Boston Pizza on its way

There will be a new restaurant in Humboldt by the end of the year.
Martin Blair of the Quill Centre, the development that includes Canadian Tire and Sobeys located on the west side of Humboldt, announced on January 29 that Boston Pizza will soon become part of the Quill Centre.
"This is part of our project for this year - we're excited about it," said Blair. "We will start construction on this thing pretty early in the spring, I would think. Probably the site work and part of the services will be started by March or April."
He explained the landscaping and curbing for the restaurant area is already in place and they are hoping to have the building finished and the restaurant opened by late fall.
"It will be a typical Boston Pizza with a family restaurant on one side and sports bar on the other," said Blair. "I think it will be received well."
The restaurant is one that caters to communities the size of Humboldt.
"In cities the size of Humboldt, there are limited restaurant operators that are willing to cater to this type of a market," said Blair. "There are not a lot of them. Tim Horton's is the classic, which we have. The other classic for small markets are the typical fast food operators, like McDonald's and A & W."
He said Boston Pizza is the next step up, as a family restaurant.
"There are a variety in Canada, but there are very few that will operate in this size of market," said Blair. "Boston Pizza has that special offering where it will because it has those two components with the family restaurant and the sports bar. They do really well in these markets and they have certainly been one of the leaders."
The people building the restaurant already own and operate about 13 Boston Pizzas in Saskatchewan and are seasoned operators, with their head office in Regina, Blair said.
"They are seriously experienced in the restaurant business and that can only be good for Humboldt," said Blair.
Through his interactions with the people of Humboldt, Blair has learned there is a need for more restaurants in the city.
"I've heard that people go into Saskatoon sometimes to eat dinner, so it will be nice to have it here," said Blair. "I think it will fit in really well."
The Quill Centre is set up to give a village feel, he explained, letting customers have walking paths from business to business for an easy shopping experience.
"What we are trying to do here, as we start moving forward, is to again create as much of a village feel as we can," said Blair. "We are going to have that pedestrian corridor here. A person would be able to park in one place, eat dinner, pick up some groceries and away they go. That is what we are trying to create."
He is excited to see the restaurant go up this year.
"I can only conclude it is going to do very well," said Blair. "They opened one last year in Melfort and I think it was a great success. We expect no difference here."
Although it seems like things are not moving quickly in the Quill Centre, Blair explained it takes time for businesses to take the leap in a smaller market.
"These things it takes a lot to get them together," he noted. "Everything moves at a slower pace and every retailer or operator that is going to move into a market like Humboldt is going to be very cautious."
The retailers have to make sure there is a market here before making a final decision.
Blair hopes to announce more developments in the Quill Centre as soon as possible.