Chantal Labrie, owner of Norway Bay’s My Way chip stand, knew from a young age she would make a career out of working in restaurants.
When she was 13, her mom took her and her brother to an Aylmer chip stand. A bearded man inside asked what the youngsters wanted to eat.
The young girl approached the Santa Claus-looking fellow at the window and recited her pre-rehearsed line: “a pogo and fries, please!”
The food tasted so good and she loved the experience so much, she wanted to learn how to do it all herself.
“I wanted to make food,” Labrie told THE EQUITY. “I asked my mom, ‘Do you think maybe I can learn how to make some of that food that they serve here?’”
So she started to learn. Young Labrie started out making recipes from the big red cookbook her mom had given her – burgers, fries, tacos, wraps.
Soon enough, she wanted a taste of what it was like to work in the food industry.
At 18, she started waiting tables in Aylmer. She loved the energy of working the restaurant — and the tips, too.
She never looked back. During a career of over three decades, she’s worked as a . . .
server, in the kitchen, and then started a restaurant of her own.
Four years ago, Labrie moved back home to run a chip stand in Norway Bay. She started with a basic menu, but then pivoted to a Mexican-inspired offering with tacos, calamari, and other classics.
She called it My Way – a name inspired by Labrie’s desire to do things differently.
Labrie likes to go the extra mile – she always has. At the chip stand, she would change up the menu from week to week, constantly innovating new dishes to keep customers intrigued.
The stand quickly became a favourite among Norway Bayers. Lineups in the summertime would often be long with eager customers hungry for some good chow.
She ran the stand for four years. But two weeks ago, she published a post on Facebook announcing her decision not to re-open.
Labrie had realized that, like many people in the food service industry, she was overworking herself. Long hours, sweaty conditions and often thankless work had taken their toll on her body and mind.
“It is just a tin can,” she said of the chip stand. “There’s no insulation to this place or anything,” she added, noting that a 40-degree summer day feels more like 48 or 50 in the kitchen.
Some of the stresses, she admitted, were self-imposed.
“I had quite the large menu,” she said. “I had some homemade food involved in this.”
But over the past few years it became clear to her that a lifetime of kitchen work was catching up with her. It was time to start moving toward a new phase of her career.
But, unlike Labrie, the stand was still ready for another season of service. She had the permits, and the stand had power. All it needed was food and someone to cook it.
So she put out a call to anyone who might want to take over operations of the chip stand, and received about a half-dozen responses from interested parties.
Labrie didn’t take this decision lightly. One of her favourite things about the job was giving people a space for good food and good conversation, and she wanted to see that live on.
“I love the food industry. It comes with so many other things [. . .] being part of your community and doing what you actually love,” she said.
She said without the chip stand, it’s slim pickings in Bristol for good food on a budget.
“You’re giving a service that Bristol needs.”
So she got to work getting to know each of the candidates. She wanted to make sure whoever took over was going to have the same values of quality and community.
Last week, she found just the right person — an old family friend named Randy Doy-Yat who just retired last week from a 30-year career as a heavy equipment operator for the City of Ottawa.
Doy-Yat had always loved cooking and had wanted to try running his own business, and felt this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“This will fulfil my retirement dream of owning a chip stand,” Doy-Yat told THE EQUITY with a smile.
Food runs deep in Doy-Yat’s family. His grandfather owned a popular Chinese-Canadian restaurant in Ottawa for over 25 years, and his mom is an experienced Cantonese home cook.
While Doy-Yat doesn’t cook Cantonese food, he’s always enjoyed being in the kitchen, and wants to serve the community of Bristol just like Labrie did.
“What she did for the community, I want to keep doing that,” he said, adding that he’s a people person and that he can’t wait to get to know everyone in the community.
He will keep the menu simple to start — burgers, fries, whistle dogs and the like — because he wants to make sure the food is good.
“The fries have to be crispy,” he said of the chip stand’s eponymous dish, noting he might lose customers if the food quality drops off.
Doy-Yat is hustling to get the chip stand ready for the Canada Day long weekend. Last week, he and Labrie met to discuss a new menu, pricing, and customer service.
Doy-Yat’s mom, wife and teenage son will be working in the kitchen alongside him, and Labrie, who still owns the stand, will be around to give pointers and advice to the new restaurateur.
For Labrie, the transition is bittersweet. She loves food, and she loves people — it’s not easy to say goodbye to a business that has brought her so much joy.
But she’s not quitting the industry just yet. She still has a Mexican restaurant in Aylmer and a catering business that keep her plenty busy.
Eventually, she’ll be ready to leave, but not just yet. This is still her passion; even just talking about food energizes her.
That much is obvious every time she mentions teriyaki chicken wings, fried mac and cheese, or chicken brochettes. Her face lights up, just as if it were the first time she’d discovered those dishes.
She’ll be around the chip stand this summer as Randy takes the reins.
The permits are still in her name, so she’s still responsible for everything that happens. But next year, Randy plans to apply for the permits himself.
He’ll get to run the chip stand — his lifelong dream — and Labrie will get a much-needed summertime break.
