Manitoulin Pizza Company to offer slices with ice cold Split Rail brews
GORE BAY—Visitors to Split Rail Brewery this summer can enjoy made-on-Manitoulin craft beer and an array of local-inspired food by the soon-to-launch Manitoulin Pizza Company (owned by Richard Anger of Buoys Eatery), all while overlooking Lake Huron in Gore Bay.
Buoys Eatery, in operation since 2009, has become one of the Island’s most popular eateries, attracting hundreds of visitors and locals each week with its focus on quality local food and its unique habour setting. Plans to add a mobile food trailer under the name of Manitoulin Pizza Company have been in the works for some time notes Mr. Anger, and “the partnership with Split Rail created the perfect opportunity to get the plan off the ground this summer.”
Manitoulin Pizza Company will operate from a deluxe mobile food trailer situated, primarily, at the brewery, 31 Water Street, Gore Bay.
In addition to the well-known Buoys pizza offerings, customers can expect to find by-the-slice pizza options and additional deck-friendly fair that pairs with beer. Pizza crust options will include one that features Split Rail spent grains, and other delicious treats incorporating Split Rail beer, and local Burt’s Farm meats.
Mr. Anger notes that purchasing quality, local produce and meat is key to Buoys’ success and “today’s customers expect this freshness and locality.”
Max Burt, just outside of Gore Bay on the Tenth Concession offers local meat to the Island and has been working with Split Rail since 2015 to provide a home for the spent grains created in the brewing process. Max and his wife Joanne of Burt Country Meats offer customers an impressive variety of delicious meat options, all from livestock they raise and process completely at their own facility, with no hormones or antibiotics.
Split Rail Founders Andrea Smith and Eleanor Charlton explain that “Utilizing spent grain in livestock feed provides a better option than disposing in a landfill site. This allows us to operate our business in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way.”
Although the starches and sugars are removed during the malting process the wet brewers grain {WBG} contains highly digestible fiber, and is a good source of protein. “In the finishing program, this is an excellent compliment to my mainly forage based diets which lack starch and readily fermentable fiber. Using clean feed stuffs for our livestock is paramount in producing a healthy and safe meat product. I am pleased to include Split Rail’s WBG as part of that diet,” said Mr. Burt
Offering local food options at Split Rail “adds value to the experience of our customers” notes Smith and Charlton, adding that one of Split Rail’s founding principals “was to create a company that complements existing island businesses, so it’s always our priority to create collaborations wherever possible. Building relationships and cooperating are key to business success in a small market.”
The Manitoulin Pizza Company food trailer is expected on arrive Manitoulin mid-June and until its arrival, beginning on this long weekend in May, Split Rail customers can order off the menu from Buoys Eatery- just a stone’s throw from Split Rail–and enjoy it on the Split Rail deck.
Check the Split Rail Brewing Company, Manitoulin Pizza Company, and Burt Country Farm Facebook pages and websites for additional information regarding hours and menus. Or visit Split Rail and Manitoulin Pizza Company at the Manitoulin Trade Fair May 26, 27, 28, in Little Current.
