Heard On The Street

Kate Robinson, owner of The Twisted Apron Restaurant • Taphouse in Walkerville is anxiously awaiting a move — virtually across Wyandotte Street — to the historic Strathcona Building currently undergoing a magnificent renovation by the Rosati Group. “I had hoped to be in by patio season because we are going to have a spectacular patio,” says Robinson. “I cannot wait to see our new space and it will be a great move when it happens.” The building was designed by famed architect Albert Kahn and the new version will include dining areas, a bar, and a large full commercial kitchen, along with a patio and exterior pick up window. The Twisted Apron is currently located at 1833 Wyandotte Street East and online at: TheTwistedApron.com.

Three years after buying The Cook’s Shop, Spencer Dawson has long-range plans to resurrect The Pasta Shop on the upper floor of the building at 683 Ouellette Avenue in Windsor. “It’s going to take some time because in a building that was built in 1908, there are some issues we have to deal with before we can go ahead,” says Dawson. “You think there are five issues and suddenly there’s 15.” In the meantime, Dawson is slowly getting The Cook’s Shop back off the ground, following two years of pandemic restrictions. Dawson has launched a Tuesday through Sunday lunch menu from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a dinner seating, beginning at 5 p.m. He adds that Lino Catroppa, who launched the restaurants in 1980, offered a lunch menu in the 1980s before deciding to concentrate on evening service. Dawson plans to utilize the upper space for larger events, while allowing the lower space to remain an intimate dining location. “If you have large parties downstairs, it can take away some of the ambiance and intimacy that the restaurant has become known for over the years,” he says. Their culinary team prepares everything in-house and uses exclusively local suppliers. In addition to their regular menu, lunch choices include a variety of salads and paninis. For more information visit: CooksShopWindsor.com.

Redevelopment of Huron Church Road is continuing with plans for an Arby’s restaurant and an Esso gas station moving ahead on the west side of the road, directly across from Fred’s Farm Fresh International Market. Other new businesses along the heavily-travelled route include a new A&W restaurant on the site of a former Rexall Drug Store, a Starbucks on the corner of University Plaza at Tecumseh Road West, with a Church’s Chicken and Fat Bastard Burrito along the same stretch of roadway. There’s also a Giant Tiger under construction on the site of the former Huron Lodge, with more retail planned for a section of the property where Studio 4 previously stood.

A new Laundry Depot laundromat, planned for the intersection of Tecumseh Road West and Campbell Avenue — which we reported on in our March 2022 column — is on indefinite hold. Owner Tony Abraham, who also owns a Laundry Depot in Leamington, as well as PA General Contracting, says a delay in permits from the City of Windsor has brought construction and interior renovations to the former convenience store building, to a halt. “I’ve been a contractor for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Abraham. “It’s probably related to all the new home construction, but that doesn’t help get a small business off the ground.” Abraham added that washers and dryers are also on back order and that it likely will be two more months before his business is up and running. Most recently, the building was home to a used car dealership. Keep up to date with the latest info on the Leamington location’s Facebook page under: The Laundry Depot.

Construction has begun on a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant at 5178 Tecumseh Road East in Windsor, on a site previously occupied by Country Time Café. The lot has been vacant and used for the sale of Christmas trees and spring flowers since an explosion levelled the building on Christmas Day 2005. The chain (Popeyes.com) was launched in New Orleans 50 years ago and now has more than 2,000 restaurants across North America, including 200 in Canada. There are already two in Windsor — on Huron Church Road and Howard Avenue.

Urban Barn, a furniture retailer, is close to opening its first Windsor outlet on Walker Road, in a space previously occupied by an IKEA Pick-up and Order-point location. Covering 10,000 square feet, the store will feature furniture, artwork, lighting and wall décor, for a clientele looking for something contemporary or rustic. The chain was launched in Vancouver in 1990 and now has more than 50 locations across the country (refer to: UrbanBarn.com). IKEA, meanwhile, has returned to the region and recently opened a small store at Devonshire Mall.

Mind Games, a Canadian games and toy store, is opening a new store, sometime in June, at Devonshire Mall on Howard Avenue in Windsor. The chain — which has 22 locations across Canada including 16 in Ontario — sells board games, card games, jigsaw puzzles, trading card games and family games. Find further details about their products on: MindGames.ca.