One year later...

Our restaurant finally opened it's doors on April 8 2016. It was a frustrating year trying to get things finished. Yukon has long had a fairly lax building code but recently the codes have been updated to match other provinces and in some ways it seems as if the requirements are greater than they need be. However, being a new building everything had to be up to the latest standards so it was daunting at times meeting these requirements. Everyone persevered and finally all of the permits were granted.

Our opening day was crazy. We had many people come out to show support and it was a stressful day as most openings are working out the glitches with the kitchen and the menu but we survived and it all went well.
We have now settled in to a good routine. The front end, which is run by my partner Shannon is doing a great job. We already have a regular loyal following in the area and Shannon has solidified those relationships with her friendly demeanor and personal touch with every customer that comes in. Because we are 20 km outside of Whitehorse we are in a unique position of not only being a highway stop but also the only local restaurant for miles serving a rural population. This makes for a different sort of operation than you would find in the city. The customers are less anonymous and we get to know people on a more personal level. It has helped us find some really great staff. We recently added a new guy to our kitchen staff. He had been coming in to the restaurant as a customer and in getting to know him we found out that he had just moved to Yukon from B.C. and was in need of work. He has joined us and has become valuable as a jack of all trades.

I describe the menu as "truck stop chic" meaning it is the kind of food you would expect from a truck stop but brought up a level. It is all made in house with good quality ingredients. We started with a summer menu with things like an avocado clubhouse, house made onion rings and beer battered halibut chunks to name a few. Now we have changed the menu a bit to reflect the change in the season and added things like a guinness steak pie, balsamic-beer pulled pork with dark cherries over mashed potatoes. We have a fair bit of "British pub style" food like scotch eggs and toad n' the hole.

We are now in our seventh month of business and things are going well. We are building the business and clientele and figuring out different revenue streams based on the needs of the demographic and region in which the restaurant is situated. It is a lot of work and a big commitment but it is worth it knowing that every day that you wake up  you are going to a job where you work for yourself and are creating something that has never existed before. There are no limits to what we can do if we have the imagination and will to move forward.