McPuffins re-opening in Joggins
Owner Greg Cuthbert happy to pursue his restaurant vision once again
Greg Cuthbert had a vision.
After moving to Cumberland County from New Westminster, B.C., with his wife Evelina in 2014, Cuthbert has undertaken multiple ventures in Joggins, surrounding the properties of the legendary merchant Jacob Golstein. One of those is the McPuffins Atlantic Seafood Restaurant.
But during the last three years, the vision has been halted. The comfort food restaurant hasn’t been able to offer its menu that includes locally sourced seafood, chicken, pub style food, salad and plenty more.
According to Cuthbert, given Joggins is such a small town, the establishment relies in large part on tourists for its customer base. So, when the pandemic hit and borders were shut down bringing tourism to a halt in 2019, McPuffins’ doors were closed. They have remained closed all through the pandemic.
But McPuffins’ longawaited return is imminent. After much work, the restaurant is scheduled to re-open on May 5 in time for the tourism season and Mother’s Day. The restaurant will mark its return by offering a special menu for Mother’s Day, along with a free dessert for mothers.
“Definitely want to make the mothers feel special,” says Cuthbert. “That’s the number one for the day.”
The owner and chef is looking forward to doing plenty more to provide his customers not only great, fresh food but an overall great customer experience.
Later this year, Cuthbert hopes to do a Halloween contest. He is also looking forward to decorating and opening for Christmas to serve dinners accompanied by Christmas carols.
His plan, right now, is to be open until New Year’s and reopen again next spring.
When customers return to the establishment, they can expect most things to be the same.
During the restaurant’s hiatus, Cuthbert re-did the tables, modifying the original shelves to convert them into tabletops.
And, by the end of the summer, he hopes to continue working on the building to find more ways to grow his business. Cuthbert says he wants to utilize the upstairs area, which is currently empty, and to add a lounge with a patio out back to provide customers a beautiful view of the Bay of Fundy.
“I’m very much looking forward to expanding my operation here and doing the most I can for the community,” he tells Cumberland Wire.
Cuthbert and restaurant manager Alex Oleksii do the cooking at McPuffins. Cuthbert brings an extensive catering and culinary background, having been trained in Vancouver and having worked for multiple restaurants, a cruise company, as well as North Vancouver’s largest catering company, Critic’s Choice Catering.
“I was a chef for over 20 years in Vancouver.”
Cuthbert says he has cooked for sports teams, billionaires and for hundreds of weddings.
He also cooked for two World Cup skiing championships prior to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
History of the Building
The building that houses the McPuffins Restaurant was built about 100 years ago by a merchant named Jacob Goldstein, who ran a merchant shop in Advocate Harbour prior to his arrival in Joggins.
After selling his Advocate Harbour shop, he floated his home up the Bay of Fundy to Joggins. Today, Cuthbert operates the home as a bed and breakfast.
Upon his arrival to Joggins, Goldstein built a new shop just across the street from his home.
The building has changed hands many times through the years. It has been used as a town hall, schoolhouse and, finally, as a liquor store.
Cuthbert purchased the building a few years ago to turn it into a restaurant. He undertook some renovations. The main work was replacing the roof. However, he also kept some things to maintain the building’s rustic charm and sense of history.
“This is one of the most historic properties in the area,” he comments.
He decided to keep the tin ceiling, while he also sanded down and lacquered the hardwood floors. Before long, McPuffins was ready to open in 2018 and, soon, the doors will swing open to welcome customers once again.