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Opinion

A Mexican street-food restaurant mini-chain that offers customers a tantalizing mix of food, drink, art and music has chosen downtown Winnipeg as the site for its first outlet outside Ontario.

Monarch & Misfits, a Toronto-based restaurant operator that has four La Carnita restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area, is taking over the former Fox & Fiddle English-style pub/eatery space at 456 Main St.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSThe eatery aims to open its first Winnipeg location at 456 Main St. this month.

Although renovations to the interior of the cavernous space are still a work in progress, company CEO Andrew Richmond said in an interview Thursday they’re hoping to open for business before the end of this month.

Richmond said Monarch & Misfits had no plans to expand beyond Toronto until he visited friends in Winnipeg about three years ago. While here, he met with a local business group that filled him in on some of the things that have been happening downtown and in the city in general.

"That’s when my interest in Winnipeg was first sparked," he said, and several more visits to the city further solidified that interest.

"I like the city... and the architecture in Winnipeg is second to none. It’s phenomenal. I also think Winnipeg is at a very cool moment in time right now with what’s going on in the cocktail and food scene, the arts scene and the music scene."

So when he heard the Fox & Fiddle had closed and its former space was available, he jumped at it.

He admitted the heritage building, with its soaring ceiling heights and abundance of wood and marble, is not the kind of space the company would normally choose for a La Carnita restaurant.

"We kind of bring that sort of utilitarian, raw esthetic to all of the spaces we do. So this was a challenge because it’s kind of opulent, with all of the marble and stuff. But that’s the beauty of it — trying to fit in our esthetic in an old bank."

SUPPLIED The interior of a La Carnita restaurant in the Toronto area.

Richmond said the restaurant will feature a menu similar, but not identical, to what’s offered at its four Toronto-area restaurants. There will be Mexican street corn, tortilla chips with dip, Mexican meatballs, barbecued wings and a variety of tacos. But the chef will also have the freedom of adding a few of his own unique dishes.

"It’s really inspired by the Mexican food you find in San Francisco and Los Angeles. That’s where I pulled a lot of the inspiration and recipes from," Richmond said.

"But it’s not a massive menu. We believe in having a tight menu, but we do those things and execute those things very well."

Richmond also stressed eating at a La Carnita restaurant is more than just about the food.

"It’s about three things, really. We do art and food and music."

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Toronto artist Jahn Page uses a wheat-pasting technique to make giant murals for the La Carnita restaurant. The space was previously occupied by the Fox & Fiddle.

For example, he’s hoping to partner with a group and stage a music-themed event at the restaurant in September.

"We’ll also be working with local DJs and maybe feature some live music," he added.

They also plan to feature artwork from local, national and international artists throughout the space, hold art giveaways and to hopefully stage some art shows in the venue. He said they’ve held three art shows so far at their Toronto locations, one of which drew more than 33,500 people.

"We want to tap into the creativity and culture of the city. It’s all built on culture — street culture — and food."

Nicholas Friesen, marketing and communications co-ordinator for the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone (BIZ), said La Carnita will be a welcome addition to the area.

"We’re always excited when anything, be it a restaurant or a gallery or a music venue, opens up. So the fact that it sounds like a combination of everything that the Exchange represents sounds like an ideal type of restaurant (for the area)," he said.

He said while it’s unfortunate the Fox & Fiddle restaurant closed, "It also creates the opportunity for something new and exciting to come in."

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca