Eat, drink and be careful

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2021 (1052 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was another strange year of foodservice amid a pandemic, albeit one with fewer lockdowns and slightly more good news stories than 2020.

Dining still hasn’t returned to “normal” and those in the industry continue to find ways to make the most of an ever-shifting situation — one again made precarious by the Omicron variant. It’s not the December anyone wanted, least of all bar and restaurant owners who have been forced to cancel lucrative holiday parties and reinstate capacity limits in their dining rooms.

Since the future is, yet again, uncertain, let’s spend some time reminiscing about the past. Restaurant reviews are still on pause at the Free Press, so this isn’t a best-of list, but rather a round-up of some of the challenges, wins and trends of 2021.

Another year of adaptations

Restaurants were able to open briefly at 25 per cent capacity in February, but the third wave quickly derailed any progress. The sector opened up in a major way on Canada Day — thanks to widespread vaccine uptake — and restrictions continued to loosen through the summer for fully vaccinated patrons.

Unfortunately, reopening came with a new set of hurdles.

With so much uncertainty amid the pandemic, many people left the industry for greener pastures. Labour shortages made it hard to meet demand and front-of-house staff who did return were saddled with a whole new set of duties: enforcing mask rules and verifying diners’ vaccination status.

The cost of doing business also increased. Supply-chain issues persist and the price of everything from tomatoes to toilet paper has jumped exponentially.

If menu items have gone up in price, it’s because the ingredients have gotten more expensive. (We won’t get into restaurant debt load here, but just know that it continues to be crippling and many government support programs have now ended. Consider buying a gift card from your favourite spot.)

Speaking of menus, when was the last time you flipped through a physical one? Scannable QR codes had a massive revival in 2021 and restaurants big and small gave in to other bits of necessary tech, such as third-party delivery apps — and their outrageous commission — and social media marketing.

Creative new concepts

Ghost kitchens and experimental food ventures flourished locally as industry folks looked for pandemic-friendly business pivots.

Lobster Bae made a splash selling lobster rolls, bisque, mac and cheese on Instagram for pick-up at Khao House inside the Good Will Social Club. It was a banner year for Salt and Sunshine’s hole-less bagels, and Crumb Queen’s crueller doughnuts gained a cult following.

Kosmo’s Food Cantina, perhaps the city’s flashiest ghost kitchen, recently halted weekly orders, opting instead for pop-up events while looking for a permanent location. Carbone Restaurant Group, a locally owned franchise company, has opened a number of delivery-only restaurants— including MrBeast Burger, Plantza and its forthcoming Seon’s Kitchen brand.

Brick-and-mortar businesses also tested new ideas. Prairie’s Edge in Kildonan Park ran Dougie’s, a casual burger joint, out of its takeout window this summer, and eateries such as Mona Lisa, Eadha Bread and Passero added new menu items geared towards picnicking patrons.

Corrientes owner Alfonso Maury launched a new line of take-and-make Argentine pasta called Tuco and Chaeban Ice Cream started making cheese.

A number of local chefs stepped out of the kitchen to run their own businesses. Chef Tyrone Welchinski, formerly of Nonsuch, launched an artisanal cured meat shop; chef Paul Ormond and partner Kerri Stephens hosted several Lola D’s pop-ups in support of Sunshine House; Renée Girard, formerly of Harth Mozza and Wine Bar, dove headfirst into Paste, a handmade pasta and pantry shop; and chef Allan Pineda resumed his regular pop-up events with Bahay Kubo Tiki Bar, a Filipino fusion kitchen and sober speakeasy.

The summer of al fresco

Winnipeg was a mecca of outdoor drinking and dining this year. The trendsetting Beer Can returned in a new location at the Granite Curling Club with an added Mexican-inspired food concept. Cargo Bar, originally devised as a mobile pop-up bar, extended its residency at Assiniboine Park, and Bijou Patio opened up in Old Market Square once again.

Newcomers to the growing beer-garden scene included Blue Note Park at the Times Change(d), patio space at the West End Cultural Centre, the Garden at 955 Portage Ave. and Le Patio 340 in on Provencher Boulevard in St. Boniface. The trend even caught on past the Perimeter at Springhill Winter Park.

Many beer gardens partnered with food truck operators, who, in lieu of another summer festival season, set up shop in parking lots across the city.

Restaurants, likewise, made use of the great outdoors to expand their seating options. Hy’s Steakhouse, notably, set up patio furniture at the corner of Portage and Main; the Fort Garry Hotel served guests outside for the first time on its Sunset Terrace and Bar; and Brazen Hall opened a sprawling patio with crowdsourced picnic tables.

Open and closed

Opening a new restaurant during a pandemic might seem like a fool’s errand, but there were plenty of entrepreneurs willing to take the risk in 2021.

In the West End, Gâto Bakeshop and Gladys Caribbean Kitchen opened on Sargent Avenue, while Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant, set up shop on Ellice and Not A Donut brought mochi desserts to Langside. Osborne Street — north and south — saw a swath of new tenants, including Zaytoon, Tabula Rasa and Park Alleys. James Avenue Pumphouse moved into a historic Exchange District building and Supreme Macaroni Co., a Mitchell Block side hustle, is now here to stay. The Palm Lounge at the Fort Garry Hotel also recently reopened as the Oval Room, with a new look and menu.

Outside of the city’s core, Gol’s Lanzhou Noodle opened on Pembina Highway, Baan Thai set up in St. James, Damecca launched in the Polo Park area and Foodtrip Kitchen added a new location on Regent, to name a few.

