GLENDON – A new restaurant is honouring the history of the Village of Glendon.
Bistro 56 officially opened its doors Sept. 8, and is the only sit-down eatery in the village. The restaurant pays homage to the small community, and a place the owner has called home for nearly two decades.
Owner Tracy Feland said the name came out of a family group chat and she immediately knew it was the one.
“I was looking for ideas for a name, so everybody was throwing different suggestions out there and it was my son’s girlfriend who came up with Bistro 56. For me, that just kind of stuck and it seemed like a catchy name. The 56 meaning that Glendon was founded in 1956.”
Feland added, “I have a bunch of historic photos on the wall of Glendon in the making and some old receipts from people that have signatures and stuff dated as far back as the 1980s, 40s, and 50s.”
Bistro means a small, modest restaurant or café that serves alcohol, which fits the description of the 5208 Railroad Ave. location to a tee. They restaurant will be open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Feland plans to have a feature wall of customers, which will include photos of groups that come in to celebrate milestones, along with the first guests who took a seat in the restaurant.
“I’m going to keep with the style and keep them all black and white as well,” she said.
Since opening their doors earlier this month, Feland has felt overwhelmed but she’s been getting into the swing of things. She’s no stranger to the restaurant atmosphere with 18 years of experience under her belt.
“(The Cedar Barn in Bonnyville) is where I learned a lot of my cooking skills. I prep cooked there, I worked in the restaurant, on the line, and I managed the restaurant at one point,” she explained. “I actually worked there for 18 years, so being in the restaurant atmosphere is nothing new to me, for sure. I have lots of experience.”
The idea of opening Bistro 56 wasn’t Feland’s idea originally. She worked at the addictions centre in Glendon for a while and word spread that she was a great cook and hard worker.
“I’d been approached before to see if I wanted to open a restaurant and I kind of turned it down,” she noted. “Then, when the new owners bought the building… they heard from the town and community many times ‘you need Tracy Feland to do this’ and they contacted me. I thought about it for a couple of weeks and I decided to take the plunge.”
The menu includes a variety of options from appetizers to handheld sandwiches. According to Feland, the B-56 Burger and Pyrogy Wreck have been particular favourites of customers so far.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Feland moved to Alberta when she was two-years-old and has called Glendon home for 17 years. She’s been married for 15 years and has five sons.
Bistro 56 is a family affair at the moment. Feland works alongside her husband and other family members and hopes to expand their staff in the future as business picks up.
