Gordon Lapp, the new general manager of the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, looks over the work in progress last week in the lounge/restaurant of the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club. The refresh is the first of many changes that Lapp has planned for the facility.
He also realized, after a look around the facility, that it needed a refresh.
“I want to make the club more inclusive. I don’t mean to sound like we were exclusive, but people really looked at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club and just that, a curling and yacht club,” said Lapp, its new general manager. “And why wouldn’t they? That’s what it is called.”
But the Silver Fox, soon to be rebranded the Silver Fox Entertainment Centre, “is so much more,” he added, with a restaurant, banquet and meeting space and an entertainment venue that he hopes to expand into a 200-seat cabaret-style space.
Lapp, a veteran of the food and beverage industry, as well as the music industry, known for bringing acts like the Tragically Hip to The Regent in its heyday, took on the position in March and, with his board’s support, immediately got down to work.
First on his list was giving the dated restaurant a new look.
Last week, the restaurant was shut down for a facelift, with the space rebranded as the full-service Breakwater Grill and Bar. Gone is the long-standing window service. There’s an expanded menu and a “nautical-industrial” theme.
The dated lounge interior has been refreshed, with wooden boards lightly stained in different colourful seaside-inspired hues covering the walls; tables and chairs repurposed; and a dockside-feel elevated seating area, complete with a stage, overlooking the water.
A new sound system is being installed and black-and-white framed photos, each depicting a piece of Summerside’s marine history, adorn the walls.
“We are trying to capture the history of Summerside’s waterfront,” said Lapp. “We really want to get the feel of a working industrial waterfront and the theme is the history of the waterfront, which is significant and not really captured anywhere.”
Next up is the under utilized rooftop deck, which will become The Beacon Oyster Bar, complete with full bar service, its own menu, and a unique concept.
“Our full menu will be available but we are also developing a cook-your-own concept,” added Lapp. “Your protein, whatever it is you order, is brought to you raw. You go over to the barbecue and cook it yourself. It becomes an interactive food experience.
“I sort of describe it as the women at the table having a glass of wine and the guys cooking steaks. And everybody thinks they are the best barbecue chef in the world.”
The hope is to open The Beacon sometime this summer.
“It is one of the most stunning views in the entire province, from a food-service operation.”
There are plans to utilize the green stretch of breakwater, owned by the Port Corporation but leased by the Silver Fox, into The Breakwater Park, “a passive green space” with colourful picnic tables and bicycle racks.
“This breakwater and the grass on top of it is one of the most beautiful pieces of property on all of the waterfront. It should belong to the people,” he added. “Let’s try to open this up. People kind of get as far as Spinnakers’ and they don’t really go further. Let’s invite people in.”
Just how much the recent renovation and the planned work will cost isn’t something he would divulge, but he did say there is no public money.
Lapp reiterated that the yachting and curling are crucial components of the facility.
“We just want to try and compliment the things that are in town and extend or expand the entertainment experience in the city,” he added. “This is an evolution.”
About the Silver Fox
— Non-profit community complex
— Managed and owned by its members
— Includes fully-equipped marina, banquet and meeting facility, restaurant, lounge, entertainment centre, six sheets of curling ice
— 25 employees year round
— For more visit www.silverfox-pei.com/index.php