At the same time, a number of restaurant closures have made way for new beginnings. Shorty’s Pizza, a small Ontario business, took over the longtime home of the Bella Vista on the corner of Maryland Street and Wolseley Avenue in June and, a few blocks over, Ruby West changed hands to become Bonnie Day.

The closure of Black Bird Brasserie in Norwood led to the opening of Nola and its sister sandwich shop, Second Spot. In the new year, Osborne Village’s Cornerstone Bar and Restaurant will be replaced with a Leopold’s Tavern, which is also preparing to open a fifth local location on Henderson Highway.

Other eateries to close for good this year included Lark, Massawa, Fools and Horses’ flagship Broadway location and the Royal Fork Buffet after more than 30 years in business. Last week, Le Garage in St. Boniface joined the list of closures.

Coming soon

Despite a new spate of restrictions, there are at least a few things to look forward to in the new year.

Sherbrook Street is set to welcome a new food and drink business in January. One Sixteen, located in the former Stella’s restaurant space, is a collaboration between Beer Can creators Brad Chute and Neal McDonald and Good Neighbour Brewing Company operators Morgan Wielgosz and Amber Sarraillon. The concept is part taproom and part restaurant, featuring a menu from chefs Michael Robins (Sous Sol) and Keegan Misanchuk (Segovia) of Two Hands, a catering and pop-up dining venture. The food and drink components at One Sixteen will be meticulously paired thanks to the help of sommelier and Middle Tap Magazine creator Rob Stansel. Visit onesixteenwpg.com for updates.

The team behind the Roost and Oxbow also appears to have a new venture in the works. Parcel Pizza looks to be a takeout and eat-in pizza place and bar set to open soon at 221-A Stradbrook Ave., east of the Donald bridge. Details are scant, but the business does have a website (parcelpizza.com).

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney

 

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Plenty to toast on drinks front

A bevy of outdoor beer gardens wasn’t all that was going on drinks-wise in 2021 in Manitoba.

When it comes to bricks-and-mortar developments on the local craft beer scene, most of the movers and shakers were beyond Winnipeg’s city limits. Most recently, the Public Brewhouse and Gallery, a brewery and art gallery, opened its doors in Steinbach just weeks ago. Brandon’s Black Wheat Brewing Co., meanwhile, opened its Brandon brewery and taproom in early summer after starting out making beer in Winnipeg at Barn Hammer.

In the city, Bernhard Wieland Brewing, run out of the basement of the German Society of Winnipeg on Charles Street, joined the fray this fall, selling small-batch, German-inspired beer via the Schnitzelhaus. Good Neighbour Brewing Co. started brewing at Oxus in late spring 2021, keeping busy over the summer at their kiosk at the Beer Can at the Granite while working on plans for One Sixteen (see Eva’s food piece).

Interlake Brewing also borrowed Oxus’ equipment to get a handful of new brews into the Manitoba craft beer market; they’ve announced a spot in Gimli already, with plans to open in early-ish 2022.

New contract brewers to join the local beer scene in 2021 included Bookstore Brewing (who first brewed at One Great City and then moved to Oxus), Handsome Lad (brewing at Torque) and Dastardly Villain (also brewing at Torque, with plans for a south Osborne nanobrewery in 2022).

Beer wasn’t all that was brewing in Manitoba, with cider in particular having a strong year. Winkler’s Dead Horse Cider finished work on its tap/tasting room in late September, while Pilot Mound’s Wooden Gate started selling its lone (for now) product, the Prairie Romance cherry cider, in late November. Here in the city, Jesse Oberman of Next Friend Cider has been working on minimal-intervention cider made from fruit mainly foraged from backyards, releasing the first of his small-batch beverages this summer. He’s currently making cider at Barn Hammer, but will soon be making the move to the new Low Life Barrel House space (more on that below).

Also launching this summer was Nifty Drinks, a joint venture between Patent 5 Distillery and Nonsuch Brewing Co., who are located around the corner from each other in Winnipeg’s East Exchange District. They’ve started out with a pair of hard seltzers for now.

Locals nab drinks hardware

A number of local drinks producers won awards for their libations, including:

● Shrugging Doctor Beverage Company, who won a bronze medal at the WineAlign 2021 National Wine Awards of Canada for its apple cinnamon mead. It is the first Manitoba producer to enter the competition and nab an award.

● Patent 5 Distillery, who picked up a gold/best in class award at the Canadian Artisanal Spirit competition for its Navy Strength Gin, as well as a gold for its vodka and berry gin, silver for its regular gin and bronze for its young whisky.

● Capital K Distillery, who at the same compeition nabbed a gold for infused or flavoured vodka (for the Baltic Bros. Manitoba Mule Vodka), a silver for Tall Grass gin and WPG vodka, and a pile of bronzes.

● Low Life Barrel House, who at the Canadian Brewing Awards won a gold medal in the American-style brett beer for its Blood Cut Brett IPA. At the same competition, Nonsuch Brewing Co. earned a silver for its Prairie Common in the North American style category, and both Nonsuch and Trans Canada Brewing Co. picked up a handful of bronzes.

What’s on tap for 2022

A couple of existing Winnipeg beer brands are also moving into their own digs in the new year. Having brewed at Barn Hammer for a couple of years now, Low Life Barrel House is finishing up renovations to its Daly Street brewery and tap room, with plans to open its doors early next year. Watch for a feature on the brewery build in the Free Press early in the new year. Devil May Care, currently brewing at Torque, is renovating a space downtown on Fort Street, which it hopes to open in spring 2022.

— Ben Sigurdson