A historic Paradise restaurant is in new hands. Here's what's changing
The nearly century-old Woodstock Colonial Restaurant in Paradise is reopening at the end of the month under a new owner — who's making a few changes.
Brendon O'Rourke is renaming the restaurant, which opened in 1927, the Woodstock Public House and making some additions to the menu, although much of the dining room's esthetic will remain the same.
He said he's excited about what lies ahead.
"It's kind of more than I had anticipated, or more than I thought I would genuinely ever have. But here we are, about to embark on quite the adventure, I think," he said.
"I never really had the ambitions of having, you know, that small hole in the wall on Water Street or anything like that. I always wanted to be a little further outside of town."
Keeping things local
O'Rourke said the restaurant will focus on tried and true Newfoundland recipes.
"If you look at what the food trends and who the popular restaurateurs are in town, they're not importing very much of their product at all. So that's going to be where I'm starting."
Part of that starting point will involve bringing game back to the menu. He said customers can expect moose, seal and "everything from crab to mussels and squid."
Some things will remain exactly the same, like Mary's tea room, a chamber in the restaurant that, according to O'Rourke, has carried that name since the 1960s. He said he played with the idea of repurposing the room until he heard about its history.
"The owners at the time, their aunt Mary had passed away a few years before they had taken this over and so they had named this room in her honour," he said.
"And funny enough, without a word of a lie, I have an aunt Mary who passed away a few years ago. And so when I heard the tale, I thought I couldn't change it."
A very old place
O'Rourke said he's encountered some resistance from locals when they learned the restaurant has changed hands. Their worries, he said, usually go away when they learn the dining room is remaining unchanged and seal and moose are being added to the menu.
From the concrete fridge to the trinkets adorning the walls, O'Rourke inherited a piece of history when he purchased the building. Although he's heard rumours the place is haunted, he said he has yet to experience anything paranormal.
But it's all part of the restaurant's history.
"My father and I were joking throughout this whole process It's like, sure, you could buy a chain [franchise] for X amount of money. But you couldn't really buy the legacy that the Woodstock leaves behind."
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