With some prime real estate as the locale (it will be located in the KPMB designed Canada Life Tower at Queen and University) expect a mix of a crowd. They'll be coming from all sides; the Financial District to the South, those living in the neighborhood to the West, the established clientele from Splendido to the North, and the opera house to the East.

Lee and Bigourdan are continuing their partnership at the new place. The third partner is Franco Prevedello. A long time restaurateur, Prevedello was the first person that Lee met going in through the back door at Centro. Initially finding him intimidating, and Godfather-like, who would think that years down the road, Prevedello would become a mentor, and the two would be partners.

Together, they form the team responsible for Nota Bene.

Karma is important

But how did they decide to come together create this restaurant; did they all want the same things going into? With several offers for various places, which they in turn denied, they all knew they had the same vision, and wanted the same things. They had to. Lee provides the analogy: "In the cooking and restaurant industry, it is very important to all have the same vision. Take soccer. There are 11 team members, and they should all head in the right direction, with a clear vision." Here, they all knew that they wanted a relaxed version of the upscale places that they had worked in.