Construction of the new Chicken Chef restaurant in Portage la Prairie is almost complete. Owner Robert McMullin tells us of the expected time of opening.

"Middle of July. Right now we're just heading for the finish-up. Basically every section of the restaurant we have broken down into about five different areas. None of the areas are complete, but all of them are about 90% done. So, now we're in that final race to finish everything up."

Central party area for private groups while retaining natural sunlit ambienceAs the opening draws closer, eyes of the world have taken a look at the project here in our city.

"All eyes will be looking here. Actually, moreso than you would think. We're actually getting attention from around the world. We've had visitors from New York, New Orleans both looking at Chicken Chefs. They came out here to see this one as a concept. And actually Dubai. We had a couple of gentlemen, a father and son, from Dubai come out. I think the Dubai one is actually ago-ahead after they came out and visited Portage."

seven-foot centre booths providing lumbar support for your backMcMullin notes they sacrificed a bit of space for the benefit of more luxury for patrons. He notes the regular seating plan is for six-foot centre booths, but they chose a seven-foot centre, providing lumbar for your back. He says this is down three booths from the original plan. McMullin says there's also a centre section partitioned off by windows and glass doors, providing about 40 seats for special groups with privacy while at the same time not secluding occupants from the bright sunlit atmosphere in the rest of the restaurant. McMullin adds he knows of no other restaurant offering that feature.

Altogether the new location will seat 160 people, twice as much as the previous location.  It will be the first of its kind for the new look and level of food quality and luxury for the Chicken Chef company.

Robert McMullin, owner