Thinking outside the box

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/12/2020 (1841 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From their table to yours, Shawn and Connie Brandson are among the many restaurateurs working hard to pivot their businesses during the pandemic.

Since 2011, the couple has owned both Promenade Cafe and Wine (130 Provencher Blvd.) and the Gibraltar Dining Corp at Fort Gibraltar (866 Rue Saint Joseph). Talking to the Lance recently, Shawn Brandson said he’s never been faced with the challenges business owners are currently facing in the grip of COVID-19 in his 30 years working in the industry.

“I’ve never seen things shut down like this,” said Brandson, who is also a former board chair of the Provencher Blvd. BIZ. “Restaurant owners are always facing challenges, such as profit margins and seasonality, but when you suddenly have to shut your doors, it becomes very challenging.”

In light of the current provincial health restrictions, the Brandsons have pivoted the way they are doing things at their Provencher Boulevard-based eatery and have launched Promenade at Home.   

According to Brandson, Promenade at Home offers locally sourced, restaurant-quality meals that are available for delivery, pickup or curbside. The culinary creations are packaged in-house and can be reheated by customers.

“We have vacuum packaging machines, which enables us to create nice restaurant meals that people can enjoy at home,” Brandson said, noting one silver lining of the restrictions is that it has fostered thinking outside the box.

“We have our chefs cooking the meals, and then packing them to freeze to be reheated at home. People can reheat the sealed meals either in a pot or in the microwave, which makes preparation very easy.”

A number of items are featured on the Promenade at Home menu, including around five entrees, and six side dishes, Brandson said. At press time, these included soup du jour, a pasta of the day, a poutine of the day, beef bourguignon, lemon herbed chicken, and provencal pilaf.

Brandson said another benefit of Promenade at Home is that it supports local producers who supply the restaurant, which also means there aren’t supply chain issues compared to goods coming in from outside the province.

“We’re trying to keep things as local as possible,” he said.   

As well, Brandson said after working with his restaurant staff through the years, they feel like family.

“You create a little family, and you watch them grow as the restauraant becomes part of their lives,” he said.

“This is an imporatnt dynamic, as everything feeds off everything else. One of the reasons we love working in the industry is that lots of synergies exist.”

   
Visit promenadeathome.com to learn more about the new service, including how to place an order.

Go online at cafeandwine.com to learn more about Promenade Cafe and Wine.