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'Le' Wildcat off the menu Galit Rodan Northern News Services Published Friday, February 17, 2012
Luke Wood, proprietor and chef at Thornton's restaurant, has been selected to operate the Wildcat for the next two years. Mayor Gord Van Tighem would not disclose how many bids were tendered but said "it was a competitive bid." Wood said he hopes his vision for the cafe will appeal to both residents and tourists. His recipe for success involves equal parts high quality food - local when possible, like Arctic char, whitefish, muskox and bison - and ambience. Far from simply transplanting Thornton's to Old Town, Wood plans to capitalize on the log cabin's woodsy vibe by serving food and drinks on casual campware - think blue camping plates from Weaver and Devore, tin cups and recycled Coke bottles turned into wine glasses. The brand new menu, which Wood said will be more in the vein of homestyle cooking, will likely be in the form of an old newspaper. "It will be a whole different deal but same chefs and same staff in the front," he said. As for the price point, "it won't be priced as a tourist trap," Wood said, acknowledging he had done some Internet research to see how people had critiqued the restaurant in the past. This was Wood's first time bidding to operate the summer destination. "We have the staff this year to do a good job. I think tourism's going to be up this year and there's been some renovations done and equipment's been refurbished," he said, adding he hopes curiosity about changes to the Wildcat will help draw diners. Chef Pierre LePage ran the cafe for four summers, from 2007-2010, before the heritage building was forced to close for extensive renovations last summer. LePage ruffled some feathers during his first summer by rebranding the legendary eatery 'Le' Wildcat in advertisements and on menus, napkins and T-shirts. When LePage won the bid for 2009, it was on the condition that he not refer to it in French. Though he agreed, he showed some scorn for the restriction by continuing to advertise 'Le' Wildcat with the 'Le' crossed out. Van Tighem said all bidders were given the benefit of a level playing field but the city's request for proposals (RFP) document states, "The city reserves the right to reject proposals on the basis of a proponent's past performance, financial capabilities and completion or delivery schedule." Attempts to reach LePage were unsuccessful. The city put out a request for proposals Jan. 17 and bidding closed Jan. 31. Wood found out he had won the bid 10 days later. Wood said he plans to serve lunch and dinner seven days a week and breakfast on weekends. His vision for using as many locally-sourced products as possible extends to listing the names of his local suppliers on his menu. Cross-promotion, he says, "makes it more like we're involved in the community, kind of like the Wildcat was in the old days." "I wish him every success," said Van Tighem, who was not involved in the selection process. "I've lived here long enough that I've seen it operated by everything from professionals to amateurs to volunteer groups. I've seen people try to incorporate music. I've seen people put in specialty menus. Over the years there's been a lot of variation and it's like Old Town - it's interesting to see what's going to happen next."
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