ESPANOLA—A Birch Island couple has opened a uniquely Indigenous restaurant in Espanola. With fry bread tacos and scone dogs on the ever-expanding menu, they’re adding another dimension for diners in the area.
Nala Morningstar has been catering for years. “It was a side hustle, for extra income,” Ms. Morningstar explained. And for the last couple of years, she and her husband Leon have been doing the powwow circuit with their outdoor fryers—their pop-up kitchen, not always ideal circumstances.
“When we were branching out to expand, we were just looking for a bigger kitchen to cater out of. We saw this place, and we didn’t really think we’d get it.” But they did get it, the building at 111 Centre Street in downtown Espanola, home of the former Country Style donuts. It’s been in their possession since May.
“So, what we recommend is that everyone go and learn a trade,” Ms. Morningstar said, laughing. That’s what took so long in getting the business up and running – the trades. “Everyone’s so busy,” Ms. Morningstar added, “but we’re so thankful for the ones that made time and helped us. And we kept everything local as much as possible – local painters, plumbers, electricians, security, the signage.”
“There is no sign,” her husband pointed out, and the couple laughed. “We’re still waiting for that.”
No doubt much stress goes into planning and executing an operation like this, but husband and wife were making jokes about the entire process, demonstrating a sense of humour that has carried them through it all.
“We want to stay open 8 am to 8 pm, that is the goal, seven days a week, but we also want to have fun doing it. We don’t want to stretch ourselves thin. We don’t play that game – how stressed can we get? So, we’re brainstorming. How can we get that breakfast cooked and how can we find that balance, so there’s not a bunch of staff in the back crashing into each other. We’re just really buckling down today and reviewing that plan. We’re hoping that by November 1 we’ll be ready for breakfast, and weekends.”
Ms. Morningstar does most of the cooking. “I’m training someone to make the scones. I make all the dough, but I’m training them to roll them out the way I like it.” She’s quick to laugh and you can see that having fun with this new venture is seriously important. “I do the soups and the gravies and the homestyle dishes,” she says, “because I want it to taste like my food until I can teach someone how to make it and put the proper specs out for them and maybe I can get a day off,” and she laughed again. She has plans to set up some ‘grab-and-go’ meal choices. “We’ll have things for single people and couples. Then the families who are just busy. There are so many sports going on in the area, I want to have trays they can bring home and pop in the oven.”
Ms. Morningstar would like to see the restaurant become a hub; a place for people to hold meetings or workshops or evening events. “We’ve already had a baby shower, a birthday party and another event is scheduled in early November,” she said. “Now that my staff is finding their footing; they’re doing really well. I can focus on the catering, what I love doing, what I want to do.”
The Morningstar Restaurant and Catering Facebook page says they are now open 10 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday and the page will continue to provide updates of hours of operation and menus as the restaurant grows with increased staff. “We had 11 to start, now we are 13. We need another dishwasher and a weekend cook. We still have a few more positions that need to be filled,” Ms. Morningstar said.
The unavoidable delays that kept them from their September soft opening, with a grand opening early October, did not stress them out too much. “It was okay, because everyone’s not ‘seasoned.’ We have our baby chicks in here, our kids are working here, and the training has taken time.” With five children in their blended family on staff, as well as a young woman who had once been in Ms. Morningstar’s foster care, the restaurant is truly a family affair. The laughter and fun the parents demonstrated is evident in the work environment. It’s a fun place to work and clearly a fun place to eat.
Nala and Leon Morningstar wish to express their gratitude to the town of Espanola for their generous welcome. “We had so much support from the local contractors and the community,” said the grateful business owners.
by Margery Frisch
