Downtown St. John's café owner pulls lawsuit against N.L. government

A year and a half after a downtown St. John's cafe sued the Newfoundland and Labrador government over the National War Memorial refurbishment, the new owner has withdrawn the lawsuit.

According to documents obtained by CBC News, Memorial Cafe owner Ayesha Chua filed the notice in small claims court on March 11.

CBC News has asked Chua for an interview.

Located at 183 Duckworth St., the café was right next to the construction site for the refurbishment of the National War Memorial that straddles Water and Duckworth streets. The construction wrapped last year.

In November of 2023, in the midst of construction, then-cafe co-owner Balamurali Balasubramani filed a lawsuit in small claims court against the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, alleging his business, then called Madras Cafe, was hurting due to the ongoing construction next to him.

He was seeking $25,000 plus a filing fee.

In a previous interview, Balasubramani alleged revenue at his café had dropped by 80 per cent due to the disruption.

"This is my passion, so I just wanted to keep it running. But we can only survive for so long, right? And by the looks of it, we are going to lose everything. That's the way it is," he told CBC News.

Balasubramani and his brother Guna Sekar opened Madras Cafe in November 2021.

In an email to CBC News, department spokesperson Maria Browne said, "the parties have resolved the matter and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has no further comment."

According to documents obtained by CBC News, on Feb. 1, 2024, Chua became a director of the company and Balasubramani and Sekar ceased to be directors, making Chua the sole director. Chua officially changed the café's name to Memorial Cafe on May 30, 2024.

Balasubramani had intended to continue the lawsuit but was not permitted to because of the sale, he told CBC News.

While changing the café's name to reflect the business' proximity to the National War Memorial and with the construction wrapping, Chua carried on with the lawsuit. The matter was supposed to be in court for a settlement conference in January but it was pushed to May.

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