Tin Mill on the move - again
Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The front of the current Tin Restaurant. discoveruxbridge.ca
Don Andrews and his Tin Restaurant are on the move again.
At the end of this month, Andrews will be opening a new location for the Tin on lower Brock Street in the building that once was occupied by the Dragon court restaurant. However, his current location on upper Brock Street will remain in business as the Tin Cup Café.
Andrews and his business partner, Conrad Lepine, started out with the Don On Main restaurant years ago before taking over the old tannery on Toronto Street North and opening the Tin Mill Restaurant. They then expanded and opened the Tin Cup at the corner of Brock and Church. After that, they closed the Tin Mill and consolidated the restaurant and coffee shop into the current Tin location.
Andrews said the new restaurant, to be called 9ByTin, will be open during evening hours - from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., five days a week - while the current location will remain as a coffee shop during the daytime. The new restaurant will have a mainly Italian menu, but Andrews said he also will offer "some exciting menu ideas and local beers." The establishment's decor will reflect the Italian theme, Andrews said.
Andrew said the new location will have a 26-seat lounge and bar, with a similar number of seats for diners. He hopes to offer some theme nights beginning in February, with date nights, music nights and other special events
He said the move means hiring more staff, though he himself will be taking more time off than in the past. He said Lepine will run the kitchen and he will run front-of-house.
Andrews said the new location is perfect, "just what I was looking for."
"I wanted to stay downtown," he said. "There's more stuff happening on lower Brock and I think there will be benefits."
He hopes the new location will be open by Dec. 1, "depending on approvals." He said all the smoke and water damage caused by a fire which destroyed the building next door has been rectified and the restaurant will feature all new equipment and furniture.