Thornton's reopens its doors
Downtown restaurant gets new name, new menu, new management
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Friday, October 14, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The guys in the kitchen might be different, but don't worry: the brunch is still going strong.
Thornton's on 51st opened its doors on Tuesday. The restaurant reopened with a new menu and under new management. From left, restaurateur Sato Chankasingh stands with his partners Graham Shishkov and chef Graham Troyer. - Jessica Davey-Quantick/NNSL photo |
Thornton's on 51st officially opened its doors on Tuesday night, with new owners behind the stove at what was previously Thornton's Wine & Tapas room.
Longtime Yellowknife restaurateur, Sato Chankasingh, made the move from the Wildcat Cafe to his new space in the middle of August, along with his business partners, Graham Shishkov and Graham Troyer. Before his stint at the Wildcat Cafe, he's operated a number of restaurants since he moved to Yellowknife in 1989, including Twist, Fuego and The Office.
"I've been cooking for 37 years," said Chankasingh.
He said despite not advertising the opening, they had "probably a dozen and a half" customers for the new Thornton's first service on Tuesday.
But fans of the previous incarnation will be in for some changes, he said.
"We are changing a lot of stuff, a new menu," said Chankasingh. But he says they are planning to keep some of the "old favourites," like Wine Down Wednesday and brunch.
Thornton's Wine & Tapas Room shut its doors on June 11. Luke Wood, the previous owner, still owns the building, says Chankasingh. He, Troyer and Shishkov are leasing the space lock stock and barrel, after purchasing the equipment and supplies.
Wood says his decision to close was the result of difficulties staffing, particularly after his chef left for a new job at The Woodyard. Coupled with a new baby, he said he decided the time had come to step away from the kitchen.
"So it's absolutely nothing to do with me," he said of the new restaurant, despite the continuity in name. The building itself remains for sale.
"We're doing our own thing, we're not doing anything else," said Chankasingh.
"We're creating our own menu, own items."
He's hesitant to categorize his menu.
"It's all over," he said. "It's some tapas and some lovely main courses, plenty of things from jerk shrimp dinner, rack of lamb, chicken supreme, a winter fish pie."
Additionally, he says it's important to have local flavours on the menu. It will include local dishes, like braised bison osso buco and pan seared Arctic char fillets.
"We're going to get some stuff from in town, supply in town, and then there's suppliers from out of town of course," said Chankasingh. "What's going to be different it's going to be fresh sauces, new items to work with, new proteins to work with."
Earlier this year, the Wildcat Cafe faced controversy after media reported it was serving frozen fish fillets imported from Kazakhstan as Great Slave Lake pickerel.
What stays the same is the fine dining ethos that made Thornton's a popular destination.
"I hope it works out well for them," said Wood.
"You know, there's a bit of a need in Yellowknife I think still for that kind of restaurant, so hopefully they fulfill that."
