The Tuscan-inspired restaurant on Hornby St. with its signature garden courtyard will make way for a condominium development.

“It was a very bittersweet decision to make, as Il Giardino is one of my proudest career achievements,” he said in a statement. “The staff and loyal guests at Il Giardino are like family to me but I’m happy we are leaving on a high note and that diners will get a chance to experience Il Giardino once or twice more before we close and say one last good-bye. I’m deeply grateful for the loyalty and longstanding support of my gracious staff and chefs.”

Over the years, 65 year-old Menghi has operated 10 Italian restaurants both in Vancouver and in the U.S. They include La Cantina, Al Porto, Settebello, Il Palazzo and a franchise called Umbertino’s. He will continue to run his two Whistler restaurants, Il Caminetto and Trattoria di Umberto as well as Villa Delia, a cooking school and guest villa near Pisa, Italy.

The Social Media Awards 2013 is a night of expert speakers, network mingling, and award-giving that aims to celebrate the city’s flourishing social media space.

“Vancouver has one of the most vibrant tech, startup, and social media communities in the world,” explains the Social Media Network, who created the awards. “We strive to recognize excellence in social media by post-secondary students and industry professionals in British Columbia.”

Speakers include Gillian Shaw from the Vancouver Sun and Amy Judd from Global TV. Judges include Karm Sumal from Vancity Buzz and Dave Olson from HootSuite.

The event will be on March 28, 2013 at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. While tickets don’t go on sale until January 7, nominations end soon, so nominate someone now.

The rumours are true.

Former MLA Lorne Mayencourt has confirmed speculation he’ll compete against former mayor Sam Sullivan for the B.C. Liberal nomination in Vancouver-False Creek.

“I’m really excited to have made the decision,” Mayencourt said at Yaletown restaurant La Terrazza on Wednesday. He’s “quite linked” to the riding that includes about one third of the former Vancouver-Burrard riding, which he represented from 2001 to 2008.

And he’s “not too worried” about going up against Sullivan in what’s sure to be a close race between two highly recognized politicians.

Image: Metro’s Emily Jackson

Some of Vancouver’s most popular patios are now a sophisticated place of gathering, appropriate for business, and they’re places you want to be seen. So before summer bids farewell to the Lower Mainland, take business away from the office onto one of these stunning outdoor settings.

Here are BCBusiness Magazine’s top picks for the best patios to do business in Yaletown:

Best Patio to Make a Financial Deal

You’ve been building a client relationship and negotiating for weeks, and now the they’re ready to put ink to paper. Nestled in trendy Yaletown, a delicate arrangement of foliage encloses Blue Water Cafe’s (photo)  terrace to offer an intimate but unstuffy atmosphere. As part of the highly-respected Top Table Group brand, fresh-pressed white linens, polished wine glasses, impressive seafood towers and knowledgeable staff put Blue Water Cafe in the “Patio Elites” of Vancouver. Option B is the tried and true Joe Fortes patio. For 27 years, it has maintained its integrity for high-quality food and hospitality. Its sophisticated crowd and beautiful garden rooftop provides an escape from the bustling streets of Robson, and is sure to be the site of many profitable deals.

Best Patio for Corporate Events

A newcomer to Yaletown’s restaurant scene, Minami Restaurant’s(photo) hidden patio provides a zen-like flare with Japanese garden nuances. Picture sushi trays and sake cocktails circulating the crowd — a true testament to Vancouver’s Pacific Rim culture. Buyouts can include the patio, as well as the backside of the restaurant, offering guests both sun and shade and a rain contingency plan. Alternatively, Granville Island’s award-winning Dockside Restaurant’s patio is fail-proof as an impressive locale for events. Located on the waterfront, it offers a stunning view across False Creek to the cityscape of Yaletown and the North Shore mountains.

Best Patio to Interview a Subject

Quiet, intimate and comfortable, The Keg Yaletown’s (photo) spacious rooftop patio offers a wide range of seating options with sufficient distance between tables, ideal for private conversations. For a more casual interview over coffee, the Vancouver Art Gallery Cafe offers a quick but thoughtful setting. Surrounded by potted plants and flowers, it encourages a relaxed vibe for the conversation.

In March, Vancouver’s Opus became the first hotel in Canada to offer an iPad 2 in every room.

Now, the upscale Yaletown hotel has replaced the arguaby obsolete in-suite hotel phone with a trendy Apple iPhone.

According to Techvibes, these iPhones are truly mobile, and guests can take the smartphones with them as they explore the city. Local calls, incoming and outgoing, are complimentary and the devices are wiped clean (both physically and data-wise) after each stay. And if guests check in via the hotel’s website, they get free data.

Let’s say you’re walking down Granville Street in downtown Vancouver and you pass a great-looking restaurant you wouldn’t mind trying. You whip out that complimentary iPhone and make a quick call to the hotel’s concierge, who books you in for later that night after you’re all shopped and art galleried out. Or you realize that you’ve forgotten to ask housekeeping to leave you a pair of logoed slippers. Again, get out that iPhone.

The Yaletown Business Improvement Association’s Summer Crew are back cleaning your neighbourhood. This is their fourth year returning to Yaletown to help keep the area beautiful by planting flowers and cleaning graffiti.

Additionally, the Yaletown Summer Crew can help promote your Yaletown businesses. The crew, in their brightly coloured I ♥ Yaletown shirts, will head to different areas to hand out gifts and bring pedestrians to your store. If you’d like to have your business promoted by the Yaletown Summer Crew, email info@yaletowninfo.com.

Please note that the promotional materials must have a value-added offer to be distributed by the crew.

“We are pleased to celebrate our new Yaletown branch where we are using a new branch design and the latest technology to help create a uniquely engaging banking experience,” said Rob Wilkins, District Vice President of Downtown Vancouver and Northern B.C., Scotiabank. “In the open concept branch, the first of its kind for Scotiabank, customers are provided access to comprehensive financial services through use of the latest technology, like iPads, self-service banking kiosks and cash recycling units.”

Vancouverites attending the branch opening can celebrate their love of hockey and Canadian football by meeting Trevor Linden and seeing the Grey Cup up close in person.

Scotiabank is one of North America’s premier financial institutions and Canada’s most international bank. With more than 80,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates serve some 19 million customers in more than 55 countries around the world.