Recently opened The Kingston House restaurant puts emphasis on good food, community service

By NAFISAT ALAO

The Kingston House restaurant, a new local restaurant that opened up last month in the Kingston Road and Main Street area, seeks to provide a warm and welcoming environment with the best quality food for all to enjoy.

Krishna Gaudel, owner of the restaurant, is an accountant by trade. Prior to opening this restaurant, he has managed big profiles, overseen various hotels and been part of their project management. With that, he understood the business and hospitality aspect of opening a restaurant.

Gaudel opened his restaurant to engage with and contribute back to the community since he has always been part of it as a Lions Club member of the Beach neighbourhood.

“I was looking for the place where you can bring your friends and family in a nice environment…I want this place to be the home away from home where people from all walks of life can sit and relax,” he said.

“I always see the customers that come to my restaurant outside in the parks and taking walks. Opening my restaurant here allowed me to be part of a community where I get to know my customers as more than just a customer,” added Gaudel.

The Kingston House serves classic Canadian and Southeast Asian fusion dishes all prepared by head chef Jeremy Elliot.

The vision Gaudel had for the design of his restaurant was to create and incorporate a modern look into the design while keeping the history of the community in mind and retaining vintage items.

The Kingston House is located at the site of the iconic Grover Exchange and The Grover, which had been in the community for some four decades prior to its closure late last year.

Gaudel’s wife Jacqueline helped in creating the design of The Kingston House and achieving the rustic and modern feel. Although she is not a designer by trade, she has always had a strong passion for design.

“The whole vision we had was to create an atmosphere where modern meets rustic, that was our theme and I am really glad we got to achieve that,” said Gaudel.

Although Gaudel wanted to open a restaurant that provided customers with a space to spend time with friends and family, he also discussed the hardships of opening a business in the world of today.

“Being a small business operator comes with a lot of challenges. Trying to be an affordable restaurant while battling with inflation rates and customer expectations is very hard,” he said.

Despite being a new business, Gaudel said he hopes The Kingston House will be able to contribute to the local dining scene.

He also mentioned the ways in which he has and will continue to provide quality food and service to the community.

“I try to engage with other local community shops in the area that uphold the quality we want and I try and make sure all the items we get are right from our backyard so we can proudly say we invest in Canadian products,” he said.

So far in its early days of opening he said that his customers always seem to enjoy their visits to the restaurant. “The reaction is great, even the kids enjoy it,” he said.

His vision for the future of The Kingston House is to continue to provide good quality service and also partake in organizing some charity events that can go towards important local causes.

“We want to be here for the long run. We also want to be able to do some charitable events that go towards mental health for the kids. I’m not only here for the monetary gain, I want to be proud to give back,” he said.

Gaudel is also a co-owner and founder of two other restaurants: One by the name of Cumin on Danforth Avenue and the other one by the name of Masala Guys in downtown Toronto.

The Kingston House restaurant is located at 676 Kingston Rd.

For more information about the restaurant, please visit https://www.thekingstonhouse.ca/

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