POLL: Business owners taking back the night in downtown P.A.

Rock Trout Café is a “step in the right direction” for a downtown where City’s bylaw officers have “been absolutely fantastic for us in the last couple of years of cleaning up some of the bars that were getting a bad reputation,” said Bob Gill, the executive director of Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District.

A Northern-inspired menu – particularly fish – is the main feature, Paul said.

“We want to be a licensed restaurant, not a bar. We don’t want the focus to be on alcohol, we want to focus on entertainment, and good food, and a safe place to come and hang out.”

Paul explained the vision for his restaurant is inspired by the North, and he wants to highlight local culture.

“We wanted to have an artsy, musical place where live music can happen, local artists on the wall.”

He acknowledges some people do have poor perceptions of the downtown, but said Prince Albert’s issues are similar in other cities.

“I don’t think P.A. is any different than anywhere else,” Paul said.

Financially, he wouldn’t be able to afford a downtown location in other cities. That’s where people’s misconceptions about the downtown work in his favour, he explained.

“You have to be a community member and help address those issues, and work with those issues but I think because that perception is that P.A. has issues it makes for opportunities downtown.”

Opening a restaurant has been a grand task for the Luedtkes, but that hasn’t kept Paul from dreaming even larger.

Once Rock Trout Café is established he’d like to get into brewing his own beer. In the meantime, “I’m thinking we want to have like, a feature of wine, you know, high end whiskey and coffee,” Paul said.

Gill said the city’s bylaw officers will likely be monitoring the new establishment “fairly close, and as long as it’s the proper clientele drinking socially there’s not a problem.”

Paul dismisses the idea that the restaurant won’t be successful in the area.

“I guess I’ve been told that about my clothing store as well and we continue to do good business and we’ve enjoyed doing business in downtown P.A. And I guess we would challenge people to give it a second look.”

Gillis optimistic that the restaurant will help bring downtown closer to his ideal.

“Just a nice, family friendly place to come down, to have a meal, relax with a drink or something in a nice establishment, just well lit, and a safe, friendly environment,” he said.

From Belgium to Prince Albert

Melanie Quintal owns Funky Fresh Bistro just a few stores away from Rock Trout Café.

Similarly, she has a separate space attached to the business.

Currently, Quintal is finishing a chocolate shop that will double as overflow space for her bistro.

She bought the downtown space with the intent to create “something unique.”

Quintal headed to Belgium to become a certified chocolatier.

She pursued the craft because “you can be creative with it, mostly everybody loves chocolate.”

What struck her the most in her Belgian studies was the artistic effort put into making chocolate.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s a gold dusted cricket on it or it looks like marble, like they’re very creative… that was a really big eye opener.”

She said she’s hoping to have the chocolate shop open for Valentine’s Day weekend, which people can likely agree is a smart strategic move.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk

by Chelsea Laskowski

POLL: Business owners taking back the night in downtown P.A.

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