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British Columbians, especially those that relocated from Saskatchewan and Alberta, are licking their lips as the long-awaited opening of the Houston Pizza in West Kelowna nears.
This is happening. In West Kelowna. I’ve missed you Houston Pizza! pic.twitter.com/4clOHSMvaO
— Cathy Sinclair (@CathyClan4) June 18, 2018
The popular franchise that is sprinkled across the Canadian interior has been attracting attention as the building progresses to its tentative opening in mid-July.
“The support we've had here in West Kelowna has just been really incredible and we haven't even opened our doors but the excitement is beyond what we expected it to be,” said Shauneen Pete, the owner and sole proprietor of the restaurant.
"We work with the doors open while we're in this build so we get visitors every single day," she added, noting that they have had about 200 people approach them about the new restaurant - many from the Sonoma Pines residential area where the opening has become a hot topic.
Pete and Darcy Harder, General Manager and Pete’s partner in the business, are former Saskatchewan residents and decided to bring the popular business to B.C. as the first in the province.
"Being able to offer that taste of home that they so crave, but to introduce the rest of West Kelowna to the taste that they'll never forget is a huge, huge part of why we wanted to build here," said Pete, joking that the warm weather was a big bonus.
"I think that after we started doing research for our business plan we saw that Westbank First Nation had such a strong economic development plan . . . and we saw that they also had a long-term community plan that looked really forward and those two things, as well as the location at the mall, are just a fantastic combination,” she added.
The new location will depart from the staple look of Houston Pizza and will feature designs based off of the works of Indigenous artist Jerry Whitehead.
"We wanted to pay tribute here to the Indigenous people in this land, so we've commissioned some artwork that was done by an Indigenous artist named Jerry Whitehead. His artwork is really the [launching] point for this design," explained Pete.
In the Canadian interior, Houston Pizza is known for its homemade recipes and proprietary meats and cheeses which make duplicating a pizza from Houston Pizza nearly impossible and Harder says it will be no different in the Okanagan.
"What they should expect is 'Real. Good. Food,” said Harder, referencing their motto, “There's a big portion of the menu that is family recipes, from scratch family recipes.”
"You're going to get the same great taste, the same consistency in taste but you're definitely going to get a new look with this location," Harder added.
If you're looking for a job in the restaurant industry, Houston Pizza is currently looking for more employees. You can send your resume here for an opportunity to work for the first HP in B.C.
For more information on what kind of food this new restaurant may hold, click here.
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