Put your hand up if you’ve even come off the Confederation Bridge in Prince Edward Island and blown right past Summerside on your way to another part of the island, except maybe to pop into a grocery store to buy provisions for the campground or cottage.
Yeah, me too.
But the good folks of Summerside — the often overlooked cousin to that other city up island — want you to come off the highway and stay for a bit. They think you’ll like what you see.
“Summerside used to be an afterthought,” concedes Mike Perry, a P.E.I. native with roots in Summerside, who worked in Ontario before coming back to open not one, but three restaurants in the city (and a fourth to come later in the fall).
Operating under the Uncle Mike’s moniker, he and his partners operate Uncle Mike’s on the Water, which is open seasonally, Uncle Mike’s Bar and Grill and The Breakfast Spot, which serves all-day breakfasts.
He also recently opened Uncle Mike’s Up West in Bloomfield and has plans for a new eatery in Stratford.
But his heart is in Summerside.
“I couldn’t imagine doing this anywhere else other than Summerside,” Perry said of his burgeoning restaurant empire.
“We could have gone anywhere else in the world but we chose Summerside. I think you’re looking at a real diamond in the rough here.”
Perry, who employs about 70 people, also isn’t done with filling the restaurant “void” in Summerside and plans to open an upscale Italian restaurant before the end of the year.
“I think Summerside is on the ‘come up’ as I call it,” he said.
Alex Clark, another business owner in town, does not disagree.
Last year he launched the Evermoore Brewing Company, the city’s first and only craft brewery, in the old train station turned library.
Earlier, he opened the popular restaurant Open Eats, which recently closed.
Clark, 30, who has lived in Vancouver and abroad, grew up in nearby Linkletter and worked in the family car business for a while before deciding to own his own businesses.
He is so devoted to Summerside that he recently announced his candidacy for the Green Party in the Egmont riding for the upcoming federal election.
Clark admits that he initially thought about leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere. But his friend, Sean Alyward, who owns the Humble Barber businesses in Summerside and Charlottetown, convinced him to stay.
“I was pretty serious about leaving.”
He’s glad he hung around.
“I always say my success is from a touch of stubbornness; from not listening to the negative mentality that says Summerside is dead.”
Clark said businesses still struggle during the winter months, but the aerospace industry and government agencies keep the place going when tourists have left for home.
He said another helpful demographic for his businesses are doctors that are actively being recruited to the area.
“Our trivia night (at the brewery)—there are probably seven doctors here,” he said, laughing.
Despite some of the struggles, he likes the direction the city is moving in.
“We have some very good entrepreneurs that are investing heavily in the town. That’s a positive indicator; that people are willing to take those risks.”
While Clark and Perry are newer business owners in the city, they said they learn from and have deep respect for those who have been at it through the good times and the bad.
“I respect the ones who’ve been grinding for years,” said Perry.
Other fun things to check out in Summerside
Samuels Coffee Shop
Set in landmark building dating back to 1895 and named after Samuel Holland, the British surveyor who mapped P.E.I., you can get your caramel macchiato and then sit in a former bank vault to drink it.
The coffee shop, owned by sixth-generation descendant Moyna Matheson, has been offering flavourful beverages and tasty baked goods since 2011.
Described by another business owner as someone “who just keeps pushing it,” this year Matheson also opened a seasonal pop-up kiosk at Spinnaker’s Landing on the waterfront.
South Central Kitchen and Provisions
This chic breakfast and lunch spot just off the main drag may be small but it’s made a big impression in town since launching a couple of years ago.
Owners Dan Kutcher and Ian Gass met in high school in Halifax and had long dreamed of owning their own restaurant. But first Kutcher became a lawyer, while Gass went to culinary school.
In 2017, though, they finally realized their dream by opening a hip eatery serving amazing made-from-scratch soups, sandwiches and salads.
Ask other business owners who they’re watching with interest and the name South Central is at the top of the list.
The Baywalk Boardwalk Trail
The crowning glory of the city is the 6.5-km uninterrupted boardwalk that starts in downtown Summerside and follows the harbour as it heads toward a protected wetland area.
Offering unending water views, the trail passes a couple of lighthouses, provides unlimited opportunity for birdwatching, and is a great way to walk or cycle off some of the great meals you will have eaten during your visit.
Text a landmark
Should you care to know more about the history of, say, Samuel’s Coffee Shop vault, you can send it a text and it will respond with more details.
Part of a pilot project through the UK-based Hello Lamp Post program, visitors or residents have been able to text landmarks or objects to find out further information about the area.
The initiative also encourages a two-way conversation between the texter and the city to provide updates and information on how things are going.
South Central’s Kutcher, a partner in the project, told the Journal Pioneer newspaper that it was a fun way to connect with his clientele.
“It was a cool and different initiative. It's an interesting and playful way to interact with customers,” he said.
“It lets them have a sense of fun, ask some questions, and provide us with feedback.”
