Benchmark is Back

By Martine Mackenzie with Julie Greco, Communications Consultant, Niagara College

Back by popular demand, Niagara College’s award-winning on-campus restaurant, Benchmark, is now open for lunch three days per week with celebrated chef Justin Downes leading a team of students in the kitchen.

After almost four years of being closed for regular restaurant service, Benchmark recently reopened, ushering in a new era with a renewed focus on student learning, along with new features including an ever-evolving cocktail list, table-side preparations, one-time additions to the menu, and more!

“Benchmark is something that has a long history with the School of Culinary Arts at Niagara College. The opportunity for our community to come and share the experience and hard work of our students goes back many decades with different locations and different styles,” said Craig Youdale, Dean, Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies.

“Our entire team is excited to showcase our excellence in applied learning while fashioning a memorable moment for our guests.”

“Every guest can experience a multi-course menu that the students are preparing, from salad all the way to dessert, along with some amazing cocktails, mocktails, wine flights or a beer to enjoy from our talented front of house crew,” said Downes.

Chef Downes, of St. Catharines, is a NC grad who completed a culinary apprenticeship at the College in 2000.

He noted that he is most excited about working alongside students, being a mentor to them and showing them his passion for the industry.

“Reopening the restaurant has been amazing. Seeing the excitement with the students being engaged in another level of service coming out of Benchmark is very rewarding,” said Downes.

While Chef Downes oversees ‘back of house’ at Benchmark, ‘front of house’ is under the leadership of Victor Oliveira, NC’s Manager of Catering and Special Events, who joined NC in September after working at such renowned institutions as Scaramouche, Sotto Sotto, Pizzeria Libretto, Backhouse, and Leaning Post Wines throughout his career.

“We are really looking forward to becoming the go-to place again – the perfect combination of style, food excellence and experience,” said Oliveira. “I am really looking forward to watching students develop and grow as professionals, and to create a concept restaurant that all culinary and hospitality students would strive to be part of from year one.”

Located at NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagaraon-the-Lake, Benchmark’s reputation extends far beyond campus boundaries, as an award-winning Niagara dining establishment popular with the public. Its regular restaurant operations were paused in December 2019. Since 2022, it has been devoted to academic initiatives from the College’s Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division – including culinary pop-ups, final exam lunches and dinners, and more. Academic offerings from the School of Culinary Arts will continue at Benchmark, as part of the Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division.

Photos courtesy of Niagara College Culinary Arts.

With Benchmark reopening for lunch service, NC students from culinary and hospitality programs will be employed to work back- and front-of-house, respectively.

Culinary Management student Marcela Alvarez Cardoso is gaining experience as she completes her co-op requirement at Benchmark. The Benchmark kitchen is a familiar environment for Cardoso who has also been volunteering for the Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division’s Feed the Community program, to prepare meals which are donated to those in need.

“Benchmark gives many opportunities to us to practice for different events in and outside the College and we have the opportunity to enrich our knowledge and learn all we can,” said Cardoso. “I am truly very grateful and happy to be part of this team surrounded by such good colleagues and chef professors who complement Benchmark.”

Benchmark is currently open for lunch service three days a week, Wednesdays through Fridays, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Benchmark offers a table d’hôte menu ($40) – a threecourse price-fix menu that will change often. Guests will have the opportunity to add wine flights to pair with their courses for an additional $12.

Lunch service will be open for reservations only to start, and reservations may be made via Open Table.

For information about upcoming events, visit Benchmark on Facebook or visit their website.

By Sarah Maloney

Formerly known as The Commercial Hotel, the presentday Commercial Roadhouse is steeped in a history that most people have absolutely no idea of unless they are Stevensville born and raised.

This historic establishment has been handed down from generation to generation, surviving significant eras of history. If only the walls could speak, they would tell you alluring stories of the Peace Bridge being built, of the heroic measures taken by locals with the Underground Railroad, its survival through Prohibition, and of course World War I and II. The Commercial is part of the history of Fort Erie. Built in 1830 as a private residential home, it became a tavern operated by Henry Ort from 1836-1851. At that time, Mr. Ort sold the building to Mr. George Cease who operated it as an inn until 1873, providing rooms and food and beverage to locals and weary travelers alike. Mr. Joseph Bauer and his family took over the operation of the inn in 1873 and kept it in the family until 1910 when Mr. Andrew Willick purchased it. This is when some of the business’ troubles began.

During World War I, the inn lost its liquor license due to Prohibition which ran federally from 1918 through 1920, and then the Temperance Act which ran up until 1927 provincially. Ever the entrepreneur, Andrew Willick still was able to operate a store from the building, as well as continuing to rent rooms and serve meals. In 1934, the business had its liquor license granted once again and continued to operate successfully under the Willick Family until September of 1948 when it was sold to Mr. Andrew Zuba and went from being known as an inn back to a hotel.

For the next several years it seems that nothing historically significant occurred other than Andrew Zuba running a successful hotel which continued to be frequented by locals. Two of those locals, John Mikitchuk and Roger Featherstone took over ownership in 1974 and ran the business until 1977, when it was then sold to Bill and Andie Warbuck. Overall, The Commercial Hotel was a wellestablished watering hole with good home-cooked food which kept Fort Erie/Stevensville residents always coming back for more.

