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Though Gabal spoke to the Citizen at length last spring, numerous phone calls to him this week and last went unanswered.

“It’s a messy file,” Gabal said in a May 3 story. “I’m not happy.”

Svazas says the hurdles cost him plenty, most of it in unexpected legal and other professional fees. There was also rent to pay for space that took another two years to get ready because of the numerous disputes. Svazas says he has no idea what he lost in revenues and profits from the time he first expected to open. Svazas filed in lawsuit against Gabal and Velika in April 2013.

Luckily, says Svazas, he was able to count on an investor to provide the additional cash to keep his dream for a “contemporary, casual Canadian” restaurant alive. However, without restitution for the troubles of the past two years, says Svazas, “the business plan falls apart.”

He says five restaurants opened in the downtown and Glebe areas while he was trying to get Fauna up and running. “I was the first at the party with the lease signing and now I’m the last (to open) — which isn’t ideal.”

But, says Svazas, there was a silver lining: “I got to spend a lot of time with my son (Henry, 4) … and I’ve been around the whole time for my 18-month-old daughter (Eva).” His wife, Kate, works for the federal government.

Despite the troubles, Svazas says he is trying to keep a “positive mindset” and focus on making his restaurant successful. He loves the Centretown location and says of a new condominium building a short walk from the restaurant: “Keep them coming.”

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