Sault bartender realizes her dream of business ownership
A long-time Sault Ste. Marie bartender is teaming up with a local restauranteur on a new business venture.
With the reconstruction of the downtown section of Queen Street to begin soon -- and some new businesses setting up shop nearby – Becky Sawyer and Blake Richards said the time was right to turn their long talked-about idea into reality.
With only days to go before the grand opening of The Dive Gastro Pub, the pressure is on to finish renovations that have been ongoing since the beginning of April.
Sawyer is a longtime presence on the local food and beverage scene.
“We’re looking at 26 years I have been in this industry,” she said.
“I started when I was 18 and it’s definitely something I have a hard time walking away from. I enjoy the people, I enjoy the public -- I enjoy the chaos and organized mess of it all.”
Richards is another well-known name in the local restaurant community. He was co-owner of Low & Slow, which was the last business to occupy the space that will now house The Dive.
“Ten years ago we started with Low & Slow and kind of just jumped into it,” he said.
“Before that, no experience. Just kind of learned on the fly and it’s been a whirlwind.”
The Dive is located in the heart of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, where a number of changes are taking place – changes the owners are hoping will work in their favour.
“I think it’s definitely up and coming,” said Richards.
“You can see stuff starting to grow with the market next door here, Muio’s just got bought again. Stuff seems to be happening, Queen Street is being redone, which is amazing. So, hopefully it doesn’t hold us up too much, but it should be fine.”
o Download our app to get local alerts on your device
o Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“We’ve all seen the decline in the downtown,” Sawyer said.
“With the city putting in as much effort as they have down the road, and all the things that are happening downtown right now, the hope is that it is going to be on the upswing and we are going to see a bigger boom downtown than we did before.”
The Dive Gastro Pub is already creating a buzz, as both grand opening nights this weekend are sold out.
The new pub will be open to the general public April 22.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
'Mr. Trump doesn't worry us', says Canadian ambassador
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.