Downtown diner has expansion plans on the menu

Things are looking sunny side up for a downtown Barrie restaurant. 

Steve Ricalis and his business partner Don Kellett opened the Dunlop Street Diner just over three years ago and have seen such huge crowds, they’ve expanded into the building next door. 

Ricalis says the diner has been so busy over the last two years that the duo knew it was time to expand.

“You can’t get a seat on Friday or Saturday, it's packed,” Ricalis tells BarrieToday. “So this allows us to add about another 80 to 100 seats, which won’t just be for the breakfast crowd."

The additional 1,800 square feet opened last Saturday at 22 Dunlop St. E. They will be also used for renting out to private parties once the diner hours are over.

“It's hard to find a spacious room for 100 people for a private gathering, especially in downtown Barrie. Because of our other restaurants, the cooking for those attending won’t be difficult,” Ricalis says.

“We also now have our own catering company called 5 Point Plates, so there are so many options for the catering side of things," he adds. 

Ricalis says pop-ups would likely happen also and he used oyster nights as an example, along with other ideas.

The building used to house Helen’s Bridal for approximately 20 years and, according to Ricalis, close to 50 years ago was a cigar shop. 

When he and his team went in to renovate, he says it was in such bad shape they decided to “peel away the layers” and gutted the whole building.

“We actually started tearing the building up about two years ago, just to get it ready for expansion or selling — we didn’t know what at the time,” Ricalis says. “Some of the metal tiles we have in North Country are from inside that building and they’re about 120 years old.

"We ended up exposing the brick walls and even uncovering some burned and charred wood from a fire that was there about 50 years ago that doesn’t appear to be documented," he adds. 

The wood, which was used as beams and rafters, was cleaned up and used as decorative beams and shelving in the new diner room.