KELOWNA – Downtown Kelowna’s dining scene is changing. Not only has there been a spike in the number of restaurants in the heart of Kelowna, but it’s the type of eateries that are catching the attention of consumers.
“The concept is to not have chain restaurants but more unique, crafty little places, “ says Kelowna Restaurateur Luigi Coccaro.
Coccaro opened the Curious Café on Ellis Street in December, 2014. He believes Okanagan residents are ready to embrace the new trends they find in other cities.
‘I think people just travel and they go elsewhere and they finally realize there is other stuff than the stuff that was here before and they are just bringing in new concepts and new ideas,” he says.
FSH is another new eatery that’s part of that trend. Located on St. Paul Street, the small, rustic spot opened in February and is considered one of the new hip spots.
“We designed it and built it but we took aspects of things we like, like the brick is 25 year old brick out of the Okanagan. It’s off another building, we refurbished it and put it on. The cedar beams with lights in it, you look at the internet and get good ideas, “ says FSH owner Heith Martin.
Independently owned restaurants with a trendy ambience, such as FSH, are revitalizing the downtown dining scene like never before.
The owner of the new Pilgrim and Pearl Oyster bar credits places like Vancouver’s Yaletown and Gastown for helping to shape downtown Kelowna’s new dining culture.
The changing dining scene is also being attributed to a younger Kelowna demographic. But it’s not just the clientele that’s younger, so are the chefs themselves.
“The shift is going into the younger demographic, what we are calling hipster chefs,” says B.C. restaurant Association Director and local Chef Bernard Casavant. “Us old boys, old ladies, we are always the ones that have been around for a long time but now I think it’s the emerging youth of the Okanagan, it’s not just a retirement community anymore.”
Casavant, who’s also the culinary manager at Okanagan College, says television is another big influence on the changing dining scene.
“We as the National Chefs Association attribute that to the Food Network, you see it on TV and you go out looking or that,” he says.
Whatever the case, local restaurateurs are doing their part to promote and expand the thriving scene.
“The more we develop, the more that we are able to get that out not only to B.C., Alberta but to the world, “ says Troll. “We will attract that many more people to our great city.”
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