// FOOD & DRINK //
Matt Driscoll is a freelance writer and editor based out of Bracebridge, Ontario. He was a former editor with Muskoka Magazine and former photojournalist with the Bracebridge Examiner and Sioux Lookout Bulletin. Matt worked for several years in the museums field, both in Canada and internationally, before moving into full-time journalism more than a decade ago.
Standing Tall PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF TALL TREES MUSKOKA
Huntsville restaurant adapts and thrives through pandemic
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ith many years of combined experience in the culinary industry, a Huntsville couple thought they had seen it all when they purchased Tall Trees restaurant in May of 2019. Then a global pandemic turned everything on its head.
“I was actually six months pregnant when we took over Tall Trees and we only got about nine months into ownership before the pandemic hit so you could say it’s been an interesting couple of years,” says Ashley Stenabaugh-Vowels, who owns Tall Trees with her husband Randy Vowels. “It’s been challenging but the one thing that we’ve heard from people is that we’ve done a great job adapting.” While the couple may be relatively new to Tall Trees, the restaurant is certainly not new to Muskoka. Originally opened as a restaurant in 1984, Tall Trees has built a reputation as one of the region’s premier casual fine dining establishments. Located on Main Street West in Huntsville, the building was constructed in 1891 when it was the home of the town’s former mayor. “It’s extremely well established in the area but all of the different owners have found a way to make it their own,” says Ashley. “We intend to do that as well. It’s got so much character and history and we want to make sure we preserve that but we also want to update it and make it our own.” Randy and Ashley are from Muskoka but moved away for college, where they both trained in the culinary arts. They eventually found themselves working at 3 Guys and a Stove restaurant on Highway 60 in Huntsville, one of the region’s most respected restaurants. It was at 3 Guys and a Stove that the couple first met, and eventually became aware of the opportunity to take over Tall Trees. “Both of our parents are actually business owners in the area so I guess we were bound to run our own business someday,” says Ashley. For the first few months, they encountered the typical challenges of opening any new business but things took a turn for the surreal in 2020 as Covid-19 shuttered restaurants around the globe.
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Randy Vowels and his wife Ashley Stenabaugh-Vowels took over Tall Trees Muskoka in May of 2019.
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