If there’s a secret sauce to building a culinary empire in just a few years, Carmelina Imola and Zach Kolomeir might have the recipe. Since 2019, the Montreal-born duo has become first-time parents, navigated a pandemic and opened four of Toronto’s most beloved restaurants.
First came the Michelin-recommended Dreyfus, a cozy French bistro in Harbord Village. Imola says they were drawn to the space because it felt intimate and approachable, then filled it with many of their good friends — some of whom continue to work alongside them.
“It was a ragtag team of old co-workers that had become quite good friends over the years of working together,” she says. “That’s what happens when you work in restaurants — it’s a very intimate environment. You work really hard together for long hours and there’s some inevitable bonding.”
Then came Taverne Bernhardt’s in Little Portugal, which was slated to open just months after the pandemic began and went through a number of pivots in its early months. Still, Imola and Kolomeir adapted constantly, not only surviving but thriving as they continued to grow. By 2022, the couple had opened Vilda’s, a variety and takeaway, and by 2025, they had added the Italian-Jewish trattoria N.L. Ginzburg to their growing roster.
“We learned a lot of lessons early on— lessons about culture, lessons about becoming adults, lessons about becoming professionals. There were many mistakes and there were many rewarding moments,” says Imola. “Restaurants are a kind of social experiment, both on the back end and on the front end.”
Given their success in such a short period of time, it’s hard to believe Imola was once close to leaving the “tough” restaurant industry behind. She moved to Toronto in 2018 to start her master’s program, while Dreyfus was supposed to be Kolomeir’s project. But it didn’t take long for her to fall back in love with the industry — this time, on her own terms, by changing the parts of restaurant life that no longer suited her.
“That aspect really enticed me, and I like the idea of creating a team of my own, in a way, of people that I trusted and respected and that I knew really cared about what we were trying to build and the environment we were trying to create. So much talent has come through our door and so many people I’m so endlessly grateful for have spent many years at our restaurants and put so much of their own heart and self into our business. It’s actually so incredible to see people’s loyalty to a company when you treat them right and you respect them.”
She says moving to Toronto felt like “starting fresh,” and was “refreshing” because of the diversity of its clients and restaurants.
“Montreal’s linguistic diversity has obviously meant its culture is highly unique, and rich with its own authentic identity,” she says. “There are just so many different identities here, making it an interesting comparison of diversities. They’ve made for incredible food cultures, on both sides.”
Despite the popularity of their restaurants, they have yet to snag a Michelin award, though many in the industry thought this might be the year. But that hasn’t stopped them from holding themselves to their own high standards.
“It’s great for the city. We’d be honoured and our close friends and peers are so deserving of this calibre of recognition. However, Michelin isn’t what drives us — we’re pursuing our own vision for the spaces, services, cultures, and offerings along with the standards and ethics behind them,” Imola says. “The restaurants reflect us as people in many ways, in all our goals, quirks, and imperfections, for better or worse — we’re human.”