Catch of the day: Fancy's owner eager to reopen Jan. 24

A popular fish-and-chips restaurant in Barrie is ready to put its line back in the water after a months-long renovation project. 

Fancy’s restaurant has announced it will be reopening on Jan. 24 after a major flood damaged most of the Bell Farm Road establishment. 

A 35-year staple of the neighbourhood, Fancy's has been closed since a water pipe burst on June 23, 2022, causing significant damage to the restaurant.

Owner Mike Chanko tells BarrieToday he's excited to reopen and show customers a new look.

“We've got some big changes, changes that I don’t want to give away until people come in, but I think customers will enjoy them,” Chanko said. “We’ll be new and improved, that's for sure.”

The damage from the burst pipe, which happened when no one was there to stop it, destroyed all of the flooring, three washrooms and even the coolers and freezers, which needed to be replaced.

When asked what the final cost to reopen was, Chanko said he “didn’t want to talk too much about the money,” but added the insurance company took care of him and it was all more about the time frame.

“It took a while mainly because of logistics, which really slowed it all down,” he said.

Back in November, Chanko told BarrieToday he had hoped to be open in September and that he would be cost around $200,000 by the time the work was all done.

The reopening date will be a regular affair, but Chanko says he has plans to host a special event down the road.

“I don’t think it is needed on Day 1 to have a special reopening event. I think a lot of our loyal customers just want to get in here and we also want them here to say hi,” he said.

Chanko admits the whole ordeal was quite stressful, but one thing it did assure him of was that Fancy’s can survive near anything.

“In the last three years, we have had a pandemic, major road construction in front of the restaurant and then a major flood,” he said. “Reopening in a couple weeks just shows that we are here to stay. Our customers have been messaging and showing their support and we’re excited to see them again.”

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