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“With all these things combined, I actually had to decide we’re shutting down. On June 1, I gave notice to my staff we’re closing our doors on June 30,” he said.

“Everybody has taken their pound of flesh — city hall, the province and even the federal government — and now there’s nothing left.”

Hamelin made headlines last year, raising a $4.7-million “For Sale” sign in front of the popular restaurant in protest of a soaring municipal assessment he felt was grossly unrealistic.

He estimates he’s subsidizing the business by about $10,000 to $20,000 a month just to keep the lights on, an ongoing battle he said isn’t worth fighting anymore.

In April, city council finalized its 2016 property tax levy, which would see the average non-residential user’s property tax rise by 3.8 per cent with both the city and province’s respective takes combined.

But as many homeowners have learned since opening their bills — an average 6.1 per cent increase for the typical taxpayer this year — the final price tag is often far more than many were expecting.

Some city councillors told Postmedia they’ve never heard the hue and crythey’ve experienced after this year’s bills went out, and are primarily pointing their fingers at Alberta’s NDP government for boosting its share of the municipal tax take by 10 per cent.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce began hearing from its members almost as soon as they opened their bills, said Justin Smith, the chamber’s director of policy.