Waterfront celebrates 20 years
An independent, award-winning Kelowna restaurant is celebrating 20 years in business.
Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar on Sunset Drive has managed to survive in the post-pandemic era when many others have fallen by the wayside.
“I think the loyal clientele that we have, that are repeat customers, have really, really helped us navigate these times,” said chef Mark Filatow, who was recently inducted into the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame.
“We’re a small restaurant, so we’re not a big business, and it’s probably easier to run a business through those times. One of the benefits of being small through that is your costs are a little bit different.”
He was at the vanguard of the farm-to-table movement, saying that was the mandate from the beginning, and he has stuck with the commitment to supporting local producers.
“I think a lot of successful restaurants have sort of adopted that format. If you look up and down the valley, some of the great ones, they’re still doing that. It’s really important, and I think it’s a great support of our local economy, whether it be wine or the potatoes you bring in,” Filatow said.
He recently celebrated with some of the staff who have helped him build the business over the past two decades. He reminisced with the first front-of-house person he hired.
“It was a phone interview at the time, and I had to ask her to call me back because I was bottle-feeding my son, who was only six months old at the time. He was at the party last night, and he’s 20 now,” Filatow said.
Waterfront earned the title of Best Restaurant in the Okanagan from Vancouver Magazine for 12 consecutive years. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the restaurant is offering a special three-course menu until Nov. 10, featuring some of its original dishes from 2004.
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