The Red Rabbit In Stratford: Down The Rabbit Hole
Down The Rabbit Hole at The Red
Rabbit In Stratford
BY BRYAN LAVERY
“A locally sourced
restaurant, run by workers, owned by workers, shared by the community,” pretty
much sums up the Red Rabbit’s ethos. Chef Sean Collins is a Stratford Chefs School graduate,
instructor and previously head chef at Mercer Hall before its sale last year. Collins
terms his cooking as “Flavour First, Ingredient Driven.” He also says, “We cook
food we like to eat.”
One of Stratford’s most anticipated openings last summer
was The Red Rabbit, which opened in
mid-July. Stratford born Jessie Votary and Collins left Mercer
Hall to build the community-shared restaurant on Wellington Street
with partners/workers Johnathon Naiman (sous chef), Adam
Robinson (front of house), Tyson Everitt (Doctor and resident soda jerk and fermenting
specialist), Steve Walters (front
of house) and Gen Zinger (front
of house).
Votary, who has been fittingly labelled the restaurant’s
fearless leader and the mastermind behind the business, recently said, “The
notion for the restaurant was born out of necessity and inevitability. We all
sat down and agreed that we didn`t really want to do this for someone else
anymore. If we were going to work 80 hours a week and throw our whole heart and
soul into something, we should do it for ourselves. It didn’t make sense to
have a money man at the top taking all the profits. Nor were we interested in
trying to squeeze an additional dime out of every plate that comes out of the
kitchen.”
With 100 shares at $1,000 each, the Red Rabbit’s ownership
group raised a percentage of the capital they needed to finance their project.
They then turned to an innovative financing model akin to community supported
agriculture (CSA), but in this case adapted for the restaurant business. They
modelled it primarily after colleague Anne Campion`s business model at Revel
Caffé which itself is a spin on a CSA model that Ruth Klassen at Monforte Dairy
pioneered in the Stratford area. Campion and Votary both believe in the
importance of supporting new models of community-centred businesses that
strengthen and help build communities.
Interested subscribers were invited to purchase restaurant futures
in the business. This raised an additional $57,000 in funds, which helped them
get the doors open by paying for opening wages and putting inventory in the bar
and the kitchen. The futures will be reimbursed in prepaid meals over a period
of time. Votary says, “We were looking for investors, but we were also looking
to build community around our vision.” The bank put up the rest of the capital
through a business loan. At the time, Collins called it “a somewhat radical
concept.”
Votary and Collins and the passionate and focused team poured their
blood, sweat and tears to get the venture open. Located in a former bridal shop
on Wellington Street (off Market Place) Votary refers to the premises as
initially being a blank white box. The Red Rabbit seats 45 comfortably
with an additional 10 seats at the bar.
Collins leads the talented kitchen team, along with sous
chef Jon Naiman. Other
members include partner Everitt and newer members Lee Avigdor and Greg Him,
formerly of Susan Dunfield’s former Down the Street.
The instantly successful, down-to-earth, farm-oriented restaurant is
built on years of deep symbiotic relationships that are at the heart of
The Red Rabbit experience. There is a dedicated focus on Perth County ingredients from area farmers like Church
Hill Farm, Perth County Pork Products, McIntosh Farms, and Soiled Reputation.
The team has crafted an evolving
menu of Southern-style comfort foods. Divided into omnivore, carnivore and
herbivore sections, the dinner menu offers Colonel Collins’ fried chicken, duck
poutine, Perth County “hammed” pork shoulder, rabbit and leek pie, BBQ celery
root, creamy fried polenta and duck egg with chermoula. The menus have also
included addictive house-made salumi (beef heart pastrami) and delicious
rillettes of rabbit. During the day we like the breakfast with fried eggs,
local pork, beans and focaccia.
We have driven to Stratford several
times for a delicious repast of Colonel Collins fried chicken and waffles. Its
secret recipe of thirteen herbs and spices, maple syrup and carrot hot sauce, served
with house-cut fries has made it a Stratford culinary staple.
The heat quotient on the spicy hot
chicken sandwich with sweet pickle, tzatziki, house-made bun and hand-cut fries
is just what the doctor ordered. A newer addition to the lunch menu are four perfectly
prepared falafel on a bed of lettuce, (for wrapping), which is served with
perfectly seasoned tabbouleh and tiny pots of harissa, tahini, garlic aioli and
the traditional pickled turnip. Sensational.
An important difference between the
Red Rabbit and other restaurants is the amount of creative input that the staff
members bring to the table. Close-knit relationships are central to the core of
the restaurant. The service is welcoming, heartfelt and friendly. Most of the
front-of-the-house service professionals were previously restaurant managers or
owners. Long-time Stratford restaurant professional extraordinaire, Cassandre Frost, is
the new restaurant and bar manager.
This past winter the team surpassed all of their expectations
as well as crushing every target they had set for the restaurant. The team
consistently seated more than 100 covers every Friday and Saturday night
throughout the winter. The success of the “small plates” tradition called Nosh
Mondays was unparalleled with a waiting list each week.
This summer they are planning
to knock things out of the park. The team will be reintroducing the prix fixe
menu, an arrangement that is meant to expedite the
challenges of pre-theatre dining where theatre-goers arrive and depart
simultaneously. After 7:30 the focus will be on a local á la carte menu.
Chef Kris Schlotzhauer recently
joined the team. Votary says, “He is putting his chef whites away and joining
the front of house crew, transitioning into the general manager role as he
learns the ropes.” Schlotzhauer was born and raised in Stratford, and has spent
the last four years in Toronto where burnish his name and reputation at the
much lauded Enoteca Sociale. Attracting plenty of media attention, he has been
working to balance work and life roles for his staff. As a vocal champion for
fair working hours and pay, his philosophy is closely aligned with the Red
Rabbit’s, making him a natural fit.
There is plenty of growth potential
for both staff and partners to transition into a new venture in the future. In
the meantime, are you in search of a watering spot that serves great craft and
house-infused cocktails and flavourful food? Going “down the rabbit hole” is
the almost perfect metaphor for embarking on a down-to-earth culinary adventure
at the Red Rabbit.
The Red
Rabbit
64 Wellington Street 519 305 6464
www.redrabbitresto.com
SUNDAY 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
MONDAY – WEDNESDAY 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
THURSDAY 12:00
PM – 9:00 AM
FRIDAY –
SATURDAY 12:00 PM –12:00 AM
BRYAN LAVERY is eatdrink’s Food Editor and Writer at Large.
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