The women behind Arcola's newest restaurant has received a warm welcome from the community even before they have opened for business.
Kandra Sinclair, along with her daughter, Sydney Sinclair-Faubert, hope to have Sinclair's Pizza fully operational by the end of October, a feat Kandra says will be made possible by the personal and professional support of people in the Arcola community.
"The people here have just been phenomenal in their support, without them knowing me at all," says Sinclair. "Thanks to Regi Maher and Archie Kamp, we have a place to live and Ronnie and Gary Kerr from Buddy's Pub are just fantastic."
Sinclair has a history rooted in both the restaurant business and in the town of Arcola.
"We owned a restaurant in Vibank for five or six years," she says. "We had a hotel, a bar, and two little restaurants," she says. "It became a bit too much raising little kids so we moved back to the city and I got out of the restaurant business completely and focused on raising my kids."
Two of Sinclair's three daughters have joined her in Arcola, while middle daughter Trelyn works in Regina. "Lexi is 12 and she's attending school in Arcola. Sydney, my eldest, is my partner and co-pilot in this new venture. Our restaurant in Vibank was called 'Sydney's Pizza'," adds Sinclair. "We opened it when she was eight months old, so she was our little mascot in her walker while we were serving food. She was the one who came to me and suggested we get back into the restaurant business. It's in her blood."
"We looked at other locations in other communities, but when we looked at the space in the Buddy's Pub Building, my first thought was, 'Wow, it's fantastic!'. It was basically turn-key. It had a full kitchen and Ronnie and Gary have done so much to help us get up and running."
"The building itself is awesome. It's a beautiful heritage building with brick walls and an amazing history, dating back to 1906. When I saw it, I knew this was it; this is what I had to do. I gave a month's notice at my job in Regina, and started work on our restaurant here in Arcola."
"All of the puzzle pieces fit perfectly. It's still stressful starting a new business and moving to a new community, but it's not nearly as stressful as starting from scratch."
Sinclair says that coming to Arcola is something of a homecoming for her.
"My late dad is from the Lampman area and my half-brothers-Dean, Kevin, and Bryan- grew up here. I'd heard of Arcola lots, so venturing out here is kind of like coming full circle for me."
Sinclair says she is looking forward to serving customers in Arcola and the surrounding area.
"I can't wait until we're open. I haven't decided on our exact hours yet, but to start, we'll probably be here six or seven days a week, starting at about 10 a.m. On weekends, we'll stay open a little later, probably until about 10 or 11 p.m. We'll centre the menu on pizzas, pastas, subs, homemade soups, a daily salad bar and we'll have salads on the menu as well. Depending on customer demand, we're considering pizza delivery, but we're definitely doing takeout."
Sinclair says she's also planning to eventually expand the menu to include comfort food, with home-cooked meals like roast beef and turkey dinners. "I'll also be offering a signature dish that was a hit in our previous restaurant in Vibank. We call it a "pizzaogi." It looks like a giant perogy, but it's stuffed with pizza toppings, baked, and then smothered in garlic butter. It's the ultimate cold-weather food, and our customers loved it."
"We're hoping to open by the end of October at the very latest," says Sinclair. "We're so excited to be part of the community and we can't wait to welcome our new customers."
Sinclair Pizza is located in the Buddy's Pub building at 201 Main St., Arcola. For information and opening day updates, check out Sinclair's Pizza on Facebook.
