Dawn Griffith says customer service is what’s missing today in so many business sectors. “I want to go back to old-school. I want to take care of the customer in person and have less of an online presence,” she says. That’s why Griffith and branch partner Spencer Clarke teamed up to open Maritime Travel a month… Read more »
Cooking comes naturally to Antonietta Mele. “It’s second nature to me. I don’t measure anything. I just cook. “It’s just who I am.” Mele has worked in a restaurant kitchen most of her life. Shortly after immigrating to Canada from Italy as a little girl, Mele’s parents, Salvatore and Teresa Lopetrone, started Riverside Pizzeria in… Read more »
Steve Economou seems like a shy man until you ask him about how to cook a really great steak. That’s when he warms to the subject. “It’s all about the cut of meat,” says the chef who has been cooking steak in Sarnia and Point Edward for 42 years. “Not everyone likes the same. A… Read more »
Sixteen-year-old Antonio Adamo isn’t old enough to remember the Dickie Dee Ice Cream man or the sound of a Dickie Dee bicycle bell coming down the street on a hot summer day. But Adamo is banking there’s a lot of parents in Bright’s Grove that do remember, and a lot of kids who will come… Read more »
Here’s a riddle for you. When is The Sarnia Journal not covering the news? Answer: When it’s covering the walls at Trend Visions hair salon. Local stylist Emily Schrader decided to spruce up the aesthetics room and washroom where she works and had a lot of challenges to overcome. “The walls were a big plaster… Read more »
Ken Dunn is a character; a fun-loving, wisecracking adventurer who just happens to love cooking. “It’s simple and it’s entertaining,” says Dunn, who has worked at a huge list of restaurants over the past 40 years. He’s helped open countless diners, shown new owners the ropes, operated his own restaurants and even earned his way… Read more »
Ups N’ Downs, one of downtown Sarnia’s busiest restaurants and nightspots, is about to undergo a major expansion and renovation. The work will be done in stages beginning this fall, says co-owner John Mallon. “It’s an exciting time to be in this business. It’s evolving and we either have to adapt or die,” he said…. Read more »
Like many chefs, Josh Gadd got his first taste of restaurant life slugging it out as a dishwasher. “I didn’t even apply for the job,” he said. Gadd was only 14 when the phone rang and chef Alastair Mackay asked him if he would be interested in washing dishes for his upscale restaurant. That’s when… Read more »
Eighteen-year-old Luke Habel loves reptiles and wants others to learn about the mysteries of enjoying and caring for them. Habel, a graduate this spring from LCCVI in Petrolia, has a houseful of 17 bearded dragons, geckos and a few ball pythons. His most prized reptile is a seven-year-old iguana named Mojo that he rescued two… Read more »
The inaugural Dinner in White Bluewater brought a touch of elegance to Sarnia’s waterfront last week. About 180 diners got together to break bread and sip wine to the sounds of live jazz on the terrace at First Sarnia Place. And, yes, they really did all wear white. Dinner in White originated in Paris 25… Read more »
