A call for proposals from potential canteen operators has gone out from the Town of Fort Frances, following the closure of The Penalty Box this past spring.
Community Services and Facilities Manager Craig Miller said that things went well for the last tenant and they hope whoever comes in to offer food services gong forward at the Memorial Sports Centre will keep up that momentum.
“Riley Pollard did a fantastic job. He had a lot of creativity, he digitized the ordering process, and he really moved the canteen operation forward, and so he’s really left a high bar to be set for future operators,” Miller said.
“We’re hoping that we can continue with a future operator to build off what his legacy is here. He was very popular, not only for events, but I believe people were coming here to get food from him as a takeout option. So that was really good. And we hope that we can find another operator that’s interested in operating it.”
Pollard announced in March that he would not be renewing the lease at the canteen in a Facebook post. The role was not without difficulty as someone running the canteen on a part-time basis.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision and one I have gone back and forth on many times. Ultimately, it is no longer feasible for me to continue operating the canteen in a way that is sustainable long-term,” Pollard wrote.
“Staffing challenges have been the biggest obstacle. When I first started, I believed I would be able to build a team that would allow me to take on a more hands-off leadership role over time, but in order to maintain the standards I set for quality, service, and overall experience, that simply wasn’t possible.”
Pollard has noted that he’d be willing to offer advice or answer questions from anyone looking to potentially take over the space.
Miller says the hours of operation for the canteen can be tiresome.
“I think the big thing is the hours that it’s required to be operated, you’re predominantly working evenings and weekends,” Miller said.
“There’s a lot of surges as well, like when you’re dealing with Lakers games, high school sports, skating competitions, swimming, even just evening recreational hockey, and so on, like it’s, you know, there’s all you get tend to get the younger kids skating early, so families are coming right after work, possibly around 5 p.m., 6 p.m, 7p.m, looking to feed their kids a dinner, essentially, at the arena.”
Miller said he feels the space is well-suited to someone with a catering background or in short order service.
“Having someone with a bit of a catering background that can come in and operate a short order kitchen, most people are familiar with arena foods, like your deep fried options, your pizzas, and things, and grab and go type stuff,” he said.
“But there’s also a lot of opportunity to have healthy options, grab and go healthy options for people and for kids. They’d need to keep an eye on who the core audience is. Lots of people like to grab a candy bag, or popcorn, or breakfast sandwich on a Saturday morning and whatnot.”
The canteen has several fixtures available as part of the rental agreement, including a grill with side burners, double basket deep fryer and warmer, a popcorn machine, pizza ovens and warmers.
The secondary canteen inside the Ice For Kids Arena is also potentially included in the terms of the lease.
In the past the IFK canteen has worked as a location to sell drinks, popcorn and other pre-prepared items while hot food remained in the main canteen downstairs.
“In the past, some of the operators would spend game days filling up the upper canteen with pre-bagged popcorn and whatnot, like some really quick grab and go stuff that takes a lot of the load off the lower canteen, where you’re doing more of your advanced cooking,” Miller said.
If the chosen operator does not want to use the upper canteen the Town of Fort Frances may decide to do something else with the space, Miller said.
The materials for the Request for Proposal are available through the Town of Fort Frances website and the closing date for bids is July 28, 2026 at 2 p.m.
