The Point Restaurant set to open in Sydenham

Jeff Green | Sep 02, 2016

Ever since Ronnie's Place closed there has been a gap in restaurant options in the village of Sydenham.

The Mill St. Cafe is open for lunch and Mill Street Pizzeria and Subway are also available, but the village has been missing a sit-down breakfast, lunch and dinner spot.

Rumours that the former restaurant property across from the library at the corner of Wheatley and George streets was about to change hands began circulating though town in early August, and when pickup trucks started filling the small parking lot at the beginning of last week and people started cleaning and fixing up the place, the rumour mill went into overdrive.

It turns out that the Teal family from Verona have purchased the building, and Carolyn Teal, formerly of Martha's Place, is the new chef/manager of the restaurant. In recognition of the Point Park, which is also located across the street, the new restaurant will be called The Point Restaurant,

“The Point is a landmark that everyone in and around Sydenham knows, so it seemed like a natural name for the restaurant,” said Carolyn Teal, who went to Sydenham High School years ago and still lives near Verona.

She describes the cuisine of the restaurant as casual with a twist. Included in the breakfast menu, in addition to the classic Eggs Benedict with hollandaise and peameal bacon, is a “Country Style Benny” with shaved prime rib, poached eggs, a homemade biscuit and sausage gravy.

Among the items on the dinner menu there is fish and chips, a chicken dinner, steaks and also eggplant Parmesan and a brisket dinner. Among the burgers, fries and snack items there is a brisket poutine.

“Our goal is to be the place for everyone to go, before meetings, with family and for breakfast, for students at the high school.”

The turnaround from purchasing to opening has been very swift, but this weekend the Point Restaurant will be open.

“We've had workers here cleaning, renovating a little bit, getting the kitchen in perfect shape, planning the menu, hiring staff; it's been busy,” Carolyn Teal said.

The restaurant will be decorated with large, black and white historical photos of Sydenham and to the right of the front door a large harvest table has been put in to create a comfortable space for large families, small meetings, the morning coffee crowd, etc.

“I think Sydenham has been waiting for something to happen here and we are ready to make people comfortable and serve them quality food,” she said.