White Rock Cafe prepares to say goodbye

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This article was published 15/09/2016 (3378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the White Rock Cafe serves its last homemade meal on Sept. 23, it will leave with two decades of memories, happy customers, and a master class on how to be successful in a competitive industry.

Owners Jacquie and Tony Fuller have run the restaurant at 725 Gateway Rd. since 1996.

Jacquie said she worked for the previous owners when she first moved to Canada from the United Kingdom. While she had run a small catering business and had cooked for others, she had never run her own restaurant before.

“Shortly after I arrived I mentioned I wanted to own my own restaurant,” she said. “Two years later they offered to sell it to me and it went from there.”

There have been plenty of lessons learned over the years, but Fuller said a key part of White Rock Cafe’s success stems from their initial philosophy.

“We wanted to provide home cooking,” she explained. “The big chains don’t do that. It’s a rarity because it’s a lot of work.

“Over the years our customers come back and tell us they like the food because it’s home cooked just like mom used to cook. That was our goal from day one.”

One thing many of those regulars want are White Rock Cafe’s homemade burgers and fries, Fuller said.

“People come back again for the burgers. I get fed up cooking them, but that’s what people want,” she said with a smile.

Another lesson is to not scrimp on the ingredients, which Fuller admitted is a challenge when putting together an affordable menu. When the White Rock Cafe offers English-style fish and chips Fuller uses cod and not a cheaper alternative. Customers notice the difference.

But when you make your dishes from scratch you have to constantly watch prices on everything from flour to produce to meat and eggs, Fuller said. Eggs are one example of a staple which has seen a dramatic price increase over the past two years.

While some price-conscious customers will comment when their favourite dish increases, they understand, Fuller said.

“In fact people comment on how reasonable we are which is what we aim to do.”

Another key is finding good staff and keeping them happy, Fuller said. One server has been at the restaurant longer than the Fullers have. Most others have worked there for at least seven years.

“We’re fortunate in that respect because we’re lucky to have good staff. Obviously if you don’t have good reliable staff then it doesn’t matter how good your food is.”

Fuller said she is also known for her pies, which are baked fresh whenever time permits, even if that means coming in early.

Another popular feature were special weeks where White Rock Cafe featured dishes from a specific country. Ukrainian offerings — and of course British weeks —were big hits.

“We’d cook all the specialties like steak and kidney pie and full English breakfasts with bacon, sausages, mushrooms, black pudding, fried bread and tomatoes,” Fuller said. “It’s a tremendous amount of work in addition to a regular menu but people really got into it.

“An interesting thing about this city is there are so many ethnic cultures which I find really interesting as I try different dishes.”

The Fullers started to cut back their hours a few years ago when they shortened their weekend times and closed on Mondays. They wanted to close entirely on Sundays, but many of their customers enjoyed brunch after church.

As White Rock Cafe’s 20-year anniversary approached, Jacquie and Tony made the difficult decision to move on.

“After 20 years Tony and I were debating how much longer,” Jacquie said. “Tony and I probably do more physical work than many 20- and 30-year-olds. We decided we wanted to enjoy a little bit of life and that seemed like a good time to decide to do it.”

The White Rock Cafe serves its last meal on Fri., Sept. 23, which Fuller said will be a normal day. They invite customers and suppliers to join them for coffee and cake on Sat., Sept. 24.
That will give the Fullers a chance to thank everyone, especially those longtime customers who made the White Rock Cafe a regular part of their schedule.

“We want to say our goodbyes,” Fuller said. “It’s a mixed group of families, young people and older people from the neighbourhood. They’re the ones who are probably upset the most.”

After two decades in business the Fullers have had the opportunity to watch their customers progress through different stages of life.

“Families have come in here as a young couple and now their children have gone to university,” Fuller said. “We’ve gone through the whole time and they come back intermittently. It’s nice.”

Fuller said their immediate plans are to rest and relax a bit before visiting their daughter back in the United Kingdom for Christmas.

“I’m not the type to sit for too long, so I’ll look for a part-time job somewhere, probably as a cook.”

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