COCHRANE - After a Cochrane business learned about the forced closure of a well-loved restaurant in Smooth Rock Falls, the two businesses joined forces.
Wendy Tanner, the owner and operator of Flood’s Landing, located about 25 minutes north of Cochrane, saw a Facebook post circulating that Ellie’s Bistro was closing its doors.
“I read all the comments — and I already knew from my snowmobilers from previous years how they really enjoyed Ellie's Bistro and talked very highly of it — so when I saw that he was in a situation where he had to close, I thought that maybe it'd be a good idea to reach out to him and ask him if he'd like to sit down and talk and see if we could join forces,” Tanner said.
Ellie’s Bistro owner Eric Marceau told TimminsToday he was informed in the fall that the building his Smooth Rock Falls restaurant was located in was being put up for sale.
On Dec. 20, Marceau took to the business’s Facebook page to share the news about its closure, receiving hundreds of likes, shares and comments from people across the country expressing their love for Marceau’s food, along with their sadness and disappointment.
SEE: Ellie’s Bistro in Smooth Rock Falls closing its doors
Flood’s Landing is a lodge with seasonal campsites, along with four rental cabins and a main chalet on a groomed trail extension off of the main A103 OFSC trail. Tanner said she purchased it in 2012 as a sawmill and they milled all their own logs to build the cabins.
The start of the winter season has been a record-breaking low for her business this year, Tanner said.
“The winter snowmobiling season is vital for revenue and this year has been such a terrible start with not having any snow and the trails not being able to get open until just after Christmas, because we've had lots of cancellations with the cabins,” she said.
Tanner said she and Marceau met at the lodge earlier this month to discuss the potential opportunity to collaborate and had their opening weekend on Jan. 13 and 14. The situation is a win-win for both she and Marceau, Tanner said.
“The opening weekend was great. Saturday was stormy on the roads and the snowmobile trails weren't open yet, so we had that kind of against us to start, but it was still a nice steady day. But Sunday was a remarkable day. It was very busy and the place was packed,” she said.
While the entire original Ellie’s Bistro menu won’t be available, all of its popular items will still be on the new, more simplified menu, Tanner said.
Marceau will be at the lodge solely on weekends due to its distance from Smooth Rock Falls. However, Tanner said she will be opening on weekdays starting Jan. 29, with the exception of Wednesdays, with a lighter menu.
“I just really look forward to meeting lots of new faces this year,” Tanner said.
