Woman sells Alberta restaurant to a fellow Newfoundlander

A Bonavista woman, who's spent the past 14 years cooking Newfoundland cuisine in Alberta, says it's time to hang up her apron - but her business is being left in good hands. 

After nearly four decades in the food industry, Aggie Street has decided to sell her restaurant, The Atlantic Kitchen.

"It's a very sad day for me," Street said in an interview on The St. John's Morning Show on Thursday. 

"Right now, it's the end for me. I'm 70 years old, so I don't see myself starting another business so for me, today - it's a little bit different."

Street said a fellow Newfoundlander is set to take over her beloved restaurant.

"The lady that's bought it from me, she's from Swift Current and her husband is from out around Buchans or Botwood," said Street.

Third time's a charm

The Atlantic Kitchen wasn't Street's first foray into restaurant ownership, but her third. 

"I started out in Newfoundland in 1977 at the restaurant on the highway between Catalina and Bonavista, at the entrance to Little Catalina," she said.

For 18 years, Street catered to the local fish plant as well as the college in Bonavista.

"When the fishery went, of course, I went with it. So then I left to come out here, and we went to B.C," she said.

Street stayed in British Columbia for five years, before her husband was relocated to Alberta for work. The couple then bought a home, and a business, in Fort Saskatchewan, 30 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. 

Catch of the day

Before moving to Alberta, Street said she didn't realize how varied fish and chip tastes could be. Workers from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, for instance, preferred haddock to cod.  

"So they wanted haddock," Street said. "And then comes the people from the west coast and they said, 'We like halibut.' So I ended up having all three on the menu."

Fish preferences aside, Street said all dishes were paired with homemade dressing and gravy.

"We have our own homemade fries," she said. "I peel my own potatoes, chop them. I had fish cakes and I make fish and brewis every now and then."

On special occasions, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Street made traditional jiggs dinner for those working away from home.

She estimates about 60 per cent of her customers were seasonal workers from the east coast.  

Sous chef solutions 

Street said the biggest hurdle was finding staff that were knowledgeable about Newfoundland cuisine. In the beginning, she relied on her sister.

"I was here about five months and then my sister came out - her husband came out here to work. So she stayed with me for 10 years, she worked part-time," Street said. 

In 2007, Street hired two cooks from India. 

"There's one still there with me, he's been there seven years," she said. "And I had one from the Philippines."

Before long, she said her international cooks fit right in.

"So I trained them all, and in no time, they were doing the Newfie food and sometimes talking Newfie language too, because they hear me talking so they figured that's the real English - so they talk like me too," she said.

Street also sold Newfoundland novelties at The Atlantic Kitchen, like pudding bags and sou'westers.

"I brought everything back from Newfoundland for them. Whatever they mentioned they wanted when I went down, I picked up and brought back," Street said.

Passing it on

Street worked her last shift on Wednesday and said it was a very emotional day.

"Oh my, lots of tears. Lots of tears," she said.

Street said the new restaurant owner intends to run The Atlantic Kitchen in much the same way.

"She's been with me for 10 months and she's a very, very nice lady. I know that she'll do well there."

Street said she's looking forward to spending time back in Newfoundland this summer, and she plans to find a new passion. 

"I was 18 years old when I went teaching and I haven't stopped since, so I've been working for 52 years," she said.

"I'm not the type that can sit in the house and read a book or knit."