Heather Latter
He began cooking with his aunt in Fort Frances when he was 12.
Now Carl Scott has come full circle as he gets set to open a restaurant of his own—“Carl’s Eatery”—in the newly-renovated Makabi Inn here next month.
“In February, I met with Eldon Mose and ran a few ideas by him,” noted Scott, referring to the inn’s new owner.
“After a couple of conversations with him, I felt it was going to be a good match-up.”
The restaurant’s logo already can been seen adorning the Scott Street building but Scott said the interior is not quite ready yet.
He’s hoping to be open by Mother’s Day (May 10).
“I think it’s perfect timing,” Scott said of the whole endeavour, noting he came on with the Makabi project in time to finalize the equipment list and provide input on the renovations.
“It’s a small space,” he conceded about the kitchen.
“And I have big ideas for all the food I’m going to do out of probably the smallest kitchen in Fort Frances.”
He calls it a one-man kitchen that he’s going to run with a sous chef.
Scott indicated the restaurant is an intimate space being a 36-seat dining room, but thinks it’s a good size for his business.
“I think it’s a magic number for a restaurant to keep a very small staff, a quick service,” he reasoned, adding the restaurant will be brand new, with modern decor and top-of-the-line technology.
“It’s going to be old-school, classic cuisine that I describe as comfort gourmet that’s going to be paired with high-tech, modern front-of-the-house service,” he explained.
Scott said the restaurants’ servers will carry Apple devices instead of the traditional pen and paper.
“Our POS system will be right there,” he remarked, noting the device will give servers the prompts while at the table so they don’t forget anything, such as asking how someone would like their steak or what kind of potato they want.
“As a customer, your internal clock starts the moment your menu leaves the table,” he said.
“You look at your watch and wonder when the food is going to be here.”
With the technology, Scott said he will be reading the order in the kitchen before the menus are cleared from the table.
“So at lunch, I’m aiming for a half-hour turn around,” he noted.
“If I can have your food and drink on the table in the first five minutes of you being there, and you take 15 minutes to eat, you still have 10 minutes. . . .
“They might decide they want dessert or another cup of coffee,” he reasoned.
Scott added there also isn’t going to be a lineup at 12:30 p.m. with people trying to pay for their meals because he will be offering table-side payments.
“Carl’s Eatery” is expected to be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m.- 2 p.m., as well as from 4-9 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday.
“We’re going to be offering a grab ’n go kind of breakfast for those who don’t have time to sit and eat,” Scott said, noting he’ll offer combos with coffee and breakfast sandwiches, as well as pastries, yogurt, etc., in addition to a full breakfast menu.
Some of his breakfast specialties will be giant apple pancakes, stuffed French toast, and frittatas.
For lunches, Scott will be offering a selection of gyros, shawarmas, and donairs made from a homemade flatbread—something similar to naan bread (a thicker tortilla but a thinner pita), as well as other burgers and wraps.
“My doughs are all made in-house,” he stressed.
Scott noted he also has a very extensive dinner menu, including appetizers, salads, pastas, and more.
“It’s easy to make good food from good food,” he reasoned, adding he’ll be using only the best ingredients for the meals he serves.
“And everything will be made fresh daily,” he pledged.
Scott also said he will be running four breakfast, lunch, and dinner specials each day, and plans to provide take-out, delivery, and exclusive catering.
And though he won’t have a liquor licence when he opens the doors to “Carl’s Eatery,” he is planning to get one.
“I’m confident that it will still be the best place to eat even though you can’t have a glass of wine,” he remarked.
But when his liquor licence does come, he’ll be looking at doing wine and beer pairing.
Scott said his goal for the restaurant is to be a fun place for people to go for a meal.
“I joke around. I come up with creative, funny, hidden messages in my specials,” he chuckled.
“I want people to roar in laughter at least once.”
Scott also is looking to help revitalize the downtown area.
“My catch line is—it’s what you want,” he noted. “I want to bring the Fort Frances area what they want.
“We want to raise the appearance of downtown. I want to bring the downtown to a destination that people want to go.”
Scott has an extensive background in the food and restaurant industry, working at several local restaurants, including Kettles.
He attended culinary school at St. Clair College in Windsor, training under Chef Glen Van Blommestein.
He has worked at a number of other restaurants, such as Overtures in Windsor and the Harvest Moon Cafe in Garson, Man.
He even has worked in film catering, serving such stars as Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Gary Busey, and Tea Leoni.
Scott has returned to Rainy River District to bring his family all together, and is very excited about his new endeavour.
Once “Carl’s Eatery” is open, you can reach Scott at 274-5533.
