RAW: almond's 'Plan B' involves peninsula opposite riverbank

The people behind Winnipeg's pop up, outdoor restaurant, RAW: almond are detailing their 'Plan B' as temperatures stay above seasonal average, and ice on the river is slow to form.

• Hundreds line up for tickets to Winnipeg's pop up restaurant, RAW: almond

• RAW:almond has Plan B in case Forks ice doesn't freeze in time

Chef Mandel Hitzer told CBC the junction of the two rivers, where the restaurant sets up shop, takes a particularly long time to develop ice because of an abundance of flowing water.

Plan B, he said, is a small peninsula, opposite the riverbank, among the trees.

"Secretly, Joe [Kalturnyk] and I are kind of excited to switch it up and be up in there," he said.

"Every year we look forward to the photographs we get to take of the structure and the surroundings and the one thing that we don't have control over is the environment that we're in and that's what makes it so unique."

Hitzer wasn't worried about a weather-related change in direction for the restaurant when he spoke to CBC. In fact, he is excited about "lighting up the trees" in the new location and said the restaurant will either take place on the ice or "in a magical forest."

"The one thing that we've had to do since day one with Raw: almond is roll with the punches," he said.

Plus, while the outdoor experience draws people in, the real magic happens in the community-building that goes on around the table inside, Hitzer said.

"One of our mottos that we talk about is building community and getting a bunch of people around a big table and the chefs sharing their passion for food and the beautiful service, the beautiful structure," he said.

"The interior is where the magic all happens so that is a constant."

RAW: almond is scheduled to open on Jan. 21 to the more than 2,000 Winnipeggers who got tickets for it.