FORT FRANCES – Since opening up in late 2015, it’s been a bit of a blur at times at the Flint House restaurant according to manager Stacey Cridland.
“Even when you think back to the COVID years it feels like it was so long ago, but it really wasn’t,” Stacey said.
“There’s still some effects coming from that, especially when it comes to the costs of things. It certainly feels good to be able to be back to our full business and be able to welcome everyone, including those from out of town who may not have been to come during those years.”
The casual fine-dining restaurant, located in downtown Fort Frances, is a family affair – with Stacey's parents, Duane and Grace, serving as the original owners before she took over the management role a few years ago.
“My parents owned Gilllons’ Insurance and they did that for my whole life growing up, but our family has always been foodies,” Stacey said. “We love food and when we would go on vacation, one of the biggest things for us to do together was to go out as a family and eat. That and cooking together at home was one of those things that really bonded our whole family.
“It was always my dad’s dream to own a restaurant and so when he sold Gillons’ and I guess semi-retired . . . he bought the restaurant and we just worked all together as a family to see our vision come to life.
“We kind of knew what we wanted to see, but we had no idea what it was like to run a restaurant. It was just an adventure for our family to kind of do together.”
The Flint House is located in a building that’s over a century old and has been used for everything from a bank when it first opened to its current use as a restaurant.
“There’s quite a lot of history here,” Stacey said. “One of the businesses that was in here at one point was a cigar shop and they had a humidor that held all the cigars over the years.
“When we purchased the place, that was still there, so we turned it into our liquor cabinet and it’s the beautiful centrepiece for the bar. That’s just one of the ways that we use the history here.”
The Flint House’s menu has a little bit of everything on it, but what they are most known for in Fort Frances and beyond is their prime rib.
“When we started, we only served it a couple of days a week, but as it got more popular we started to serve it all the time,” Stacey said.
“We’ve had a lot of out-of-town guests tell us that our prime rib is the best they’ve ever had. When you have people coming in from Toronto, who have so many restaurants to choose from, and they tell us that they are blown away by it, it warms the heart for sure.”
The Flint House is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
More information on the restaurant can be found on their website.