Future of Kildonan Park restaurant uncertain if park doesn’t reopen soon

Restaurant shut down by storm pops up on bridge Jon Hendricks reports on an uncertain future for a restaurant forced to close along with Kildonan Park that found temporary digs.

WINNIPEG -- A pop-up restaurant called Prairie’s Edge has appeared on the Esplanade Riel.

“It’s not something you do overnight,” said general manager Brian Unick.

“But obviously we did.”

The restaurant, normally located in Kildonan Park, didn’t pick this location by choice.

Following the October storm, the City of Winnipeg closed the park, which meant the restaurant located also had to stay closed.

Doug Stephen, president of Wow Hospitality, said he opened the pop-up restaurant on the bridge to keep the restaurant workers employed.

He said this won’t be a viable location for long.

“We have a mobility and an access issue, particularly for the elderly,” Stephen said.

If they are not able to return to the park soon, they may never return at all.

“If this sort of extends past a few weeks, we’re going to have to seriously look at what our future is in Kildonan Park,” he said.

In a statement to CTV News, the City of Winnipeg said it is unable provide any comments specifically regarding the restaurant.

“As we work to recover from the recent storm, the City’s first priority is – and will continue to be – public safety. When crews attended to inspect regional parks late last week, the four now-closed parks were deemed unsafe due to the potential for falling trees and branches. We do not have a timeline for reopening the parks, but estimate it could be a number of weeks,” a spokesperson said.