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If a key ingredient to a successful restaurant is location, then Eric DePoe might have a winning recipe on his hands. Admittedly, at first glance a location in "downtown" Yarker might not seem the best spot for a café. But, step inside and check out the view from the seating area of DePoe's recently-opened Waterfall Tea Room and Store and the picture gets a whole lot clearer. Overlooking a gorgeous, cascading waterfall on the Napanee River as it tumbles its way south, the view itself is worth taking a chance on DePoe's menu. DePoe and his wife purchased what locals call "The Wright Building" last year. He says the couple were frequently visitors to the café when they visited from Toronto at his sister-in-law's cottage on Varty Lake. During a visit last year, they stopped in for an open house, and according to DePoe, "We went through the place and just fell for it." The deal was sealed, although the former owner agreed to run the tea room until the end of last year's tourist season. But it's DePoe's baby now. "I've always had an ambition to open a restaurant," says DePoe, who is still holding down a five-days-per-week job with Canada Post in Toronto. "This may be the start of that." In a perfect world, he would settle into retirement in Yarker, with the tea room supplementing his pension. DePoe explains he's always felt at home in the kitchen and his menu features light-lunch style fare — including a vegetable pie and a spicy vegetable goulash. But it's the pies that DePoe says should earn him renown. "I have a bit of a reputation for my pies... people tell me they really like them." Asked what seperates his creations from the run-of-the-mill variety, DePoe is quick to answer, "it's the pastry, people love the pastry." He's also developed what he calls some "interesting mixture of fruits" to spice up the dessert menu. "You have to offer apple and standards like that, but I also like coming up with new flavours." One of those new flavours was the nectarine and grape pie he had on last week's menu. In the front half of the building, is a variety of antiques, collectibles, paintings, used books and other "cool junk" for sale. It's appropriate too for the location, considering the building was operated as a family furniture store for over 80 years. Source: The Napanee Beaver, Wednesday July 28, 1999. |
ARE YOU BEING SERVED? — TORONTO NATIVE SAYS TEA ROOM WITH A VIEW DREAM COME TRUE