Yellowknife (Jan 26/05) - Yellowknife's newest restaurant owners want you to enjoy the Booyah experience.

The downtown restaurant opened Monday morning for what the owners called a "dry run."

To date, there's been no advertising done, said owner and partner Gogoy Reyes.

Gogoy and Lisa Reyes inside their new eating establishment, the Booyah Restaurant, located downtown, at the corner of 50th Avenue and 50th Street. - Stephan Burnett/NNSL photo

Reyes is partnering with his wife Lisa on the new business venture.

The husband-and-wife team have a solid background for entering the restaurant business.

"I was the general manager at the McDonald's in town for two years and I worked for them for 15 years altogether," said Gogoy Reyes.

Lisa is no slouch in the experience department either - banking up her own 14 years with McDonald's.

Together the couple has sunk $300,000 into the establishment - $80,000 of which came in the form of a loan from the Akaitcho Business Corporation.

"We're putting our savings into this and we used Yellowknife suppliers. We're big into the community and utilized everybody in town. Many suppliers have contributed into this restaurant. I support the community and I think they'll support me as well," said Reyes.

Reyes, who is of Filipino heritage, and his Canadian-born wife plan to provide the best of their mutual culinary backgrounds and combine it onto a menu.

While the menu is a combination of Filipino and Canadian food, "it's not just a dining experience," says Reyes.

The dual-heritage experience will be reflected through the music being played and the murals and artwork being hung on the walls as well as the food being served, he said.

You might think that with close to 30 years of restaurant experience between them, the Reyes' would not be overly anxious about opening a restaurant, but the new owners admit there's still room for nervousness.

"Opening up a business up North is a big experience. I'm so used to being catered to by a large company and now I have to do everything by myself," said Reyes.

Nerves aside, Reyes says he has a vision.

"We want our customers to have fun. We're going to try to make our customer's day and let them have a big booyah time," said Reyes.

Having a big booyah time is all about perspective, he explained.

"Booyah is about choosing your attitude. It's a mood elevator, that's where it starts," he said.