Smoke’s Poutinerie says 'thank you' by giving out free food
Finding a way to say thank you with lots of gravy and high stacks of Canadian cheese curds, Smoke’s Poutinerie in Sudbury offered free poutine on Wednesday.
It's all part of a cross-Canada tour that saw the Smoke’s Poutinerie Gravy Train roll up to the downtown location.
“We’re taking the product to the people,” said founder and chief entertainment officer Ryan Smolkin.
“To say thank you for all the support. It’s been some tough times, so why not say thank you and give poutines out to the masses?”
Starting at 11 a.m., the Smoke’s team was handing out free dishes, games and swag as part of the tour.
“Everybody’s been through some tough times and why not say thanks, right?" said Smolkin.
"Why not put it out there? A lot of closures of different industries, a lot of closures of different restaurants, and we’re still here, we’re still thriving.”
Planning to hit 38 cities in 36 days, he said 15,000 poutine orders have been given away since the tour started. Locally, more than 300 were given out in a matter of hours.
“Just how many fans came … it’s crazy. We weren’t expecting that much support,” said Sudbury franchise owner Gibs Bastien, who has owned the Elm Street location for almost six years.
“We have over about 30 poutines. You could build your own. We have some weird, wacky, wild combinations."
Bastien said it felt good to give back to a community that has continued to support him over the years.
“I’ve tried to be involved since Day 1," he said.
"We have the potatoes for the people. Every time around Christmas at the end of the year, (we give) a couple hundred pounds of potatoes to the food bank and it’s just nice to be able to actually give the poutine to the people.”
Although popular on a regular day, the promise of free poutine in Sudbury was so enticing that the event actually had to wrap up two hours early due to high demand.
Those involved said it was a telltale sign that Sudburians love their french fries.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.