FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| NIGHTLIFE It's hard not to laugh when Witold Twardowski says he never expected to be involved in the restaurant industry. The man behind the redevelopment of the Mescalero block on 1st Street SW has been in the business for about 25 years and has had a hand in an extensive list of projects. "The restaurant business is the last thing I ever thought I'd be involved in," he insists. "I'm more of an adventurer who runs into buildings or locations or ideas and moves to interpret them into something I've seen in travelling... or books, or my own imagination." An honors student in high school math and physics, Witold planned to become an engineer. That changed after a trip to Europe, where he developed a keen interest in people and cultures as well as an insatiable desire to travel. He changed his major to anthropology and combined his interest in culture with his entrepreneurial instinct, taking his life in a new direction. His first venture was Barbary Shop - an old, deserted barber shop where he sold antiquities and handmade crafts while attending university. His goal was to make enough money to travel, but he found retail very demanding and ended up spending most of his time in the shop. Witold then moved into the natural food business, collaborating with other people on projects such as Manna, Soup Kitchen and Ambrosia. His life took another turn when he opened Phoenicia, which was located where Mescalero is now. The restaurant was one of the first in Calgary to offer high-end nouvelle cuisine and it became a big hit, he says. Unfortunately, the project went way over budget and when Calgary went bust in the '80s, so did Witold. "I lost the business, I lost everything." With a philosophical attitude and support from family and friends, he landed on his feet and went on to do consulting work. Some of his projects during that period included creative design and marketing for Emerald Lake Lodge, Deer Lodge and Buffalo Mountain Lodge in Banff. He was also involved in designing Cilantro and Divino. Five years later, the Phoenicia building burned down. Witold's first reaction was shock, followed by relief. He explains that four different restaurants had occupied the space since Phoenicia closed and each one got progressively tackier. The fire also provided Witold a second chance to find success at the location. "When this building burned down, it drew me back," he explains. From the ashes came Mescalero. Witold says the original structure survived the fire and although it looked like it had been hit by a bomb, it gave the building character "I saw there was still life left in the old premises," he says. "I got a big hit out of seeing the amount of decay and destruction that happened here - it reminded me of a 300 or 400-year-old colonial building." Witold and his new partners, known as the Mescalero Group, incorporated the look into the restaurant, drawing inspiration from Western, Mexican and Latin cultures. Over the past seven-and-a-half years, it earned a good reputation for its food and atmosphere. The group also started the Crazy Horse nightclub located below the restaurant, and become involved in other projects as well, such as a Mescalero in Vancouver, and River Café, Teatro and Divino in Calgary. Although he retained Mescalero and Crazy Horse when the group split up about three years ago, Witold turned his attention south of the border and into BC. However, he returned about a year ago and has made the historic Mescalero block his pet project. "I decided to come home to Alberta and really just try to consolidate here again," he says. Witold has expanded his business to include the former pizza place and bike shop. And for the first time, he will own the building instead of leasing, which he considers very symbolic after spending so many years inside of its walls. "It's more than just adding more space... it's a transformation." Now the space adjacent to Mescalero is Diablos, a "spicy little cocktail lounge" with ceramic tiles on the floor, vibrant rust-colored walls, impressive ironworks, sensuous paintings, rustic furnishings and world music, not to mention the menu. The final component is an antique shop, Rustico, where Witold sells the furnishings he discovers while travelling. "I'm always buying for myself anyway, for my own projects," he explains. "The store itself will be a venue for... the finds and wares that I come across in my travels." The new businesses are connected to Mescalero and Crazy Horse - physically and through the same Western theme. "There's a common thread of creative design that flows through the four different businesses," he says. "I'm trying to create a complex that really is rich, diverse, and it really is an adventure." The completion of the project brings him full circle to his roots as a budding anthropologist and entrepreneur. "Twenty-five years later, I've finally got the venue to do some of the things I've started," Witold says. He adds that his goal is to enable people to experience different aspects of Western cultures - food, music and artifacts. "You make a living so you can enjoy the good things in life - I want people to know that this is where they can enjoy the good things in life." The project also enables Witold to pursue his passion for adventure, which is what first inspired his chosen career. "I have to be able to travel, that's part of the mandate," he says. |