Hazelgrove, P.E.I.- When Amanda and Ian Newman were trying to figure out a name for their new restaurant, they wanted something that was easy to remember, told people what the business did and where it was located.
They settled on the Route 2 Diner, which satisfies all three requirements.
“We’re loving it. It’s been a real experience and it’s something we’ve been really looking forward to,” said Ian Newman. “Once we got all the pressures of the building stuff done, and now it’s just a different kind of pressure. But yeah, we’ve been enjoying ourselves for sure. It’s just a whole different thing to what we’re used to.”
Located along Route 2 (Veteran’s Memorial Highway) in Hazelgrove between Charlottetown and Kensington, the restaurant opened on March 25.
The Newmans bought the diner in January 2017. The building was vacant but it has been used as a restaurant in the past. Even so, renovations were required before it opened, including plumbing and raising the building 16 to 18 inches from the ground it sunk into.
Route 2, which connects Charlottetown to Kensington, is busy in the summer with tourist traffic.
While the couple are looking to capitalize on the tourism season, Ian Newman said it is also important to provide a restaurant for locals.
Originally from East London, U.K., the Newmans moved to the Island nine years ago. Over that time, Ian worked as a truck driver. But now, he and Amanda are invested in the restaurant full-time.
Even though neither of them had previous experience, except for Amanda who had experience working in kitchens in private hospitals, they had discussed opening a restaurant for a while, said Newman. At first, they thought about starting out with a food truck, but finding a location, plus the winters, were problematic. So, they settled on the restaurant.
“We said ‘ok, let’s give it a whirl and see what happens,” said Newman.
They hired Joe Sullivan full-time as their chef. Not surprisingly, they have traditional British menu items, such as fish and chips and bangers and mash, but they also serve hamburgers and other Canadian dishes.
Newman said he’s trying to replicate the recipe for English-style Lincolnshire sausages for the bangers and mash. And, once the summer rolls around, the restaurant is planning to add local mussels, shrimp and other seafood to the menu and operate an ice cream parlour.
The restaurant seats 60 people and displays P.E.I. landscape scenes on the walls from local photographer Dena Peters. In addition to the inside seating, Newman said they’ve built a deck and plan to have seating outside as well as benches in a lawn area.
The diner isn’t licensed to serve alcohol. Newman said that may be something they look into down the road, but for now, they’re focusing on offering a family environment.
Sullivan also has a breakfast item – Pie in the Sky Pancakes – comprised of coconut cream between two pancakes like a sandwich with chocolate syrup. The response from customers on the breakfast item has been positive, said Newman.
“They are pretty good, actually,” he added.
Twitter.com/Terry_mcn
