聽 聽 聽Katie Vinge, chef and new owner of the Happy Nun Cafe says the purchase of the Forget institution is 鈥渁 kind of homecoming,鈥� and she and her partner, Riley Riddell are looking forward to welcoming guests during the Nun's grand opening weekend, March 13-15.
聽聽聽聽 Vinge and Riddell both have roots in southeastern Saskatchewan and plan to celebrate prairie food and culture as new custodians of the Nun's legacy. 鈥淩iley is from Wawota,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淎nd I'm originally from Fairview, Alberta, but my family has a cabin at White Bear, so this is home for both of us now.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽 鈥�(Previous owners) Shannon and Don Shakotko have done such a good job with the menu,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淚 want to continue that. I want to make my own sauces, pickles, preserves, and butter. I'll be making everything myself-bread, desserts, everything.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥淚've been really busy visiting suppliers in the southeast, doing lots of tastings and right now, I'm working on our menu. We want to include a list of suppliers with all of our menus.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥淔or our opening weekend, we want to feature a bunch of聽 favourites of both Riley and I,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淲e're coming up with a menu that includes all of our favourite things to eat. We want to give people a good idea about what are menus will be like, and we also want to let people know that we're happy to accomodate food allergies and/or other dietary restrictions if they let us know in advance.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥�(At time of writing) I'm still finalizing the menus, but our Friday and Saturday night supper service starts at 5 p.m., with our doors opening at 4:30. Sunday brunch runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For brunch, we'll feature a choice of four menu options-one sweet, two savoury, and one vegetarian dish.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淩iley and I are both passionate about food,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淲e're both big believers in local food and we're all about supporting Saskatchewan growers and producers. I'm looking forward to having a garden at the back of the Inn, too.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥淒on and Shannon will still be booking all the acts,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淥n Saturday night, we have The Sturgeons-a folk/roots group from Winnipeg playing for our first night at the Nun with live music.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥淥n March 21, They've booked The Small Glories, on April 18, Leaf Rapids and Slow Leaves are coming and on May 30, Last Ditch on the Left and Twin Peaks are booked. They're all incredible, award-winning musicians with deep prairie roots, and we're thrilled that the musical legacy of the Nun will continue.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's been a long time coming for us,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淚t's the result of many years of dreaming and working towards that dream,鈥� says Vinge. 鈥淲e can't wait to welcome people to The Happy Nun and we're looking forward to serving and meeting them all.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's a special place and we're looking forward to sharing it.鈥�
聽聽聽聽 Call 457-2560 for dining reservations and email [email protected] for concert tickets.
聽聽聽聽 For more information, visit 'The Happy Nun Cafe' on Facebook or visit .
