Gallery returns with home-made food and smoke-free cafe
Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Inuvik (May 11/01) - The heavy aroma of espresso wafts through the air in the recently re-opened Cafe Gallery as coffee-lovers sit sipping frothy java concoctions from funky mugs.
Local artists get first dibs on the wall space, which is ample, and customers on the fresh-baked goodies crowning the top of a shiny stainless steel sandwich bar and loaded with all of the fixings to make anything from char and capers on a bagel to ham and swiss on a croissant.
Soon the raised patio overlooking Mackenzie Road will be filled with summer worshippers sharing delectable desserts, but for now patrons of the coffeehouse are engulfed in a cozy yet deliciously modern atmosphere that is just what the people ordered.
A pre-work morning stop will likely snag you a still-warm blueberry muffin, right out of the oven. Fresh coffees with names like Blue Moon and Northern Comfort will be on and a smiling server will greet you.
Owner and baker-of-goodies Rob Cook starts work every morning around 6 a.m., when he fires up his oven and his mixer.
"I get the baking started first and throughout the day I make the soups," said Cook, who also owns and operates Gwich'in Graphics Ltd. -- soon to undergo a name change to Artworks -- out of the same building as the Cafe.
"Outside of the rushes I usually spend most of my day at the computer doing graphic design work."
Cook has one full-time employee and what he calls a "kicker" shift that comes in to pick up the slack during and after rushes.
The smoke-free environment is something Cook insists on because of the artwork on the walls and the fresh food on the counters.
"In a sense I knew the non-smoking aspect would hurt business some, but for me personally and with the artwork on the walls and fresh baking out I don't want the smell of smoke getting in everything," he said.
Cook closed down the Cafe two years ago when running two businesses from two locations and a staffing crunch became too much.
But with constant inquiries from the public and the yearning to re-open his open his own restaurant, Cook merged his two businesses into one building and one set of books and held the grand re-opening last week.
The first week has brought with it a steady business. Once that becomes routine, Cook will be setting up a framing area, for those buying artwork, and a retail coffee and tea area.
