Brendon O’Rourke wasn’t necessarily setting out to buy one of the oldest restaurants in Newfoundland and Labrador when he first looked into getting a place of his own up and running.
But when word got around to him about the owners of the Woodstock Colonial Restaurant wanting to sell the business, he was immediately intrigued.
“All of the young chefs who I worked with mostly downtown have the aspirations of having that spot on Water Street and Duckworth Street, but that was never really me,” O’Rourke told The Telegram, seated at one of the many tables in the restaurant’s main dining room.
Once he started thinking more about the opportunity right in front of him, O’Rourke decided to go all-in on the restaurant many refer to simply as ‘The Woodstock.’ The purchase was finalized earlier this month. Starting Jan. 5, the business will close for a few weeks to accommodate some renovations. It will officially reopen later that month as the Woodstock Public House.
Though he may be young, O’Rourke has spent many years working in kitchens at restaurants in St. John’s, and he plans to maintain that presence in the Woodstock. Being an owner, his attention will move to other aspects of the business, including building improvements and customer service.
The Woodstock, a striking property inside and out, is the oldest restaurant on the Avalon Peninsula and the second oldest provincewide (Corner Brook’s Glynmill Inn has it beat by a couple of years). The building as it looks today differs considerably from the business that first began serving customers in 1927. The building was partially destroyed by a fire in the 1940s, and the main dining area was added in 1963.
O’Rourke respects the business’ history and wants to preserve much of it. He plans to dig into the Rooms Provincial Archives and other resources to collect stories and information about the Woodstock.
“This area and property has always been known as the Woodstock, but there used to be a stable just back on the property, close to the river that runs through it, and when you were making a trip on what is now Topsail Road, with the horses you would stop here for some water,” he said, noting a residence for Christian Brothers was also located on the property prior to the opening of a tea room where the Woodstock stands today.
Local flavour
The biggest piece of the restaurant puzzle to tackle in the new year will be the food. O’Rourke wants to strike a balance between meeting the expectations of customers already familiar with past incarnations of the Woodstock and attracting new, younger food lovers.
“I think that’s where my strengths are really going to come into play here. I am a young person who was a chef growing up in the shadows of people like Todd Perrin and Jeremy Charles who are putting all these amazing ingredients that we have and a lot of Newfoundlanders have scoffed at for many years and that are really making a comeback. There’s going to be a delicate balance between respecting those legacy customers and then also trying to bring in these new customers ... I’m hoping it’s going to be somewhere you’ll want to take someone for a date or to propose to them, but it’s also somewhere you can take your grandmother for her 55th anniversary.”
O’Rourke wants to place an emphasis on using local produce, meat and seafood.
“We’re really going to focus on that, because I’m a firm believer that you start with the best local ingredients in an area, and that’s going to lead to the most successful and most delicious plates.”
For starters, there’s a general plan in place to freshen up the space by getting rid of some old tablecloths. The upstairs space, most recently known as The Parlour, has mostly been used for small events of late, but O’Rourke intends to reopen it as a pub in the spring.
“We want to go for that speakeasy pub vibe where you kind of whisper that you’re going to The Parlour up there,” he said. “We’re really going to focus on the positive aspects of the Newfoundland heritage. I’d love to have some recitation nights, some traditional music, all the local flavours.”
The property itself is five acres, and O’Rourke also intends to drum up some garden party business when the season is right for it. The Woodstock has hosted lots of indoor weddings over the years, and he think the business is ideally situated for outdoor gatherings of up to 200 people. He’s already looking into purchasing a large tent for this purpose.
“It’s right on the cusp of that C.B.S. micro-climate right down this valley, so the weather here is unmatched,” he said.
The Woodstock presently has over 20 employees.
“I’ve been really lucky with the staff — it’s like a little family here,” he said. “They’ve really welcomed me.”
O’Rourke hopes to see staffing levels increase as a new menu and some affordable options bring in new diners — he’s especially keen to attract customers in the 35-50 age bracket with an interest in food culture.
“We really want to get into the local community,” he said. “This is a legacy restaurant where people have been coming out from town for 50 years. But Paradise is such a growing community. C.B.S. is such a growing community with families. That’s going to be of the utmost importance — getting those people in the doors here.”
andrew.robinson@thetelegram.com
Twitter: @CBNAndrew
