Cheese Curds Gourmet Burgers & Poutinerie and sister restaurant Habaneros Modern Taco Bar are expected to open at 93 Hampton Road in Rothesay this August.
This will be New Brunswick’s second location for the restaurants, with the other in Oromocto. The chain also has 5 locations in the Halifax Regional Municipality and one in Truro, Nova Scotia.
“We’re really trying to get a foothold into New Brunswick and put COVID behind us,” said Bill Pratt, CEO and Founder of Chef Inspired, a group of restaurants and food trucks that includes Cheese Curds & Habaneros. “I want to go into Moncton, I want to go into Fredericton. I’ve got a whole bunch of stores in Nova Scotia and I want to get into New Brunswick.”
Chef Inspired also owns Nova Scotia-based Gecko Bus, Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse, Studio East Food + Drink, and Terra Rossa Trattoria.
The Rothesay location will act as a takeout location with the same menu as their other Cheese Curds and Habaneros restaurants and will be managed by Rick Kirkpatrick, who also manages the Oromocto location.
192 Hampton Road will soon be the home of Cheese Curds Gourmet Burgers & Poutinerie and Habaneros Modern Taco Bar. Image: Brenda Kirkpatrick.
“We do want to get some picnic tables and stuff, but it’s a very small building,” said Pratt. “With COVID, everybody’s used to take-away now . . . so that kind of helped me make this decision to do this because this would be my first takeaway restaurant.”
Cheese Curds has a large selection of gourmet burgers and poutines all made in-house, while Habaneros also makes their Mexican dishes including tacos, burritos, and quesadillas in-house.
Pratt says that making the dishes in the restaurant is what makes them unique.
“The difference with our brand is it’s not processed products. We make our pork in-house we make our fajita chicken, and we make our burgers, we chip our fries, we cook all our rices, we make our sour creams and our salsas so it’s a totally different experience,” he said.
Renovations of the building will involve knocking down a wall to create an open-kitchen concept where guests can watch their food be made.
Pitt says he’s hoping the restaurant will start operating in August, but it is all dependent on potential supply delays due to the pandemic.
However, he says he’s happy to be working with a contracting team and with the Town of Rothesay who are as committed as he is to get up and running as soon as possible.
“It makes you know that so much easier when everybody’s flexible and wants us to do well and open up here. That’s half the fun,” he said.
Liam Floyd is an intern with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
