HISTORY

Doug Miller, a one-time Vancouver hotel chef who signed on in the early days of the Mr. Mike’s franchise, is working on the floor and in the kitchen of his 42-year old restaurant when a customer calls with what’s become a familiar question: Are you closing the restaurant?

Yes, Miller is closing Mr. Mike’s, the city’s oldest continuously operated family restaurant run by the same owner. But he’s also working with longtime employee Wendell Stoughton to establish a new, independent restaurant — Stout House Salad Bar & Grill— that will continue to feature the only salad bar in town.

March 30, 2011 is the last day Mr. Mike’s at the Fortune Mall in North Kamloops will open its doors for business, serving a familiar menu of salads, steaks and burgers.

The Kamloops location is the last of the old style Mr. Mike’s, which has made a decided turn to become more upscale, competing with the Earls restaurants of Western Canada.

The Kamloops location remains the way it used to be: casual family dining with a focus on affordability. The major change came in the 1980s, when the salad bar was added to keep in step with what was then the new vogue in dining.

“Mr. Mike’s has been here 42 years. That’s almost a lifetime. They’ll (customers) be back. It’s up to Wendell and his family to keep them.”

Stoughton began working at Mr. Mike’s three-and-a-half years ago. He jumped at the chance to take over, with a twist.

“We’re going to keep the menu as-is, without the franchise stuff we can’t keep.”

They’ll also add sandwiches and wraps and change the décor, for the first time in two decades. And, yes, there are plans to keep the overhead model train on the tracks.

Stout House is set to open April 15, 2011.