NEW OWNERS
From burger takeout to café-bistro, entrepreneur Dillan MacNeil is making his next big move
Sydney coffeehouse will be turned into cafe/bistro.
It’s been about 18 months since Dillan MacNeil has been serving up burgers and fries in his Hollywood-themed takeout in Whitney Pier.
MacNeil operated Joe Hollywood’s Gourmet Take-Away for about six months before closing the eatery and parting ways with his business partner.
He worked in food and beverage at the newly opened Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre after that and then helped with customer service in opening the Montana’s BBQ and Bar in January.
MacNeil first worked under his father, a local pastry chef, when he was 12 years old. He’s held other jobs in Sydney including a stint at The Olive Tree Bistro.
Now, he’s moved on to his next adventure — a café-bistro-type establishment at the current Wentworth Perk coffeehouse location on George Street in Sydney.
Wentworth Perk owned by Laurie Doucette officially ends its eight-year run on Thursday.
MacNeil plans to open under a new name — Dillan’s at Wentworth — on Tuesday morning.
“What we’re going to try to do is have Wentworth Perk as the base and then bring in a whole other idea on top of that,” MacNeil said.
“We want to have sort of like a café-bistro. I don’t want to call it either one because we’re not going to focus only on coffee. We are really going to try to bring in hot sandwiches, homemade soup, vegan options, salads.”
In deciding on menu options, there will be fewer food choices
from the former Joe Hollywood’s — about six breakfast foods, another six lunch sandwiches, with the addition of a couple of pasta dishes, soup and possibly chili.
Homemade pies, cakes, brownies and cookies will also be on the dessert menu.
He’s harkened back to some old favourites from Joe Hollywood’s including the Janis Joplin, a slow roasted pulled pork panini with a root beer barbecue sauce and provolone on sourdough, as well as the Racheal Ray, a sourdough grilled cheese panini stuffed with sausage and pepper rigatoni.
MacNeil even made room for his Fleetwood Mac and Cheese on the menu.
“I’ve always wanted to own
my own business and be my own boss. I had the great opportunity to do that with Joe Hollywood’s,” said the 22-year-old who now lives in Sydney River.
“It’s been almost two years now since that was fully opened. I definitely don’t regret doing it because I learned a lot. And sometimes friends are better off being friends and not business partners.”
For her part, Doucette remembers a 13-year-old Dillan coming into Wentworth Perk to sell her chocolate bars. She knew he would be the right fit to take over her business because of his experience but also his ambition.
Looking to cross off other life adventures on her bucket list — Doucette is due to leave shortly for a month-long trip to Bali — she said it was time to hand over Wentworth Perk to a younger person willing to grow the business.
“When I offered him the opportunity (to buy the business), I think I shocked the heck out of him because it is quite the opportunity for a fella this young to (take) this great step up,” said Doucette.
“I knew he would be the right person so I hand-picked him myself because I knew he would be successful at this.”
Understandably, Perk regulars are “nervous of change” but they are “excited” to see what MacNeil has in store, she added.
In the four days MacNeil has to renovate the interior, he said he hopes to move in some appliances and move out a “massive ice machine” that’ll serve no purpose for meal prep.
There will also be esthetic changes with the repainting of chairs and a redecorated washroom.
Most of the cooking and baking will be done ahead of time on Monday, as he said most menu items are being made from scratch. He’s taking along a friend, who was a former coworker at Joe Hollywood’s, with him to staff his new venture.
With all the changes, MacNeil said he thinks the new décor and food options will appeal to a wide range of tastes.
“Whether it’s the morning church ladies or if it’s someone just running to grab a cup of coffee and something else on the way to work and even someone wanting to order a full meal with six to eight people … we want to try to cater to everybody with that little space that we have.”