Thornton's to shutter in June
Owner of high-end wine and dining establishment cites staffing issues as reason for closure
Meagan Leonard
Northern News Services
Friday, May 20, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The flavours of Montreal will soon be absent from the city's restaurant scene as the doors to Thornton's Wine and Tapas Room close for good next month.
Thornton's Wine and Tapas Room is closing its doors June 11. Owner Luke Wood says the restaurant has experienced challenges retaining staff since it opened in 2008. - NNSL file photo |
The unassuming eatery tucked into the side of the bowling alley has become a favourite among residents and visitors over the past eight years for its eclectic menu blending Northern staples with high-end French dining.
It's the only place in town you'll find steak tartar or a selection of 200 different wines. A go-to brunch destination on Sundays, it also features all-you-can-eat offerings of French toast and Eggs Benedict.
Owner Luke Wood told Yellowknifer he was planning to call it quits next year due to continued challenges with staffing but when his head chef left the restaurant earlier this month, he said it made more sense to make this season his last.
"It's difficult in Yellowknife finding staff - it's a bit of a constant struggle," he explained. "It's a part-time job and there's only so many people in town who want a second job and you want people to know how to do wine service and proper etiquette."
Typically, the restaurant closes for a few months in the summer and re-opens during the winter for the busy holiday season, so Wood expects the transition will be relatively smooth.
"We were closing for the summer anyway and I didn't want to re-open and start over," he said, adding the building is for sale and a potential buyer has come forward.
"I'm not sure if they'll continue the same type of cuisine or what they'll do."
Although Yellowknife has an infamous turn-over rate when it comes to new dining establishments, Wood said he didn't feel the pinch of competition too much because his menu was unique. However, he said he wasn't totally immune to the challenge of catering to a small population presented with a plethora of options.
"There's not a lot of places serving what we serve," he said. "But there's only so many people to go out and eat on a given night ... there's only 20,000 people in town so to get 100 people to go out each night and eat and spend money on wine is a bit of a thing."
Originally intended to be a kitchen and outlet for his catering service, the cozy room slowly transitioned into a Northern version of Wood's favourite Montreal haunts. To achieve this, Wood said he wanted everything on the menu to be made from scratch.
"I wanted to build ... a place that serves wine with meals and has a great selection of wines and makes stuff from scratch - smokes stuff, does its own butchery," he said. "Everything is made from scratch in-house. We smoke, brine, if we have ice cream on the menu we make the ice cream."
Alongside French offerings like the charcuterie board, duck breast and cherizo are locally-infused dishes such as seared Great Slave Lake trout, bison gyoza and reindeer pork tenderloin. The tartar and "buck a shuck" oysters were also popular staples, said Wood.
"I don't think anyone else in town does tartar," he said. "That was probably one of the most popular items on the menu."
For Wood, the most rewarding aspect of running his own business in the North has been the incredible people he has met.
"You meet a lot of interesting characters on the way - both customers and clientele who come into the restaurant and staff I've had over the years," he said. "You go through a lot of staff in eight years so I met a lot of interesting people."
Thornton's will be open until June 11 with its last brunch on June 5. For the remaining weeks leading up to its closure, the restaurant's signature "Wine Down Wednesday" will also be extended to include Thursdays.
