WAHNAPITAE—Executive chef Hiawatha Osawamick and her food are familiar to many Islanders, having operated a successful catering business, and more recently, a food truck, for more than a decade-and-a-half. Now, the enterprising Anishinabe-kwe is taking those experiences up a notch, soon to be opening a new restaurant on the shores of Lake Wahnapitae.
The new restaurant will build on the goodwill and popularity of the former Rocky’s Restaurant and Marina, located in the Wahnapitae First Nation (52 km northeast of Sudbury, just past Capreol).
“I have worked so hard to get where I am,” said Ms. Osawamick, likening her passion for cooking as a force to be reckoned, comparable to that of a working mother’s determination to succeed. As a mother of 21-month-old child, the chef knows of what she speaks.
The road has not been without its bumps and hairpin curves. The executive chef and entrepreneur took time out from a busy schedule of interviewing employees (she anticipated hiring between 20 and 25 staff for what will be a year-round operation). It takes a lot of hands to service the 120 indoor seat restaurant, 60 seats on the ground floor and 60 seats upstairs, as well as 60 patio seats in the summertime.
If that wasn’t enough to keep her hopping, there is also the addition of a gift shop and outfitters to be stocked.
Since purchasing the business with her mother last October, Ms. Osawamick has been completely renovating the restaurant and five cabins that made up the former Rocky’s. Adding booth seating and even updating the cutlery and dishes. (After the interviews scheduled for the day of her conversation with The Expositor, Ms. Osawamick was scheduled to travel to Toronto to pick out the restaurant’s new dishware.)
Although Rocky’s was a popular destination on Lake Wahnapitae, Ms. Osawamick noted that things needed a significant uplift. “The restaurant had been shut down for COVID,” she noted, “and things were quite outdated.” Returning customers will discover a transformed space, kid-friendly and welcoming.
The restaurant will offer both mainstream and traditional food choices. Being on the lakeshore, fish will figure prominently on both lists. “We’re going to use the fish, the pickerel and the local fish that we have, salmon, bison and we’re going to have elk,” she said. Corn, squash and berries will be part of the mix.
The gas station at the marina is currently running and will remain open to serve seven days a week.
Ms. Osawamick was effusive in her praise of the local chief and council and Waubetek Development Corporation. “I couldn’t of done this without Wahnapitae First Nation chief and council and Dawn Madahbee from Waubetek Development for believing in me from the start,” she said. “That and the hard work Emilio (Tomaselli) and the Waubetek team put into this project over the past few months along with Diane Violette from Violette Law Offices.”
Family also played a major role. “I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for my parents, teaching me hard work ethics from a young age,” she said. “The love and support from family and friends especially my mother AnnMarie and partner Tim for their patience with me through this journey is much appreciated and will never be forgotten.”
Ms. Osawamick said she plans to open the doors in two weeks.
