Something to ‘taco’ about
Gran Chico bringing delicious food to Corner Brook
The Gran Chico is soon to be Corner Brook’s hot spot for tacos, burritos, quesadillas and other delicious food.
The new restaurant, owned and operated by Pat Quigley, doesn’t have a set opening date but it has found a spot on Broadway and will be opening soon.
The signs are already up telling Corner Brook residents to “taco bout it” and spread the word about some new food offerings coming to the city.
Quigley is hoping, with COVID-19 cases declining, people will get out more, intermingle and the bars and restaurants on Broadway will become more active again.
He envisions a place where people leaving a bar can wander over to the walk-up window, order a taco or burrito, or whatever else on the menu they fancy, and be on their merry way.
“The walk-up window is perfect for summer nights when Broadway will be alive again,” Quigley told The West Coast Wire. “You don’t have to sit down to a table to eat this stuff, it’s made to be eaten with your hands. You can just pick it up and go and eat it while you’re walking down the road if you want to.”
He added he was excited for the opportunity to serve and bring something new to his hometown.
“I’m excited,” said Quigley. “We’re all really excited to serve the people of Corner Brook and it’s really great to be able to do something for the community.”
BACKGROUND TO GRAN CHICO
Quigley was educated in cooking through the Marine Cooking Program at the College of the North Atlantic in St. John’s.
After graduating, he took a cooking position on a ship but soon determined he didn’t like the sea and returned to soil for work.
Subsequently, he turned toward fine dining, where he says he learned from some great chefs.
Eventually, however, he grew tired of cooking and took a job working in construction.
But now, after several years away, he’s returning to his original calling.
According to Quigley, his father has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease, and once the pandemic struck, he says everyone became scared to move because they didn’t want to carry the virus back to his father.
“That’s when I said, ‘I’m going to go back to cooking,’” he said.
Quigley worked at the Hew and Draw Hotel for a little while, where he fell back in love with cooking.
“Also, working for Dave Vatcher was a great experience because he’s also a really talented chef and a great guy to work for,” he added.
During the pandemic, Quigley saw the location on Broadway had opened for rent and jumped at the opportunity earlier this year.
According to Quigley, over the years there has been a lot of turnover at the location and he wondered what he could do to keep something more permanent there. He wanted to tailor a menu for the small space provided. He determined it would have to be food he could move fast and that’s when he thought about tacos and burritos.
Quigley went to work, putting together some recipes, making meals and testing it out on people he knew.
“Everybody really seemed to like it and I just went for it,” he said.
Along with the Mexican food he’ll be serving, he decided also to incorporate basic fast food and vegetarian choices, so there’s a little for everyone.
Quigley also prides himself on providing quality, fresh food for everybody.
“My food has kind of a home-cooking feel to it but it’s just really good fresh food,” he said.
All his chicken is roasted and not processed and all his beef is sourced from the Countryside Abattoir. He is also working with Colemans for his produce.
“I want to keep things local,” said Quigley.
OPENING
When he recently spoke to The West Coast Wire, he was waiting for permits to go through so he could open. He anticipated opening sometime this month.
Quigley hopes to have hours from morning to past midnight and will be hiring employees.
The Gran Chico will also provide delivery.