Heather Latter
La Flambée International Cuisine here closed its doors Friday but will reopen at a later date under new management.
Duane Cridland, who finished up his career in the insurance industry with Gillons’ Insurance on Thursday, is taking over the restaurant’s reigns from Achour Cheblaoui, who has owned the Scott Street establishment for 18 years.
Cridland said he’d had his eye on the business for about a year.
“We had been talking on and off for a while trying to go through the logistics of how it would work,” he noted.
“And all of a sudden it came together. It fell together very quickly.”
“After 46 years doing what I’m doing today, I think my time is past due,” said Cheblaoui, adding he plans to retire, sit back, and maybe do some gardening.
He and his wife, Anne, will be relocating to Ottawa to be closer to their two sons, Anwar and Faical, as well as other family members.
Before coming to Fort Frances, Cheblaoui trained in Germany, Belgium, and Scotland, and worked in places like London, England, the Channel Islands, and Bermuda.
The family moved to Canada in 1990 and spent about 25 years in Northwestern Ontario between Thunder Bay, Kenora, and Fort Frances.
Cheblaoui said he has worked with professionals in the business catering to royalty and movie stars.
“But here we made friends,” he remarked. “We call it home.
“We, as a family, never lived in the same place as long as we did in Fort Frances.
“Fort Frances is home to me and my children,” Cheblaoui stressed, adding he would like to thank the community and their customers for the support and loyalty.
“We’re very sad that we have to leave but if invited, we’ll be back,” he pledged.
In fact, he does plan to return when Cridland reopens the restaurant.
Cridland will be joined in his new venture by Red Seal chef Brian Lapointe, who will be the chef and manager.
Lapointe has been living in the district for five years with his wife, Liz Bombay, and children, Molly, Drew, and Brianne.
He has worked as a chef on board on Via Rail for seven seasons (seasonal in the summer), and for the last four years has been cooking at La Flambee in the winter.
Lapointe has been cooking professionally since he was 14—eventually taking his apprenticeship under Star Grill in Winnipeg.
“I’m just very knowledgeable in the restaurateur business,” he remarked.
“I’ve done it my whole entire life. I feel confident and I’m very excited.
“My knowledge of cooking is very vast of different cultures and different ethnicities, so I bring that to the table,” Lapointe added.
“I have zero talent in the food business,” Cridland chuckled. “I don’t profess to be a restaurateur.
“I like food, I like eating in restaurants—that’s my expertise.”
Cridland and Lapointe are planning a renovation for the restaurant, but plan to retain some of Cheblaoui’s traditions.
“There will be one or two items on the menu that will be from Achour’s menu,” Lapointe said.
“There are some menu items that are fantastic and I don’t see them coming off the menu.
“And they are very popular with the people around Fort Frances,” he noted.
“So we’re going to keep them in mind and make sure they have some of their favourites to look forward to when we do reopen.”
Lapointe calls the atmosphere of the restaurant “urban diner.”
“A more hands-on feel, more fresh quality put into the product,” he explained. “Something that is a little bit trendy.
“People are more knowledgeable about food these days,” he reasoned. “They don’t just want a clubhouse sandwich anymore.
“They want something with a little bit of flare, something unique, something they can tell the chef actually is enthusiastic about putting something on the plate for the customers.”
“And that has been the tradition of this establishment,” Cridland stressed.
“It’s a continuation of that with a twist.
“Brian gets to carry out Achour’s quality food, which is really what it’s all about,” added Cridland.
“I’ve just been lucky enough to have this fall at a time when it works for me. . . .
“I’m just really excited about supporting a food industry and carrying on a tradition of quality, and keeping a business going in this town.
At this point, said Cridland, they don’t have any plan for when they will reopen.
“We’re going to spend some time on the menu and remodelling,” he explained.
“Brian and I have to figure out what it’s going to look like.
“We’re not in a hurry to reopen but we certainly want to do it in a timely matter,” Cridland stressed, adding he’s also leaning toward changing the name of the restaurant.
“We wish Duane and Brian a very successful venture,” said Cheblaoui.
“I know they are very enthusiastic and very knowledgeable and with their talent put together, this place might be even better than when I ran it.”
