Three new restaurants – two well-known franchises and one home-grown eatery – are on the menu in west Orillia.
You may have seen the building under construction adjacent to the building in which H&R Block and First Choice Haircutters and others are located.
According to Karen Woolcox of Adelaide Development Corporation, which handles property management for Charter Construction’s West Ridge Place retail development, the new building will be home to two popular eateries.
One of the units will become a new Sunset Grill, an all-day breakfast and lunch restaurant that has been growing since its humble origins when the first location opened in 1985 in the Toronto Beaches. Now there are more than 80 locations around Canada.
The other unit in the new structure will house Freshii, a fast-casual restaurant that is all about nutritious and healthy food. They serve grain bowls, burritos, salads, wraps, soups, smoothies and juices as part of an ever-evolving menu.
Right beside the new building, in the location formerly home to Zat’s Restaurant, Mark and Connie Mak are busy working on their new venture: Lemon Grazz, a restaurant specializing in Vietnamese and Thai cooking.
“We blend traditional and modern taste of Vietnamese noodle bowls, flavourful lemon-grass dishes and authentic Thai-style cooking,” explained Mark Mak, noting they will offer pho, lemon-grass dishes with rice, spring rolls, and more in addition to offerings from other countries such as Singapore Satay, Japan Ramen, and Hong Kong-style street food.
Mak said it all starts with the right ingredients.
“We use top quality ingredients, combined with traditional and creative cooking style, and deliver rich tastes of sweetness, sour, saltiness and spiciness,” he said. “Opening a restaurant, I believe, is not just about serving the kind of food but to show our passion for cooking, to share great food and a great moment together. “
That moment will also include interesting drinks and decadent desserts. “We will also be serving unique desserts and drinks which my wife has been working very hard to perfect,” said Mak, who has worked as a host in various restaurants for two decades.
During that time, he learned many cooking skills.
“Cooking has always been my favourite thing to do and it is so satisfying to see my kids and friends finish everything I cook,” said Mak, who adds he feels “blessed that I have an opportunity to share my dishes with the community of Orillia.”
He said opening the restaurant in West Ridge was a no-brainer.
“My family and I have lived in West Ridge for over 13 years and we would like to share our favourite dishes with our neighbours and others,” said Mak.
Mak hopes to be open this fall. It is unclear when Freshii and Sunset Grill will open.
