HIP LANSDOWNE EATERY SIGNALS EVOLUTION IN OTTAWA DINING
Good food, first-class service and amazing atmosphere are fundamentals in the restaurant business. Appreciating your clientele and being in the right place at the right time can put you over the top.
At Crust & Crate in Lansdowne Park, George Hanna knows his clientele.
He likes to say he was born out of a pizza oven before his dad Michael opened the original Gabriel Pizza on St. Joseph Boulevard in Orléans in 1977. George loved it there so much he’d hide when his mom would call it a day so he could continue working.
Almost 40 years and 35 Gabriel locations later, George Hanna had a desire to do something different. The new Lansdowne development presented him with the right place and time to do it. Crust & Crate Public House was born.
“There’s a major shift in the Ottawa restaurant industry, definitely,” says George. “It’s getting more trendy; new concepts are popping up almost every day where the main focus is on different types of foods, atmospheres that are trendier.”
Crust & Crate specializes in al forno-style gourmet pizza (the crust) and craft beer (the crate). The decor – plank floors, weathered brick, open ceilings and stacked crates – has a distinct old-warehouse atmosphere like few places around the national capital area.
Cast iron-style lamps with bare bulbs hang from two storeys up; a giant TV on a corrugated steel wall blasts music videos, while neon-style signage displays airport designators of the nine CFL teams, from YUL in the east to YVR in the west.
The affordably priced menu boasts plenty more than pizza and beer, including a garlic butter skillet shrimp, sweet chili duck wings and a lamb shank “Redemption,” as well as salads and pub fare with a flare.
There’s a full wine and specialty cocktail menu. There’s even a“C & C Dessert Pizza” – with Nutella, bananas, strawberries and caramelized pecans for $9.
George Hanna says Ottawans are particular when they go out on the town and they are embracing the almost a dozen full-scale restaurants located at Lansdowne. They’re all doing well – and on more than just event nights.
The return of CFL football to the capital and the striking redevelopment at Lansdowne have certainly helped. The changes include an all-but-new 24,000-seat stadium, a refurbished 9,000-seat arena, 280 residential units, lots of green space, 360,000 square feet of commercial space and a new 10-screen movie theatre.
And there’s parking directly beneath Crust & Crate. E- and F-zones are good bets. The restaurant is located on Marché Way, right next to the movie theatres.
George believes there’s a new willingness among Ottawa restaurant guests to embrace change, and its hip, evolving attitude is driving the ongoing shift among eateries.
“They’re still, obviously, used to certain places where they love to dine – that’s not going to change,” he says. “But look at what’s happening here, in Lansdowne, and how they’re supporting them all.
“You come here on a Friday or Saturday and all the restaurants are packed. That attests to the fact Ottawa is embracing change.”
George’s dad knows all about change. He’s seen plenty of it in his time, starting with his move to Ottawa with an aunt and uncle from Lebanon in 1968.
With sparse English, he managed to get a busboy’s job at the old Skyline Hotel, sending money back to family and working his way up through the ranks to the position of head room-service waiter. Eventually, he brought his parents and five brothers to Canada and, with a bank loan on little credit, started Gabriel Pizza.
“They worked as a family and it just started to grow,” says George. His dad is 65 now and has no plans to retire. He still toils at the original Gabriel Pizza.
“He has never, ever stopped working since he came to Canada. Ever. He’s proud. He’s always been proud, proud of the fact that Canada gave him a chance and he’s never looked back.”
Now his son has started something new, and his dad has more to be proud of.
For more on Crust & Crate, check out the website at CrustandCrate.com or follow them on social media @crustandcrate.