Photo Karen Graham.
Pictured are restaurant manager Margaret Aldsworth second left with daughter Danielle left with owner Kirsi Sheppard and staff member Hunter at the end of their first day of business at their new family restaurant, The Brook Diner located beside the gas station in town.
When Kirsi Sheppard decided to open her own restaurant in her home town, she and her business partner Margaret Aldsworth knew what name they wanted to use.
As teenagers growing up in Millbrook, they referred to it as “the Brook”. Last week the doors opened to their new restaurant, transforming the Mill restaurant into a new family diner called The Brook Diner.
The restaurant offers a family style menu featuring home baked goods, daily soup specials, homemade burgers, sandwiches, breakfast dishes and other family-friendly selections focused on familiar comfort food.
Kirsi brings decades of food service experience to her new venture, most recently working as a cook at the restaurant at the Peterborough airport, but this is her first foray into restaurant ownership. Margaret will be a familiar face to those who frequent local restaurants where she has worked for many years preparing and serving. She is known for her compassion and attention to the needs of others.
Once they decided to go for it, the pair lined up suppliers, received regulatory approvals and set their menus in record time. When the doors opened on Thursday, they were more than ready to go.
The restaurant is open every day except Tuesday from 7 am to 3pm. The partners will be experimenting with menu items and hours of operation in response to local preferences. Spoiler alert: there will be homemade pie! Welcome back, Kirsi and Margaret! KG