From Fijian curry to cold-pressed juice, dining out options in Smithers are set to increase this summer.
Owners of the Northern Fusion Curry House and the Commodity Juicery are both busy preparing for the launch of their new businesses in June and August respectively.
Commodity Juicery owner Jeremy Roth and his business partner Alexander Hillebrand last week received permission from the Town of Smithers to build their Main Street business.
The new juicery will replace the Moose Hut ice cream stand adjacent to the Alpenhorn Bistro & Bar, which is also owned by Roth and Hillebrand.
Cold-pressed organic juices, smoothies, loose leaf tea, iced tea, ice cream, espresso, milks and a juice-tea fusion will be on the menu.
Ice cream and juices, which will be pressed onsite, will be sold in glass bottles and jars, which customers will be encouraged to return for a $1 discount off their next drink.
Wraps, sandwiches, salads, soups and quinoa bowls will also be available to go in eco-friendly disposable packaging.
Roth said the juicery’s focus on organic and local produce was in line with the farm-to-table movement he said was growing.
“In general people ... they want to know where their food comes from, they want to know that it supports local, they want to know that it’s fresh,” said Roth.
“I feel like everybody is going to that farm to table [approach].”
He said it had been a long road to gaining approval to build on the corner block, which had to be subdivided from the Alpenhorn Bistro & Bar.
“It’s just been great to see the community, how supportive everybody’s been with the process and the excitement,” he said
“It’s just a nice feeling when you are going through a lot of stressful things to make it happen, it gives you that extra boost to get things done.”
Northern Fusion Curry House owner Wendy Thornton has also been busy preparing for her June launch.
Her takeaway curry house will introduce Smithers to a completely new cuisine: Fijian curry.
Thornton’s husband Kaiz Khan is originally from Fiji and has a background cooking ethnic cuisine.
Dishes on the menu will range from popular favourites like East Indian butter chicken to Jamaican patties and Trinidadian roti wraps.
“It’s kind of island foods, it’s not your typical East Indian food that people are used to,” she said.
“The masalas [in Fiji] are different.
“That’s why we decided to go fusion because there’s so many different types of masalas in this world.”
She said the curries would be made mild but spicy sauces and chutneys would be available so customers could increase the heat to their liking.
Thornton said she was excited about introducing a new cuisine to the Smithers dining scene.
“I think people are now more open to trying different things and they are going out more I feel,” she said.
“I think it is something different and I find that younger people, children, are more interested in trying different tastes.”