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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Despite its name, Trek has nothing to do with the science fiction franchise, except, perhaps, that the emerging restaurant is on a mission to go where no Yellowknife eatery has gone before.

Partners in marriage and business, Tony and Janet Procure lift the rusty metal sign for their emerging new restaurant, Trek, on a rocky outcrop behind their business in the Days Inn. The family restaurant is scheduled to open on Sept. 14. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

The soon-to-be-opened family eatery and lounge on the third floor of Days Inn is being cooked up by quirky and creative entrepreneurial couple Janet and Tony Procure, operators of the Old Town Emporium gift shop and coffee counter, which opened in December, and their five-year-old TJ's Sweet and Spicy Nut Hut nut-roasting business.

The concept behind Trek is based on easing homesick travellers with home-style food, no matter what kind of journey they're on and wherever home may be.

"When a journey gets tough, that's when it becomes a trek, and that's when travellers need the comfort of a home-cooked meal," Janet Procure explained. "We're a location where a lot of people come from away and we wanted to create an environment where they could feel at home, whether they are tourists coming to visit and seeing something they have never seen before and just needing an anchor that makes them feel at home, or whether they're recent transplants from other parts of the country who want to get just a little reminder of comfort food back home."

The approximately 300-square-metre restaurant is being established in the space formerly occupied by Avens Glacier, which closed on July 1 after nine months in business, and Papa Jim's, which closed last year after almost a decade in business. The space will include a new nearly 50-square-metre lounge, to be known as The Nut Bar in honour of Tony's nut-roasting business.

Trek's kitchen will be managed by Chris Page alongside former mining camp cook Coty Mitchell and former Papa Jim's and KFC cook Trong Huc, who will work the breakfast shift. Page's eight years of experience in Yellowknife, Mitchell's creativity and work ethic, and Huc's understanding of the customer base are assets the Procures are pleased to draw on, Janet said.

"It's a great team," she said.

Trek's menu spans culinary staples from coast to coast, including Jiggs dinner from Newfoundland and Labrador, French-Canadian tourtiere, and savoury waffles topped with British Columbia smoked salmon, to name a few. Dishes such as bison, bannock and the Old Town garden salad represent local fare, and international-themed dishes, such as 'sorta-mosas' – Indian samosas that are baked instead of deep fried -- and keema curry are also to be featured.

Trek's simple dishes won't be presented with a tree of rosemary garnish or other gourmet flourishes, Page said.

"It's all going to be very basic. We won't be going out of the comfort zone of people, and I think that's something that's lacking these days in restaurants." he said. "It's such a broad group of ingredients and yet very familiar. We're taking foods that are basically across all provinces and territories. That's the grand plan – to see all of Canada on one menu."

Page said he appreciates the Procure's management style.

"A lot of times, you get into kitchens and it's a really stressful environment," he said. "Here, it's very team-oriented. It's going to be a very relaxed environment compared to how most kitchens are and that really appeals to me."

Trek will be staffed by five full-time servers and a few part-time workers recruited from the nearby high schools, Janet said, adding all serving staff will be trained according to national occupation certification standards set out by emerit Tourism Training, an employment certification website.

"It makes sure we're taking a professional approach to what we're doing," she said.

While the Procures are playful in their approach to making customers feel welcome, the pair are serious when it comes to building their business.

"We're not in the food industry, we're in the hospitality industry," Tony said. "If people remember the experience, the food just tastes better."

The couple took a brand loyalty course at the Disney Training Institute in Florida in 2008, and they are bringing some of the customer service principles they learned to Trek.

"It's very much about understanding that your business is a business and your customers are guests," Janet said.

While doing market research this summer, the Procures surveyed customers of TJs Sweet and Spicy Nut Hut and approached people at the farmers market and the Co-op, Tony said.

Then they ate at every restaurant in town, Janet added.

"We were trying to get a bit of a sense of who are the dining out customers. Who are we going to be attracting? So, then we looked at what are the gaps. Yellowknife is small enough that we don't want to recreate the wheel," she said. "One of the things we noticed was there was a gap with simple foods. There's some lovely complex menus here and some really kind of gourmet menus, but there really wasn't a simple food menu."

They also studied a profile of Days Inn customers the hotel chain shared with them. They continue to solicit input from Yellowknife diners on Trek's Facebook page and website.

On Saturday, Trek will offer desert samples during the Old Town Ramble and Ride neighbourhood festival and in honour of Food Day Canada. A tent in the Days Inn parking will be open from 11a.m. until 4 p.m.

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