KAMSACK 鈥� It has been about nine months since a fast food take-out restaurant was opened at the Kamsack Petro-Canada outlet and the owner\manager of the business is pleased to see how well the community has received it.
The Kamsack Pizza and Grill was opened on March 12 in a portion of the Petro-Can convenience store at 601- Queen Elizabeth Blvd., said Priyal Patel.
Patel, two Ontario investors, and a fourth person from the United States are the partners of Jai Setaliyaveer Gas Inc. In 2021, the company purchased the land and Petro-Can assets from Rob Ritchie of Kamsack. The 3.2 acres of land contain the building in which the Petro-Canada outlet and the Subway restaurant are located, as well as the nearby automated car wash.
An immigrant from India, Patel came to Canada as a civil engineering student in 2014 and worked for six years as a soil engineer in Toronto. It was during the year he had spent working in Timmins, Ont. that he was looking for business opportunities when he heard about the business in Kamsack.
鈥淲e checked it out, and discovered that Kamsack seemed to be a good place and a nice town,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 used to live in a small town and I enjoy it.鈥�
In addition to adding the Kamsack Pizza and Grill to the store earlier this year, Patel and his partners added a U-Haul business last year, allowing customers to pick up and leave their U-Hall vehicles in the community.
While the Petro-Canada outlet is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Pizza and Grill is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Both businesses will remain open each day during the Christmas holiday period.
The menu includes 10 named types of pizza with an assortment of toppings that can be added to suit an individual鈥檚 taste, he said. The business makes a variety of burgers plus gyros, souvlaki, fries, poutine, chicken wings and salads.
鈥淲e make milkshakes and serve a variety of ice cream flavours.鈥�
Three of the entire Petro-Canada staff of 12 are devoted to the restaurant, he said. They have been trained to cook and serve the food.
鈥淲e make fresh dough for our pizzas,鈥� he said, contrasting that to the frozen dough which other businesses tend to use. Pizzas are made in small, medium and large sizes, and are priced slightly lower than similar pizzas sold at other restaurants.
鈥淥ur pizzas are not a standard bake like pizzas one would receive from a chain pizza store,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are unique.
鈥淩ecently we started an in-town delivery service of the food and plan to add convenience store items to what can be delivered,鈥� he said, adding that plans are to create bundle deals for the food.
鈥淥riginally we may have been unsure of locating here, but now we鈥檙e pleased to be doing business in Kamsack,鈥� he said. The community is conveniently located close to Yorkton, plus it contains nice and receptive people.
鈥淲hen we talk to owners of businesses from other communities, they speak of problems of a type with which we have never had to contend,鈥� Patel said. 鈥淲e enjoy it here.鈥�
