No definite tenant for former Coyote's Steakhouse
Owner in talks with potential occupants for building damaged by fire in February
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The owners of a building on Range Lake Road that formerly housed Coyote's Steakhouse & Lounge have yet to secure a new tenant but say they hope to have a business in the location by the end of the year.
The former Coyote's Steakhouse & Lounge building on Range Lake Road has been vacant since it was damaged by fire on Feb. 21. Kasteel Konstruction will be repairing the damage. The building's owners say as soon as they get a permit, the construction will begin. Despite rumours of a fast-food chain coming in, the building manager says nothing has yet been finalized. - John McFadden/NNSL photo
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The building, constructed in the late 1990s, was badly damaged by fire on Feb. 21, causing more than $100,000 in damage. It was believed to have been started by spontaneous combustion of cleaning-fluid soaked rags or a light fixture over those rags in a food preparation area, according to NWT Fire Marshal Chucker Dewar.
The building is owned by Yellowknife residents Seamus and Linda Henry. Their son, Mark Henry, said he is managing the building for his parents along with his brother Paul Henry.
"We've talked to a number of different entities that have expressed interest," Henry said. "We're looking for a tenant. We've had a number of conversations but no pen has been put to paper yet."
Henry would not divulge who he has been speaking to about renting the building, something he said the prospective tenants also do not want publicized at this time but he did say his family would like to see a restaurant go in.
"You wouldn't have to make additional improvements to make it into a restaurant. That's the target end market," Henry said. "It's got a proven location there."
Henry said he has heard the rumours that either a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet or Dairy Queen will take over the premises, however he said they are just rumors at this point.
Henry's parents have owned, at various times in the past, a Dairy Queen, a Mary Brown's Fried Chicken and a coffee shop in that building. Those businesses eventually closed and the building was vacant when Coyote's owner Ed But took it over about a decade ago.
Henry said the building has not yet been completely repaired since the fire.
"We're in the process of addressing that. It is an insurance job . Kasteel Konstruction has secured the rebuild contract," Henry said. "We are awaiting permitting at this point. We should be getting our permits any day now and then it will be about a four-and-a-half-month long rebuild."
Henry said he would like to attract a restaurant that is currently not in the city. He said would also like to find a tenant who was willing to sign a long-term lease.
He said the building has 3,000 square feet on the main floor and another 1,900 square feet of office space on the second floor. The seating capacity of the restaurant space is about 120 people.
Coyote's is now relocated to a building downtown, in the former home of Prestige Nightclub. But said he does not intend to return to the former location.
