Willow, on the other hand, seems most excited about the special fea- tures that they do beyond the regu- lar menu since it allows her to get cre- ative with what she finds locally. If she finds a basket of squash flowers that can make about eight dishes, that will be what’s on the feature menu. Tom explains the difference in thinking, saying “There aren’t a lot of people that are doing that. They go, ‘oh, we can’t serve that for four or five days, or I can’t make 100 portions. I’m not go - ing to bother.’ We look at it the other way. We look at it like that is an amaz- ing product we should give anybody who feels that they want to be lucky enough to try that, to come in, and ev- eryone who comes in and tries those small dishes is just blown away.” Their secret ingredient, well we are not go- ing to give that away, but everything on their menu is made from scratch, from the bread to the pasta and you can taste the difference in the food they create. They’re also very conscious of dietary needs, by making everything from scratch it is easier to cater to those needs. They don’t buy any pre-made products; everything is made from their own recipes. Willow explains, “We can control our production so heavily that we can cater to a lot of the dietary needs of our customers.” This is extra important to them since one of their long-standing employees has severe celiac disease.
When asked what’s that “one dish” that they think everyone should try, Tom has a hard time deciding be- tween the mushroom toast and the oysters. The toast features the same mushrooms from Porter River Farm and Forage, set on their popular grilled focaccia. It’s topped with fresh leeks, creme fraiche, fresh herbs, Gra- na Padano cheese, and olive oil from the local company Liquid Gold. The Merigomish oysters are baked in “gull butter,” an in-house compound but- ter, as well as a light focaccia gratin. The source of their oysters is no more than a 12-minute drive away, making them about as fresh as they come, without pulling them out of the water yourself. They’re also served on local beach stones, for an extra touch. “ there’s lots of people who have supported us, more than just eating at the restaurant.”
tractors for the rebrand were locals. “McLean’s Flooring helped us out,” Tom says, “and Dave Gallant Inte- riors, he’s a local. These are all local people that were everywhere.” Sul- livan Fuels provides their propane, and Backstage Brewing provides their beer. Tom continues, “They come in for dinner. We buy beer from them. You know, it’s a true small-town econ- omy where I think that that’s so hard to maintain these days, and I think we’re all very proud to be a small part of that, to know we’re buying local. We’re sitting down local, we’re eat- ing local.” He tells about how joyful it is when their small space is full of
people who know each other, laugh- ing and talking across the room. “It’s a kitchen party!” Whether their diners are people with standing weekly reservations or only drop in once a year, Tom says “We want them all to feel like ‘I’m special here.”I get to see local art and taste local food.’ We feel we’re unique in that way.” That uniqueness is reflect - ed in everything the Little Gull Bis- tro is, from their menu to their small space, and the path they’re forging to become a Pictou County institution in their own right.
It’s clear that Tom and Willow work to support the community in ev- ery way possible, and that goes be- yond ingredients and artwork. Willow says “We’ve had a really great recep- tion, especially from the small busi- ness owners. Here in New Glasgow, “there’s lots of people who have supported us, more than just eating at the restaurant. We have flower ar - rangements on the table from one of them and that kind of stuff as well.” Tom and Willow use local labour for everything possible, and all the con- “We want them all to feel like ‘I’m special here. ”
94 SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 4
SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 4 95
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