Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

THE NORTH SHORE IS BUMPIN'

Yew Street Food Hall officially opens on Kamloops’ North Shore

Sep 8, 2022 | 4:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — Thursday morning (Sept. 8), Kamloops newest culinary experience is officially open. The Yew Street Food Hall has been talked about in the city for a few years. Thursday, the space, which features a wide variety of delicious culinary options, has become a reality.

CFJC Today was at the ribbon-cutting and spoke with some of the vendors who call the food hall home.

“It’s neat to see the North Shore transforming and it takes some real key people to do that,” Joshua Knaak, partner at ARPA Investments and landlord for the Food Hall told the crowd gathered for the opening. “Jeff and Steve [Mitton] are some of those key people.”

Located on the bottom floor of the Colours on Spirit Square building, the location will be home to a variety of different food vendors, all under one roof, with the addition of craft beer and cocktails. For the culinary pros behind the food stalls, this space was the perfect fit.

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“It’s nice and central on the North Shore,” Jarrod Omichinski, owner and chef at Duck, Duck, Pork, explains. “That’s only a couple of minutes away for me to drive. And I used to work at Red Beard, so it’s been really cool to see this area completely change for the better.”

“I wouldn’t be able to afford to build all this,” Govinda Clayton, owner and chef of Veggie Bomb tells CFJC Today. “This allows me to take the next step of having my own restaurant.”

The food hall will feature two bars — one serving craft beer, with the other specializing in cocktails — as well as six food stalls and seating throughout.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

Veggie Bomb specializes in vegan street food. The food hall is Govinda Clayton’s second location. The first? Los Angeles.

“We started doing mainly music festivals, and we were the first vegan vendor at the LA County Fair, and as well at the PNE in Vancouver. That kind of built into a food truck, which now operates in LA under my brother.”

Omichinski says he likes to cook ‘all over the place.’ However, his culinary style will focus on protein — if the name of his stall is any indicator.

“Joe Beef [in Montreal] is like a very meat-heavy restaurant. I kind of took that idea and that’s where I got Duck, Duck, Pork from,” Omnichinski explains. “I used to sit on my couch and just write down restaurant names. I had like 40 names until I landed on that one.”

Image Credit: CFJC Today

Knaak is happy to see the vision he and a few others had finally come to fruition. He’s ready to move on to his next projects on the North Shore, one of which will have some space for the next Kamloops culinary hot spot.

“Thompson Landing on Royal is all residential, but Innova [on Tranquille Road] is going to have some commercial space,” Knaak says. “If we can find some brave restaurateurs that want to take on some more space, I’d love to have some more excitement and vibrancy and options right here on the North Shore.”