Out on Northwest Boulevard, where the only thing missing is an ocean view, Tim’s Fish and Chips has been one the Creston Valley’s great business success stories since it opened last November.
“How many orders have we filled since our opening?” owner Tim Vogel teases. “Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? No. More than 40,000! And that’s not people, that’s orders, which might be for two or ten.”
What was once a house on the corner adjacent to the Creston Valley Mall is now a hive of activity, where eat-in and take-out customers swarm to get their regular fix of authentic fish and chips, clam chowder, poutine and even the traditional Brit favourite, mushy peas (when they are available).
From the sand in the parking lot to the fishing boat installed on the building to the nautical paraphernalia, Tim’s Fish and Chips makes a lot of visual promises as it lures passers-by into the shop. But those promises are fulfilled by the quality of the food served.
“You can do everything else right, but if the food isn’t good, you fail,” he says.
Tim is a trained chef but he and his wife, Jessica, travelled to England to take a fish and chips course in preparation for their opening.
“When I was working on the building the fellow who was installing the fire suppression system mentioned this course in England. The National Federation of Fish Friers in Leeds was established in the 1880s,” he says. “So Jessica and I registered and took a month off to travel. For two weeks all we did was cut and fry fish. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun, meeting people who were opening restaurants in Japan, India, all over the world.”
How did he manage to take a little old house (see a photo of it taken in 1949 — it’s on the wall right beside the entrance) and renovate it into a business that advertises itself and still fits in with the neighborhood?
“I guess I’m lucky,” he laughs. “I’m a Red Seal chef and a Red Seal carpenter, so I was able to do the work myself.”
He was working as a carpenter in the mines, living in Fernie and commuting home on weekends when he decided he needed a change.
“I was away so much my kids thought I was an airplane pilot,” he laughs.
He bought the property and worked on the renovations when he was home on weekends. He picked up a little fishing boat in Seattle, bought wood from a 100-year-old farmhouse that now is the wainscoting, found nautical themed items wherever he travelled. And he bought the distinctive white-brown sand that covers the drive-around parking area when the quarry at Sirdar closed down.
“I just started with an idea that Creston needed something different,” Tim says. People get tired of burgers and fries.”
He started out looking at downtown properties and lost out when he made offers on two different buildings. Then he got a call from a realtor when he was in his hotel room in Fernie and the fun started.
“The anticipation while I was working on the building was amazing,” he said about the curiosity that residents displayed. “It got so bad I had to paper over the windows and doors so that I could get some work done — everyone wanted to come in to chat!”
It’s fitting in Small Business Week that Tim mentions the camaraderie among restaurant owners and the entire business community.
“I really didn’t expect it, but there is a really strong tie between restaurants,” he said. “We are competitors on one level, but we support each other too. If one restaurant runs out of something they need right away, all they have to do is make a phone call, and they’ve got it.
“And business owners are some of our best customers — I get a lot of static if they don’t get the first shot when we put something new on the menu!”
He admits the business has changed dramatically since he and Jessica first opened for business last year.
“We had some disasters,” he recalled. “But it was all about figuring out how to do things and learning what people want.”
He added outdoor seating in the spring, put in an ice cream shop window, got a liquor license, made some shifts in the menu and new ideas are constantly swirling around in his mind. This week he is anticipating delivery of a six-burner oven, and planning how to make it fit in the kitchen.
He sets a huge stainless steel bowl on the table and says, “This is what we are going to serve our mussels in!”
Mussel nights, crawfish broils, oyster po’ boy sandwiches and clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls are all planned for the near future.
So are Sing for Your Supper nights.
“We have heaters for the deck and we are going to do some nights when customers can sing karaoke style for a chance to win their meals,” he said. “We already have some judges lined up. You’ve got to have fun if you are going to be in business.”
That fun includes serving up deep-fried chocolate bars, but also sourcing out products that are good quality and as local as possible. All of his potatoes come from a Grand Forks farm and he has a fishmonger that makes daily deliveries.
“The great part of this business is the people,” he says. “You get to meet locals and tourists and it’s been fun creating a place that encourages people to talk to one another. It’s great fun to be part of.”
