REGINA — A new public restaurant inside Regina’s city hall will provide those in need with cooked food.
Capital City Kitchen, which opened officially on Tuesday, announced a pay-it-forward meal program launching potentially in the coming weeks.
“People will be able to pre-purchase meal tokens. We actually have a physical token, and that will be good for a $20 meal here in the cafeteria,” said Capital City Kitchen co-owner Tim Philp.
Philp said the tokens can be used to purchase items, including hot meals, beverages, and drinks.
“We can hold them and take them over to say Carmichael or Salvation Army, or you can distribute them however you see fit,” noted Philp.
Some notable items sold at the restaurant include halal chicken, gluten-free meals, and homemade flavours.
The food used by the kitchen is sourced primarily from local restaurants and food shops in the city.
“If we can keep as much money and as much activity within our province, within our city, within our community, it's better for everybody,” said Philp.
Both Philp and fellow co-owner Shane Folk currently own separate restaurants in Regina. Philp is the owner of Dad’s Diner, while Folk runs Hillside Smoke 'N Que.
Philp called the new venture “an opportunity to do something within the city that would create more outreach and more optics and just a great opportunity to serve more people.”
Mayor Chad Bachynski said the restaurant's launch is another step towards downtown revitalization.
"It's another step towards coming out of a space where people were at home and bring[ing] life back to downtown and to City Hall.
The restaurant held a soft launch in December and had 1,700 transactions.
Capital City Kitchen is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More information can be found here.
