Hardware Grill Retools a Downtown Landmark
downtown, food, hardware grill, restaurant,
As fresh and delectable as the meals are‚ they’re not the only attraction at the Hardware Grill in downtown Edmonton.
“The building itself is historic‚” says Larry Stewart‚ owner and executive chef of the restaurant located in the refurbished Goodridge Block. “Just about everybody who eats here has a story‚ whether they bought their fishing license here or their dad bought them their first pair of skates.”
Stewart and his wife‚ Melinda‚ opened the Hardware Grill in 1996 in what was once the W.W. Arcade hardware store. It features seasonally inspired Canadian Prairie cooking and includes a wine list of more than 700 selections.
“It’s a very hands-on‚ artisan-style kitchen‚” says Stewart‚ who was introduced to cooking growing up on a farm in Ontario. “We make everything in-house. We bake our own bread‚ smoke our own fish‚ make our own sausage. There isn’t anything we serve that we don’t make on the premises.”
The restaurant has won eight consecutive Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence‚ seven consecutive listings in Anne Hardy’s Where to Eat in Canada‚ and inclusion in enRoute magazine’s list of the 100 best restaurants in Canada.
Story by John McBryde
Photo by Jeffrey S. Otto
