There are those of us that remember the ‘80’s comedy sitcom “Cheers”, based in a neighbourhood bar in Boston. Locals wants to re-create that warm, friendly and familiar atmosphere right here, in Lakeside Downtown Kincardine.
Rodger Crane, a businessman and investor with years of experience in the hospitality business, purchased the shuttered Aztec Theatre in 2015 and began the long process of converting the building to 5 retail units in late 2017. For the planned two storey restaurant at the front of the building, he brought in two young partners, Naomi DaSilva, who had been a supervisor at another restaurant owned by Crane and Nick Confortin, a chef from London. While Naomi and Nick are too young to know of “Cheers”, they certainly understand the vibe it had.
The conversion of the old theatre wasn’t without its challenges and took longer than the three partners intended. Eventually the restaurant opened its doors in late January 2020 and was just getting up to speed when the Covid-19 pandemic hit which closed down operations in mid-March. In late June, with two newly created patios outside, Locals re-opened.
Locals has capacity of 203 with a seated limit of 120 spread across three rooms, including one on the second floor. This upstairs room, features its own bar service and is ideal for small groups, family gathering and business meetings. Converting an old theatre into a restaurant can be a designer’s challenge and, in this case, space limitations meant that kitchen is on second floor while the walk-in freezer is in the basement, but Nick says staff has coped well.
The menu is light pub fare, featuring ingredients sourced locally as much as possible and is popular with couples having a date night, young families, business lunches or sport teams celebrating after a game. Locals has a wide selection of both domestic, craft and imported beers as well as wine and liquors.
Locals, “your local hub for great food and even better company!”
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