Ah, summer. Cottages, barbecue and full-on sunshine. What’s missing from that up-North Ontario equation? The owners of Grand Electric are making a good case for — wait for it — a surf club.
A bit of background: Frankies Surf Club (aka Port Carling Surf Club) was opened in the ‘60s as a community clubhouse. Thirty years after its closure, Ian McGrenaghan and Colin Tooke, the owners of Grand Electric and Electric Mud BBQ, are bringing a revitalized Frankies Surf Club to 2 James Bartleman Way in Port Carling, Ontario, the same gorgeous boathouse that houses Grand Electric Muskoka.
The opening is slated for Saturday, June 20, and as you can see in the photos, there’s a definite Queen West boutique vibe to the whole thing. Frankies will feature a coffee and juice bar serving up Greenhouse Juice and beans from Phil & Sebastian coffee roasters.
Bringing a touch of summer haute fashion to the mix, a retail space will offer such boutique-y brands as Frank & Oak, Parkdale TeePee Company, Mara Hoffman and Coqui Coqui, a line of evocative perfumes straight out of Mexico.
“Frankies is a place to relax during the day and let loose at night,” says Tooke in a press release. “Think wooden boats and wayfarers, campfires and cocktails, surf tees and bikinis and Sunday socials in a northern paradise.”
As for drinks, expect a cocktail list influenced by the ‘70s and ‘80s beach vibe of Mexico and the Caribbean. This might be a welcome (and appropriately cottage-y) departure from the layered and liquor-forward libations on offer in Toronto. “Bright, boozy and easily drinkable, these cocktails are less about complex ingredients and more about easing you into a sunny day on the water,” says McGrenaghan.
Sounds like a bit of Queen West transplanted into the Great White North. Sign us up.
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Are you excited to try the new Frankies Surf Club? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet us @ViewtheVibe.
