Union Local 613 restaurant to keep name

A new Ottawa restaurant can keep its name after the Ontario government had asked the owners to change it.

The issue had been people might question whether Union Local 613 is a union or an eatery. Located near the intersection of Somerset Street West and O'Connor Street in Centretown, the restaurant opened in July.

On Friday, the restaurant received a letter from Service Ontario, revoking its business name. The letter detailed how the name could be confusing people.

Ontario's Business Names Act states a business can't register a name that is misleading the public to believe it is an institution of a different kind.

But on Wednesday, one of Union Local 613's three co-owners, Ivan Gedz, said he received a call from his lawyer telling him they can continue using the name.

"It felt really great," Gedz said by phone Wednesday. "We are happy that we won't have to do it, but I'd be even happier if, from this process, the government made a few changes so that … when somebody else who is maybe not as fortunate as we are was faced with a similar situation, that they wouldn't be penalized."

The call came after Gedz's lawyer pointed out to Service Ontario that the business name had been registered for a year.

Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi, responsible for the ward that includes the restaurant, had said the issue was a "non-sensical, bureaucratic decision."

Gedz said the media attention and Naqvi's assistance likely contributed to Wednesday's decision.