Long live the king – King Richard’s, that is

November 6, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Chris McGowan

King Richard’s Pub opened the door to the public on October 15th, at 5.00 p.m. after its predecessor King Henry’s closed the door in August.

King Henry’s came with its own history for people in the local area. It was a place to meet friends and take your family for dinner to enjoy a good meal and have a cold one. It was a place where you were bound to see someone you knew. After all, the community is relatively small, and many likened it to “Cheers”.

So, when the doors closed it felt like we had lost a friend.

Last month, we drew a breath of relief when the doors opened again. Tim Brochu, one of the new owners, came from Montreal to Aurora in 2004. He admitted he had his eye on the popular pub for a long time.

Brochu brings with him an abundance of experience in the food industry as he started cooking in a restaurant part-time at the age of thirteen. Since then, he has had many positions in various restaurants and the food service industry.

He and his wife, Anne-Marie, have partnered with Gary and Erin Reed to run King Richard’s. As Brochu has a food service business as well, the day-to-day operations of King Richard’s has been left to Anne-Marie.

Upon entering King Richard’s, it felt like we had come home, but it was a cleaner, brighter version of that old friend. Gone are the old, red carpets which have been replaced with a cleaner, easier to maintain wood-type flooring and the plates and pictures of all the old English kings that cluttered the walls of King Henry’s have found another place to live as well.

The bar stands in the same spot, but there is better lighting and again upgrades that allow for a cleaner environment.

The menu has changed somewhat, although you can still get some of the old pub favourites like liver and onions. Brochu was quick to inform us that he has introduced a much healthier menu, and he buys as much fresh and local food as he can.

All the meat is purchased from Maunders in Aurora, with the exception of poultry, which comes from P&F Meats on Woodbine Avenue. All the breads and pastries are purchased from Hurst Bakery, located across the road from the pub.

“The menu is probably 80 per cent fresh food” said Brochu. “The only things we pull out of the freezer are fries and onion rings.”
The pub has also introduced a much larger wine list.

“We’ve had nothing but praise for our wine list” Brochu added.

King Richard’s has maintained “chicken tenders” on the menu from the King Henry’s days which used to sell four or five kilos of them a day. King Richards makes them fresh, they marinate the chicken, dip them in a buttermilk batter, then dust them in spices and flour and then deep-fry them.
Brochu is proud to say the new chicken tender recipe is drawing 18 – 20 kilos a day. Fresh food is the name of the game in the kitchen at King Richard’s. The motto of the day is “order less more often” said Brochu.

Orders for fresh food, vegetables, meat and poultry are made daily to keep up with the turnaround, the required amount is determined, and orders are adjusted.

“This is a family place” said Brochu. “It needed cleaning up a bit, but we want to maintain that feeling.”

King Richard’s also has live entertainment on Thursday and Saturday nights, just like its predecessor.