New eats on Yew Street: multi-vendor food hall opening in September

KAMLOOPS — The Tranquille Road business corridor on the city’s North Shore is going to see a swell in business activity next month with the opening of the Yew Street Food Hall.

CFJC crews got a peek into the space today, which is just about ready to start hosting patrons.

It’s a joint venture, with the building space on the bottom floor of the Colours on Spirit Square handled by ARPA Investments, and the food vendors led by Steve and Jeff Mitton, longtime restaurant operators.

“Yeah (we’re hearing from) lots of different residents in the area,” said Steve Mitton. “A lot of excitement yesterday with people just popping their head in and finding out when we’re going to be open, and excited that they’re walking distance. They say we need more stuff on the North Shore, so here we are.”

Communal restaurant food halls are popular in Europe, however Yew Street is the first of its kind in Kamloops.

“It’s not a new thing, it’s just new for here,” adds Jeff Mitton.

The unique style of eatery will feature ten different vendor stalls, operating out of a large, shared space.

But don’t get the concept confused with a mall food court. There will be no sticky tables or orange plastic trays with a florescent buzz providing both light and ambience. Instead, the space is filled with modern lighting and plenty of seating, including an outdoor patio area.

And all of the stalls in Yew Street are locally-owned businesses, each providing different styles of cuisine. Options range from tacos, pasta, pizza, Vietnamese, vegan options, craft cocktails and beers.

“You have a good variety of chefs and local businesses that are going to be set up and they’re going to be serving really cool food,” explains Jeff Mitton. “It’s going to be just more variety than you’re going to get at any other restaurant in town.”

Harvest Moon Bakery is one of the vendors moving into the space, and co-owner Nick Driver says part of the draw was being on the North Shore, specifically.

“We just loved it here. We live down the street, about a ten minute walk away,” he explains, “so it’s our neighbourhood, too. We’re a part of this community and we love it here.”

Nick and his co-owner partner Christy Carnegie are well established in the Shuswap area farmer’s market scene, and had hoped to eventually open a physical storefront. Yew Street Food Hall became their way to make that next step and bake for even more people.

Along with classic bakery items, Driver was asked what people can expect from them, and pointed out one of their specialty products.

“Personal favourite is potato bread. It’s a big, fluffy white sandwich loaf but it’s about 30 per cent potatoes in there which gives it a dense chewiness while also being light and fluffy — and it makes the most amazing french toast.”

The food hall also brings a broad range of jobs in the culinary field to Kamloops. Recently Yew Street has been hosting an open house-style hiring fair.

“If anybody out there lives in the area and you want a nice place to walk to work, we are looking for cooks, servers, bartenders, bussers, dishwashers, we’re hiring all positions right now,” adds Jeff Mitton.

By next month, the space will be ready for its first round of visitors, with a grand opening date set for September 8.