Talk about "poutine queen” and the image is of a person who fancies themselves adept at making the traditional dish of French fries, cheese curds and gravy that has become a quintessential part of Canadian cuisine.
But talk about Queen Pouteen and that’s a different story. It’s the poutine that is ‘queen', not the person.
“Exactly,” says Lisa Cormier, entrepreneur and owner of Queen Pouteen restaurants.
In pre-COVID days, Cormier had two Queen Pouteen stores – one inside the 400 Flea Market, and the other, a food truck, located in the parking lot of the Alcona Canadian Tire Store.
The pandemic has closed the flea market for now, but on May 14 Cormier reopened her food truck at Canadian Tire to immediate acclaim from customers.
Of course, there have been changes in the way she operates. Customers can order in advance for pick-up, call for delivery using the local What’s For Dinner delivery service, or stop by to order in person.
In each case, customers are asked to practise social distancing as they line up and to be patient.
Cormier, behind plexiglass shielding, takes every precaution to protect herself and her customers, including subjecting cash payments to a “bleach bath” to kill the virus.
She says she has been impressed by everyone who has come to Queen Pouteen since the deep friers were turned back on.
“The first thing I noticed when I reopened was how patient everybody is, how gracious everybody is,” Cormier said, who added she put up a sign in my window that says ‘Wait times are not guaranteed’, but so far there have been no complaints.
There are six different homemade burgers, including a veggie garden burger, as well as sausage on a bun, homemade pogos, peameal on a bun, and 10 different kinds of poutine, from spicy buffalo, to Newfie poutine, and even a sweet potato poutine.
“I came up with all of them, I and my husband Ron,” Cormier said.
The favourite?
“Deep-fried pickle poutine is very popular. It really took off," she said.
The Facebook page calls it ‘exotic Canadian food', but, said Ron, “I call it comfort fast fried food. Our burgers are the best!”
Cormier is no newcomer to the fast food industry.
“I’ve been doing this for a very, very, very long time,” she said, starting in 1995 with a Golden Fries food trailer in Timmins.
When she moved to Barrie, she worked in the corporate world, but never gave up the dream of getting back into the food sector.
“I always knew I wanted to get back into it. I’m passionate about feeding people, and making good food,” she said. “I’m a natural entrepreneur. It’s creative.”
It was eight years ago that she opened the first Queen Pouteen in a booth at the flea market, three years ago that she opened the second location at Canadian Tire.
But this season has been like no other. When the flea market closed down two months ago, the Cormiers sat home, planning for their reopening. They worked on social-distancing strategies and even installed plexiglass screens and markers at their flea market booth, just to be ready.
But right now, all the focus is on the food truck.
And, says Cormier, “we’ve had a great response.”
Part of the challenge has been pricing. In addition to the cost of extra cleaning supplies and protective equipment, the cost of ingredients has gone up. Cheese is more expensive, and the Cormiers just learned that the price of the hot dogs they use will be going up 30 per cent.
Despite rising costs, so far they have held the line on pricing for the most part and increases have been modest.
Queen Pouteen, located at 1455 Innisfil Beach Rd., is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, and Wednesdays to Fridays; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The food truck is closed Tuesdays.
For more information and to see a menu, click here.
