After years away, a beloved local eatery is returning to its roots. Rene’s Cafe will soon reopen at its original location on Wellington Street in Stratford, bringing back its signature blend of French and Italian-inspired cuisine.
It’s a homecoming for a local business as Rene’s Cafe is returning to its original location at 20 Wellington Street in Stratford. Work is underway at Rene’s to get things ready for the season with the hopes of opening in early June— but no exact date has been announced yet.
Margaret Masters is one of the owners, along with Rene Delafranier who is also the chef, and both say this has been a long time coming.
“We were here originally, and then we moved across the street to the Annex Building and then COVID hit so we were there for a couple years,”Delfranier siad. “Then the landlord sold the building, so that’s when we kind of closed. We’ve been doing our own thing for the past couple years, and then this opportunity came up and we moved back, which is nice because its out original location that we were at for thirteen years.”
Delafranier is a Stratford local, and he says it’s great operating a business in the city.
“Being from Stratford, everybody in the industry knows everybody in the industry,” Delafranier said. “It’s just an awesome community to live in. We’re very fortunate to have Stratford in our lives.”
Locals and tourists alike will be able to enjoy a casual fine dining experience.
“We do locally inspired food with French and Italian inspired dishes,” said Masters. “We offer a relaxed atmosphere with some great wines.” ,
Buzz has been building about the reopening on social media with people posting their excitement. Visitors past and present will see some familiar faces at Rene’s with some key staff members coming back, but there will also be some new faces as well. The bistro will be open Tuesday through Saturday, with reservations encouraged. The first round of reservations will be accepted starting at 4:30 p.m. while the last reservation will take place at 8:30 p.m.
“When you see those comments, it makes you so happy to be back in this place,” Masters said. “When we are out front doing our renovations and people walk by and tell how it excited they are for the reopening, its a good feeling, because its reassuring that we are doing the right things.”