East Side Mario’s set to open on Monday
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/07/2018 (2807 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon’s East Side Mario’s will officially open its doors to the public Monday, offering authentic Italian cuisine and a great family friendly environment, local franchisee Greg Clemmensen says.
“It’s an open concept and it’s fun,” Clemmensen said. “It’s built for families, it’s built for kids. It’s a happy place.”
After several months of construction that started in January, it’s almost ready for business. The East Side Mario’s in Brandon, located at the east side of Shoppers Mall on its own pad site, will be the first of its kind in Manitoba.
The Canadian chain’s first location opened in 1987, and there are now 79 locations across the country.
The Brandon location was slated to be a combination East Side Mario’s and Fionn MacCool’s restaurant and pub, but that deal fell through, according to Shoppers Mall general manager Kim James.
Clemmensen is expecting a busy first week, estimating that they would dish out as many as 6,000 loaves of garlic bread.
“It’s delicious, everybody loves it and you can have as many as you want,” he said.
The restaurant seats 200 people, and is expected to fill out come Monday when the doors open, he said.
On Friday, family and friends filled out the restaurant, with select menu items being served to help with training purposes.
Among those guests was Lynda Boeve, who sat in a half-booth.
“It’s a nice change for Brandon, a nice place to come and relax and have a good meal,” Boeve said, adding that she was excited this is a new place to grab a bite to eat in the city.
Her seatmate was excited about the opening for similar reasons.
“It’s something different again,” Juergen Boeve said. “We’ve been to East Side (Mario’s) in Edmonton and really enjoyed it, and so we hopefully have the same experience here … (I enjoy the) pasta, the seafood and just the Italian flavours.”
The type of food the restaurant serves sets it apart from other ones in town, Clemmensen said.
Although they have chicken fingers and hamburgers on the menu, the restaurant’s specialty is Italian cuisine.
“The double bacon carbonara is an incredible meal,” Clemmensen said. “The most popular dish we have is the parmesan chicken penne; it’s a really good massive meal.”
The seating inside includes 10 booths as well as some half-booths and outdoor seating.
“It’s a really fun atmosphere, really high quality food with the all-you-can-eat experience at a family price that isn’t going to break the wallet,” Clemmensen said.
“This has been a long time in the making so we’re pretty excited to actually get open and serve Brandon.”
» mverge@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @Melverge5