’s no problem, but the state of our drooping and unreliable economy means people are going out far less for a casual weeknight dinner, and places like Rhum are the types of spots that are really feeling the pinch.”
With a bunch of other thriving establishments under her belt (Le Swan, Grey Gardens, Cocktail Bar, Bar Vendetta, General Public), Agg may not necessarily need to hang on to Rhum Corner, but her attachment to the place runs deeper than plain old economics.
“Running restaurants is so scary and unstable right now, but unfortunately, I am pretty committed to it. It’s especially challenging with an older restaurant that I happen to be deeply emotionally attached to,” she says. “Perhaps if my Haitian-born husband hadn’t had a stroke and could still paint, it would feel less essential to keep Rhum open—but, as it stands, he gets a lot out of playing music there and enjoying a connection to his roots. It’s also an important community space for the Haitian diaspora, many of whom drive in from the suburbs at least once a month for a plate of griot or oxtail.”
That emotional investment, Agg notes, also factored into the decision to take reservations. “It’s always tough to disappoint groups of four on a busy Friday night or tell them it’s a two-hour wait, so that was part of the motivation to start taking reservations. But it’s also an effort to compete and evolve.”
Agg says the reservation plan seems to be working so far, though balance remains key—particularly in a city like Toronto. “We’re going to leave much of the room available for walk-ins. We have so many loyal regulars who like to just pull up to the bar, and we don’t want to upset that balance.”
Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
