Winnipeggers line up for hours to get RAW:almond tickets as pop-up restaurant ends 3-year hiatus

RAW:almond, a 22-day restaurant pop-up hosted on the frozen rivers alongside The Forks, is returning to Winnipeg after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

The event is co-founded by Deer + Almond chef Mandel Hitzer and founding director of RAW:Gallery of Architecture and Design, Joe Kalturnyk.

"We closed this chapter of our life over COVID," Hitzer told Radio-Canada on Sunday. "I thought we were completely done with the pop-up."

But he received a flood of emails and messages from chefs from across Canada and the United States, as well as local foodies, pleading for the pop up to return.

"Here we are. We've resurrected," he said.

Tickets for a seat cost $225 — plus tax and a preset gratuity — and were available for purchase at The Forks on Sunday, with any remaining tickets to be sold online Monday. The event runs from Jan 26-Feb 18 next year, which will mark the event's ten-year anniversary.

The event is an opportunity for people to connect and make memories, said Hitzer.

"I wanted to have people gather and join and kick it old school like we used to."

He said he's thankful for the warm welcome by Winnipeggers, who lined up for hours to get tickets to the event.

Meaningful design

"It's exciting to be back," Kalturnyk told Radio-Canada on Sunday. "It's a little bit of a learning curve again because it's been a few years."

Kalturnyk is behind the design of the temporary structure on the ice, which he said was inspired by the event's upcoming ten-year anniversary.

"While we were designing it, we noticed that we were doing something that was kind of like an homage to Étienne Gaboury," he said.

Gaboury, who died earlier this year, designed the Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church in Winnipeg, and Kalturnyk says his grandma lived next door.

"I loved it and it kinda got me into architecture."

Kalturnyk says he was overwhelmed by the response to the return of the event. As a Winnipegger himself, he said he was happy and proud to see the city embrace winter.

"It's really nice to feel that it's making people happy in the cold months."

Ava Darrach-Gagnon, a server at Deer + Almond, calls the pop-up one of the most unique experiences in Winnipeg.

"It's winter — it's the dead of night, and we're bringing chefs from around the world and bringing people together and cooking for them in a place that no one should be cooking," she told Radio-Canada on Sunday.

"It's just an opportunity to put Winnipeg on the map but also to celebrate what is so amazing about the culinary industry, which has been struggling for so long due to COVID."

The pop-up is an opportunity to celebrate Winnipeg during the winter months, which may be a lonely time for some.

Long, communal tables of 24 people make sure no one feels isolated during their experience at RAW:almond, she said.

"I think that kind of community is the underlying theme."