Duane Hicks
Carl’s Eatery was the big winner at the 21st-annual Rainy River District Business Awards gala held last Thursday night at the Copper River Inn.
Not only did the restaurant–owned and operated by chef Carl Scott–win Business of the Year and the Customer Service Award (Business), but Carl’s Eatery employee Caitlyn Morrison captured Employee of the Year.
“Shocked” was how Scott described the feeling when he heard “Carl’s Eatery” announced so many times.
Scott noted the wins are a sign he’s going in a positive direction.
Last year, the restaurant relocated from Scott Street to King’s Highway and expanded from 30 to 100 seats, as well as enhanced its menu to include pizza, and he’s still “pulling his hair,” wondering if it was the right move.
“This award makes me feel better about it,” said Scott.
“It’s a tough racket, the restaurant business,” he remarked. “I’ve been in it for 33 years now and it’s a risky business.
“I feel like I’m getting a lot of support locally, as well as from anyone else who might have voted and knows of us,” Scott added.
“I feel like I’m doing the right thing.
“But every day in business makes a guy nervous,” he admitted.
Scott said “it’s a huge honour” to be recognized.
“But you can’t do it without your staff,” he stressed. “You can’t do it without your customers.
“Customers first because without them, we’d all be out of a job.”
Scott noted he was born and raised here and feels he’s part of the community–and he wants Carl’s Eatery to be part of it, as well.
The business already made its mark with an extremely successful toy drive at Christmas and is looking at other ways to give back this year.
Meanwhile, this was the second year Carl’s Eatery won the Customer Service Award (Business).
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award was shared by Doug Cuthbertson (Northwoods Gallery & Gifts) and Duane Cridland (Flint House) after they each garnered 31.81 percent of the votes in their category (571 each).
“Unbelievable,” said Cuthbertson, who clearly was honoured to have tied Cridland. “It means so much.
“But you can’t do it without staff,” he remarked, crediting his top-notch staff at Northwoods, who also were in attendance at Thursday’s gala.
“I’m very gracious to be nominated,” echoed Cridland.
“An entrepreneur is just somebody who kind of has an idea,” he explained. “[But] nothing ever happens without a team that is built around an idea to make it come to fruition.
“Everybody in this room is an entrepreneur at heart and that’s why Fort Frances is going back uphill at a rapid rate,” Cridland said.
The Business Woman of the Year Award was won by Jennifer Horton of Curvy Chick, who also was nominated for Customer Service (Business), Entrepreneur of the Year, and Business of the Year.
Horton, who previously won Business Woman of the Year in 2014, said winning it for a second time “was an honour.”
“I feel grateful that people are supportive and like me,” she noted.
“It’s always a fun event and it was good to see a lot of great businesses nominated,” Horton added.
Over the past year, Curvy Chick relocated from the 300 to the 200 block of Scott Street and expanded, and being nominated–and winning–is a positive sign.
“It’s encouraging that I’m moving in the right direction,” Horton said.
Neila Booth (Northwoods Gallery & Gifts) was presented with the Customer Service Award (Individual), the Home-Based Business Award went to Merge2 (Inga Friesen), while Belluz Concrete won the Small Business Trainer of the Year Award.
John Homer (Causeway Insurance) took home the prestigious Tony Beyak Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award.
“The nomination was definitely out of the blue,” Homer told the Times. “And I knew the other nominee, Leslie [Feaver Danielson], was as deserving as I, so I didn’t know which way it was going to go.
“I was quite excited to win,” he enthused. “It’s something I’m very proud of.”
As vice-president of the Borderland Snowmobile Club, Homer is busy running events, such as the run from Fort Frances to Perch Lake this past weekend.
He also is involved in minor hockey, most recently emceeing the opening ceremonies for the Novice and Atom girls’ hockey tournaments and organizing a charity puck shoot to raise money for KidSport.
Homer also is president of the Perch Lake Bass Challenge which has been running for 10 years now, regularly emcees the local “Relay for Life,” and has been a parent volunteer at the Robert Moore School breakfast program for about five years.
Homer said giving back to community is something very important to him, his wife, Cindy, and their children, Ashlee, Jesse and Jonah.
“I looked at this trophy this morning [Friday] when I got up and it’s got my name on it, but it should have mine and Cindy’s name on it,” he remarked, calling her “the driving force in our family.”
“She makes me and my whole family better people because she’s constantly trying to do things,” said Homer.
“Some of my volunteering is kind of flashy, like when I emcee,” he explained. “So when we’re out in public, I always get noticed.
“I’ll be at Boston Pizza and get, ‘You’re the voice of the ‘Relay,’ when she’s done all the real grunt work, the important stuff.”
Homer said he also urges his employees at Causeway to volunteer.
“If we give back to the community, the community gives back to us,” he reasoned.
“Last year, we had such a good year as a business, so I want to give back to the community.”
The business award winners again were determined by online voting, which took place Jan. 27-Feb. 3.
“There were close to 3,000 votes that were cast,” said Jennifer Soderholm, executive director of the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce.
“That is phenomenal participation,” she enthused. “People really seem to respond to using that avenue for voting.
“They don’t have to print off anything and drop it off,” Soderholm noted. “They’re willing to do it more.”
The evening, emceed by Melanie Williams of Party Rock DJ Services and attended by more than 190 people, was held in the banquet room at the Copper River Inn, which was decorated to the nines by Diane Gibson of Gibson Design.
As well, comedy juggler Robin Chestnut amazed the audience and had them laughing at the same time.
