The view from Juna Restaurant – opening March 7 in Haliburton – is decidedly different from the one at Rhubarb in
Carnarvon.
“It’s exciting looking out the windows and seeing people, because you don’t see that in Carnarvon, so that’s a big difference,” co-owner Terri Mathews-Carl, says.
She’s seated in her and partner, Christoph’s, new Italian restaurant at 210 Highland St., in the former Cindy’s clothing store. She’s surrounded by an ACM designed space that can accommodate 32 diners. In the summer, they’ll have a patio out back that will seat approximately 30 more people.
Mathews-Carl and Christoph Carl still own and operate Rhubarb although it is up for sale.
“In a perfect world, Rhubarb will sell one day and we’ll just have this one … the retirement restaurant. That is the goal, eventually. We wouldn’t sell Rhubarb unless it was to the right people and the right fit for the community and for the staff we have, because they’re great and we want to make sure they are taken care of,” the restauranteur said.
Mathews-Carl said it is nice having people walk by, and pop in. While Rhubarb has a view of Mirror Lake, its front entrance faces a parking lot and Hwy. 118.
Having an existing established restaurant, with staff, while opening a new one ”has not been as challenging as what you would think,” Mathews-Carl said.
She adds it’s a coming home for Christoph.
“He and his family have had a restaurant in Haliburton village forever; coming back to have that in-town experience is pretty nice. So many of our customers travel to Carnarvon, who live closer to here, who would like having the option of not going so far, especially when the weather is not the greatest.”
The family had the Old Country House, where the Maple Avenue Tap and Grill is.
“Chris grew up upstairs. It was a fine dining restaurant that they had for 25 years right in the village. They were the first restaurant to introduce cappuccino and VQA wines. After that, Chris opened Rhubarb, which has been around for 15 years. He’s been cooking in Haliburton for 40 years.”
Comfortable date night spot
As for the type of restaurant, Mathews-Carl said, “we like Italian food, and we didn’t want to be in direct competition with all of the other restaurants in town because they all have their specialties and we wanted to
complement what’s already here.”
As for what will be served, “we’re in a small space. It’s a limited menu.” They will feature homemade pasta and pizza dishes as mains.
“The nice thing about having a small restaurant is on a not-so-busy night, you still have a great vibe. In a bigger restaurant, like Rhubarb, if you have 70 seats and you have 10 people, it feels empty. If you have 32 seats and you have 10 people it still creates an atmosphere.”
ACM Designs has done the interior. “We showed them the space and they ran with it, so they decided how the layout would be, which was great. We were involved in the finishes and things like that and we had a
contractor who did the actual work.”
Mathews-Carl describes the end result as, “an upscale but also comfortable date night spot. We have plans to be open later, because there aren’t a lot of places open later in town. We are taking reservations at 8.30 p.m. and we won’t be closed before 10 p.m.”
Christoph will be the executive chef at both and staff will move back and forth between Carnarvon and Haliburton.
“Everybody will pitch in where needed.”
Readying for opening day tomorrow, it’s been a flourish of activity. There was a friends and family night on March 4. Cooks have been tweaking the menu and there has been finishing work on the space. There’s been trips to Toronto for supplies.
“We have lots of things to do, and will be working right up to the last minute,” Mathews-Carl said.
The opening weekend is already sold out and people are urged to make reservations going forward.
“We’re just really excited to be back in the village.”
