Change is coming to The Rock and Iron.
The restaurant located inside the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club clubhouse will have a new proprietor as of Aug. 15 when a new lease agreement kicks in. Shananigan’s owner Jenny Kindzerski will take over the facility, which has struggled to turn a profit in recent years.
“The goal is to make some money,” Kindzerski said during an interview on Monday. “That’s the number one goal. What I like is the feedback from the customers…. I think that’s my goal, to make the customers, the people, the golfers, the curlers, happy with this establishment.”
The Rock and Iron is a not-for-profit operation. Any surplus goes to the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club, who uses the cash to maintain and operate the building, or support local junior golf and curling programs.
Club president John Toner said the Rock and Iron typically turns a large profit during major events like the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships, which Prince Albert hosted in 2022. Proceeds from those events were enough to keep the restaurant going during dry spells, but those funds are almost gone.
Toner said the restaurant has a $100,000 line of credit that it exceeded at a couple of points over the last six months, and that was a wake-up call for the club.
“We burned our way through those bank accounts and we were in a position this year where we really had to do something,” Toner said. “We were in pretty deep trouble.”
Both Toner and Kindzerski said the Rock and Iron is popular with golfers and curlers, but that isn’t enough to keep it going. Ideally, they’d like to see non-golfers and non-curlers eating at the restaurant, but both acknowledged that will take time.
Golf season rolls right into curling season, Toner said, so the about the fall isn’t a problem. The biggest issue is in the spring. There’s a nearly two month window in April and May where the curling has ended, but golf hasn’t started.
“It would be great to have the public in Prince Albert support this establishment as well, but they need to be aware of it, and know that it’s not member oriented,” Kindzerski said. “It’s not all about members. It’s for the public. I think sometimes people get that in their heads, that it’s member only, but it’s not. I want to share it with all of Prince Albert.”
“We haven’t been able to attract a lot of the general population here, so if we can accomplish that over the next three or four months, then that dead period that we really suffer through should also make us some money,” Toner added.
Although Kindzerski won’t formally take over until Aug. 15, she’s already making changes. She’s brought in a food and beverage manager to observer the restaurant over the next two weeks, and has already talked about adjusting the menu.
Ideally, Kindzerski wants to see more dishes that are made from scratch, like cinnamon buns, muffins, and bread. She also wants to see more specialty drink items available, and is looking at starting breakfast specials and Sunday brunches.
Kindzerski also hopes more patrons will visit the newly renovated patio, which looks out over the green on Hole No. 11 and tee box on Hole No. 12.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but you’ve got to start somewhere,” she said. “It could take a while, right, but we need help from other people just enjoying what they have, and then speaking to other people so they come. It’s always got to be a positive thing.”
Toner said they offered Kindzerski the lease on the recommendation of a former treasurer and club member. Kindzerski previously leased the restaurant in the mid-2000s, when it was known as ‘Mandolin’s’, and was happy to come back.
“That was maybe only three weeks ago, maybe a month, so it’s moved pretty quick,” Toner said. “The board is on board totally. There was no issue.”
As a former curler herself, Kindzerski said she knows the main clientele, and is confident the changes will bring in new patrons without alienating regulars.
While there will be a lot of changes, renaming the restaurant isn’t on the list. Kindzerski said ‘Rock and Iron’ is an appropriate name for the facility. She also said Shaninigans will stay open.
“I want everyone just to be clear, Shananigans is still going to be there,” she said. “I’m already getting messages (saying) ‘are you shutting it down Jenny? You can’t. We love your place,’ so I want to be 100 per cent clear that Shenanigans is not going anywhere. It’s still going to be run and operated by me as well.”
Kindzerski added that she’s confident both restaurants can succeed at the same time.
“There’s room to grow everywhere. You just have to attract those people who want an atmosphere like this,” she said.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
