Borealis Grille

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Guelph "“ The City of Guelph has just seen the start of a new restaurant concept on Gordon Street at the corner of Arkell Road. The Neighbourhood Group of Companies, operators of the iconic downtown Woolwich Arrow Pub, is the driving force behind the Borealis Grille & Bar. The President, Bob Desautels, says that, "the goal is to create a restaurant that serves locally crafted foods and beverages at everyday prices. We want to bring the best products from Ontario farmers, breweries and wineries to our guests. Photos of local cheese makers and farmers are displayed across the hall from the kitchen." The restaurant will be the first of many in the province according to Desautels who is already negotiating on another location. "It's great to see top chefs like Michael Stadtlander and Mark Picone serving exceptional local foods," says Desautels, "but most of those kind of places are designed for special events. They are often very pricey so a person goes there for an anniversary celebration once a year. Whereas the Borealis Grille & Bar is meant for frequent visits... a home base for "˜regulars'." The decor of the restaurant features locally sourced woods and stonework. Some tables are made from a black walnut tree that was cut down in Guelph. Forged metal-work sculptures by local artisan, Graeme Sheffield, complement local artwork in the bar area. The dining room is called the Tom Thomson Room and features large murals by the artist. Staff uniforms are made from organic cotton and bamboo manufactured in Toronto. "We plan to operate the facility in an environmentally sensitive fashion. There will always be room to improve but we hope to recycle and compost a lot of our waste," says Desautels. The restaurant is being powered by Bullfrog Power meaning that it uses 100% green electricity! Bullfrog is a unique utility company which generates all of its power through wind and water. Even the company vehicles are from Ontario assembly plants. Watch our video. The other key facet of the restaurant is its commitment to local producers of foods and beverages. Chefs Jason Waterfall and Jim Loat will attempt to source over 95% of the food from Ontario. Steaks, flatbreads, fish, pasta and barbecue items make up the main menu. Olive oil has been replaced by cold-pressed soya, canola & sunflower oils from the province. When imported foods are used the goal is to source Fair Trade when feasible. The beverage selection is almost exclusively local. The wines are predominately Ontario VQA with some Okanagan wines and a few brands from the U.S. and South America to round out the list. All the draft beers are all microbrewed within a 100 km radius. The Borealis concept took over five years of planning and intensive research which included visits to Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver, New York City and Naples, U.S. The management team is headed up by General Manager Aldo Mauro and includes Court Desautels and Courtney Waterfall. "The chefs and managers have all been "˜on board' for almost a year and have helped immensely in fine tuning the restaurant's final look and menu," says Mauro.

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