Timmins residents love pizza. And one of the most delicious ones available in the city was created during the pandemic.
Restaurant Nadeau is well known locally for its home-cooked meals, amazing breakfasts and a mouth-watering array of baking.
With business options limited due to pandemic restrictions, owner Julie Therrien recently made a major investment by purchasing a pizza oven. It has proven to be a game-changer.
“I had to make some choices here because I don’t want to shut down at all,” she said.
“Timmins is a pizza-loving place, so I decided to try it out. I should have bought it right at the beginning. It has good reviews. People are calling back.”
Everything is made fresh every day.
“We make our dough. We make our sauce,” Therrien said. “Everything is fresh — real bacon, real everything.”
The oven was a big investment, but has already baked up many customer-pleasing pizzas.
“We bought a pizza oven and it has ceramic tiles in it, and it gives it a different look,” she said. “We don’t have anything special, like some people like thick or thin (crust), but it’s homemade. I’ve got everything and anything (for toppings). I’m still working on the menu.”
While the pizza oven is a long-term investment, it has been a big help to the business in the short term.
“I’m all night time now,” Therrien explained. “I’m not open in the morning for breakfast. I still get orders for breakfasts, but not like I was. I was known for breakfast and it was hard to do all my take-outs at night because I wasn’t known for it.
“So, it took a little while before people got to know we are open now for nighttime. Now, with this pizza, it just took off there.”
Pizza isn’t the only popular new item on Restaurant Nadeau’s menu.
“I started those patate spirals (similar to a tornado potato) also, and that’s another big hit right now,” she said. “People are coming in just getting four or five potatoes. It’s been a really good add-on. You can get ketchup, cheddar, dill pickle flavour on it or just plain.”
During the lockdown, Therrien changed the hours of her business.
“We were open seven days a week, now I only do four days,” she said. “Because people know I’m open those four days, I’m busy those four days.
“We’ve been getting a lot of support from our customers and I’m super grateful for that.”
When the lockdown is lifted, Restaurant Nadeau will be ready to rock.
“I’m ready for my patio. I have everything set up for it. I’m just waiting for the OK,” she said. “That was a big hit last year. As soon as I can, I’ll reopen it and be back to my early hours for my breakfast people and stay open late for the same four days."
Right now, it is open Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The lockdown rules also mean temporarily limiting staff to family
Still, Restaurant Nadeau has been able to offer its full menu, so everyone can enjoy their favourites.
“Wednesday through Saturday, we still have our daily specials, our homemade soups and homemade desserts,” Therrien said. “We definitely do our daily specials every day and the full menu is available — I haven’t taken anything away.
“I still take orders for pies — meat pies, chicken pot pies … and I started to do baked goods. If you call the week before, then you can pick them up the following week. Dessert pies like lemon meringue, cheesecakes – it’s all the big hits.”
Customers can still get single servings of their dessert favourites as well.
“And the butter tarts — yeah, yeah, yeah — that’s definitely a famous one,” she said with a laugh.
While customers all have their personal favourites, Restaurant Nadeau’s new pizza has become the talk of the town.
“It’s been amazing. My phone is just blowing up,” Therrien said. “I’m super happy that it’s working out the way it has. It definitely saved me. “
We just can’t wait to get back to normal and running. But no matter what, I’m going to keep my hours for the night times and the deliveries. It’s been good.”
Restaurant Nadeau is located at 293 Wilson Ave. in Timmins.
For daily specials and other updates, visit Restaurant Nadeau on Facebook.