After a one-year partnership, Andie bought out his partner Bill, and took over operation of the hotel with the help of his wife, Dorothy and their son Andrew. Dorothy was a very warm and welcoming lady who worked hard in the kitchen to ensure that any visitors to The Commercial would leave there well-fed, sated and ready to come back for more the following week as she pumped out home-cooked fare. Everyone in the area knew that The Commercial would always be a welcoming place. Even visitors to the area and first-timers were greeted with the same gusto that the locals were.

Sadly, things at The Commercial took a turn for the worse in the spring of 2022, with Dorothy’s untimely passing. Unsure what to do with the building, and with her family not equipped to take over the bustling business, The Commercial stood empty for some time. This landmark of Fort Erie had survived The Great Depression, two World

Photos courtesy of Commercial Roadhouse.

Wars, Covid-19, the best of times and the worst of times, yet now it stood at a crossroads with no real future.

But things were about to change. Dorothy’s family decided to sell the building and namesake business to 43 North Restaurant Group, a Niagara-born and raised beverage and service company. Who better to take over than Tony Visca and Fern Colavecchia? Founded in 2015, 43 North Restaurant Group isn’t the first venture that the two gentlemen have been involved with. Tony and Fern have actually been business partners since 1990 in the Niagara area beverage and service industry and their huge success managing a variety of culinary experiences across the Niagara Region is based entirely on preserving the atmosphere, and food and beverage of restaurants and bars that they grew up going to.

The Commercial Roadhouse is back up and running, with a menu based on the original ideas of Dorothy along with a few new additions. The patio has been upgraded and live music is a regular thing. Breakfast is served daily from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. offering the classics. The Commercial offers up a good selection of wines and hand-mixed cocktails, along with a great selection of beers both on tap and bottled. On the regular menu, hungry folk can find traditional handheld sandwiches and scrumptious burgers accompanied by hand-cut fries. There’s also pizza, wings and broasted chicken for those looking for items that are shareable. All items are made in house.

Whether you’re stopping in for a bite to eat or just a quick pint, this landmark and legend offers up the same hometown hospitality that it has for close to two centuries. commercialroadhouse.com

By Martine Mackenzie

Say the name “Matty Matheson” anywhere in Fort Erie and you will hear nothing but positive things. In fact, say his name just about anywhere now and you will get nothing but rave reviews – from his talent in the kitchen to his talent on the big screen, Matty Matheson has become both a culinary and entertainment force to be reckoned with.

Matthew James Matheson, born February 7, 1982, in SaintJohn, New Brunswick, is a Canadian chef, restaurateur, actor, and internet personality. When he turned 11, Matty’s family moved to Fort Erie, Ontario, a place still near and dear to his heart, and which he still calls home.

Matty’s interest in cooking and food began at a very young age. His grandfather was a restaurateur from Prince Edward

Island, where his family has roots dating back to the 1700s. Matty spent his summers at his grandfather’s restaurant, “The Blue Goose,” in DeSable.

After finishing high school in Fort Erie, Matty moved to Toronto in 2000 to attend Humber College’s cooking program. Not one for the traditional classroom, Matty didn’t last long at Humber and chose to go on tour as a roadie for one of his friends’ heavy metal bands. But the lure of the kitchen was too strong, and with his talent for butchering meat, Matty continued his culinary career by handing out resumes to random restaurants until he was offered a job. Matty began working at Le Select Bistro in Toronto in 2003 under the tutelage of chef Rang Hguyen, where he gained

French culinary techniques. From there, Matty moved to La Palette in 2006. In 2010, he became Executive Chef at Parts & Labor Restaurant where he remained for 9 years until it closed in 2019.

Matty’s adventures in the culinary world of Toronto are vast, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, in the summer of 2020, he brought his love of barbecue back home to Fort Erie and created a pop-up restaurant called Matty Matheson’s Meat + Three, a take on the southern American meat plus 3 specializing in American barbecue. The Meat + Three pop-up closed in 2022.

This could have become a tragedy to the locals who just love Matty and his food. But in November of that same year, he opened Rizzo’s House of Parm, a restaurant serving old-school, Italian-American fare, in Crystal Beach, a stone’s throw from Fort Erie. He named the restaurant after his first daughter and second child, Rizzo.

Rizzo’s House of Parm offers a menu of traditional https://www.americananiagara.com/day-passes https://www.americananiagara.com/

Italian foods, with the specialty on dishes prepared “al parmigiana,” consisting of chicken or veal cutlets, or for the vegetarian, eggplant – all breaded, deep-fried until golden brown, then smothered in Matty’s homemade tomato sauce, all topped with the best grade of a blend of mozzarella, pecorino Romano, and Parmesan cheese.

The pasta lover can indulge in traditional spaghetti and homemade meatballs, penne al vodka, and rigatoni carbonara, just to name a few. The mozzarella sticks as an appetizer are renowned, and the salads are all fresh and hearty. Portions are huge and very easily shareable. If anything, this writer encourages any newbies to Rizzo’s House of Parm to save room for dessert. All desserts are made in-house and worth every calorie as is the Espresso Martini – one of the best I’ve ever had. Add to this an extensive wine list and a great cocktail menu, and you have a prescription for a great night out. And maybe, just maybe, you will catch a glimpse of Matty himself.

Get unprecedented access to the iconic Niagara Parks Power Station + Tunnel after dark with an all-new nighttime experience - the illuminated Falls await!