MIDDLE SACKVILLE, N.S. – Bruce Taylor cares a lot about consistency – both in terms of service and in quality.
Which is probably why when you walk into the second Fry Daddy’s location, set to open later this month in Middle Sackville, you can already tell this is going to be a lot like the Windsor original.
“Whether you’re here in Sackville or in Windsor, we want it to have the same feel – relaxed and comfortable,” Taylor said inside the new location, with familiar décor adorning the walls.
This new location on Sackville Drive has been over two years in the making, as the downtown Windsor restaurant has met and exceeded its capacity.
Taylor said Sackville residents are already excited for a new eatery and watering hole to head to, with frequent messages on their Facebook page asking about when they’ll be open.
But why open in Middle Sackville? Taylor said the area is booming right now, with a lot of new residential neighbourhoods popping up nearby.
There’s also a lack of restaurants in the vicinity, So he’s hoping Fry Daddy’s can quickly become a staple for the approximately 19,000 people who drive by every day.
“There’s not much from Beaverbank Road to Mount Uniacke, yet the population here is growing just non-stop,” he said. “This is really the only free location right now. The potential here is great.”
Taylor said he’s not worried about his Middle Sackville location eating into the Windsor customer base.
“Our business has grown very well in Windsor and all this is going to do is feed more people on their way to the Valley,” he said. “It’ll also give more people a chance to try Fry Daddy’s.”
“We’ve reached our potential in Windsor, we’re doing three times as much as I ever budgeted to do there,” he said. “We’ve run out of space, we had to shut down (earlier) because we ran out of food.”
“It’s a fantastic problem to have.”
Folks who have tried and enjoyed Fry Daddy’s food can expect nearly the exact same menu in Sackville, with some seasonal changes here and there.
“Here there will be a few more beverage options, because right now there aren’t many places people can go for that, we’ll have eight draft taps with a fully stocked bar.” he said. “In Windsor the restaurants are all around us, here we have no competition for that.”
Despite not even opening yet, Taylor is already planning to expand a patio out front and lease the next-door space for an ice cream parlour and milkshake bar.
He anticipates approximately 15 new hires for the Sackville location, with some heading to Windsor for training prior to opening day.
For Taylor, this is a culmination of a lot of hard work and determination. Starting in the restaurant business as a dishwasher at 13, he moved his way up through several food service companies and has owned a few different restaurants in his career.
He partnered with Rick Dunham, the owner of the Spitfire Arms Pub, to make Fry Daddy’s a reality in 2013.
“You’ve got to love it to do it, it’s all time consuming, it never stops,” he said. “If you don’t enjoy it, it’s really hard to thrive in.”
