Chef behind local Michelin restaurants opening spot inside historic diner in Ontario

What’s the natural next step for a chef who’s been recognized by the Michelin Guide for his team’s high end fine dining restaurants?

Why, opening a diner serving cheesesteak sandwiches, of course.

Chef Zach Smith has been serving up house-butchered cuts at Fat Rabbit and uni, oysters, caviar and langoustines at Les Incompetents in St. Catharines. Now, he’s switching things up by offering cheesesteaks at newly opened Sunset Steak and Cheese, but the three concepts aren’t as unrelated as they might seem.

“All three take something familiar and treat it with real care,” Zach Smith tells yourcitywithIN.

“Sunset is the most straightforward version of the idea. It’s a cheesesteak, a hot dog, a cold beer. But we’re making them the way we’d make anything else, with good product and attention to detail. I don’t think great food and a good time are opposites. All three places are meant to feel generous and a little playful, the kind of room where you’re happy to stay for one more drink. And they’re all on a few blocks of downtown St. Catharines. We’re trying to build something in this city, not just open restaurants in it.”

Sunset Steak and Cheese very much so pays homage to the history of St. Catharines, starting with the space itself, Smith saying, “the building told us what it wanted to be.”

The original Sunset restaurant held court in St. Catharines for 70 years, and the new Sunset Steak and Cheese retains its iconic faded old exterior sign. Part of the restaurant’s ability to retain its character is also thanks to the synergy of the team behind Smith’s other restaurants.

“Keri Maclellan, who did the interiors at Les Incompetents, worked to hold on to as much of the original character as we could,” says Smith. “You should walk in and recognize it.”

While the menu at Sunset is the main change from the old diner, there’s still definitely an old school energy to offerings of cheesesteaks available with white blend or Cheez Whiz, hoagies, hot dogs, chili cheese fries and beer. A cocktail list designed by Juliana Wolkowski, who has nearly 20 years of experience at some of Canada’s best bars and restaurants, brings that high end tie-in.

“You have beef, melted cheese, a good roll, plenty of fat and salt. I mean come on, what’s not to love?” Wolkowski tells yourcitywithIN.

“With all that richness though, a little contrast goes a long way. Something cold and bright, with a bit of acidity or bitterness keeps things feeling fresh. It’s why a fruity, tropical drink makes more sense alongside a cheesesteak than you might initially expect. And if you’re more of a cold beer and a shot of whiskey person, well, that combination has been doing just fine without my input for quite some time.”

Speaking of things that have been doing just fine without them for quite some time, the team behind Sunset Steak and Cheese as well as Fat Rabbit and Les Incompetents are aware that St. Catharines itself is one of those things. As a St. Catharines native, Wolkowski acknowledges this.

“Sunset isn’t a cocktail bar, and isn’t pretending to be one either. But there’s no reason a place serving fried things, cold
beers, and cheeky shooters can’t also make a good cocktail. The trick was figuring out how to give the drinks a personality
of their own while making sure they still felt like they belonged at Sunset,” says Wolkowski.

“I’m originally from St. Catharines myself, so getting to come home and work with people who are genuinely excited about
making something good for their neighbourhood has been especially lovely! We had a lot of fun putting together this list,
and hopefully people have just as much fun enjoying it. At the end of the day, it’s just nice people trying to make nice
things so that people can have a nice time.”

“Usually it starts with the space and the city, not a menu,” says Smith. “Then I ask what St. Catharines is missing, and what I’d want to eat on a Tuesday night. A lot of it is just cooking what I love and building rooms I’d want to hang out in. The food is serious, but the places aren’t stuffy. Locals can tell when you’re building something for them. A place like Sunset should feel like it belongs to the neighbourhood, not to me.”

Sunset Steak and Cheese on St. Paul in St. Catharines is slated to open on Nov. 20 for lunchtime takeout hours and evening dine-in service.