As he was finalizing the sale of Pemberton’s Mile One Eating House, co-founder and co-owner Randy Jones couldn’t help but reminisce. Of course, there was no way of knowing it at the time he and partner Cindy Yu first opened the beloved Arbutus Street burger joint in early 2011, but looking back now he recognizes the past decade-plus set the stage for everything the couple is doing today, between taking over the historic Hanceville Cattle Co. in the Chilcotin range and setting up their brand-new wholesale grocery supply business, Range & Co.
“It almost feels like the last decade or so was the dress rehearsal for the next decade,” Jones said. “It really put us on a path to become who we are, Cindy and I, as operators, culinary professionals and businesspeople. That was all foundational. We’re here for the show now.”
Last week it was announced that Mile One was sold to Whistler Cooks, the company behind several successful food ventures in Whistler, continuing the locally owned legacy of what is arguably Pemberton’s favourite restaurant.
“Coming out of the way the restaurant world has gone in the last number of years, when I really looked at what the future of Mile One Eating House was going to be, I thought it would really fit well in a portfolio of a larger food and beverage company that has independent or distinct brands,” Jones explained.
Counting its long-running catering business, as well as Hunter Gather Eatery and Taphouse, Cranked Espresso Bar and Fridge Full Food Delivery to its roster of brands, Whistler Cooks was well positioned to take on another distinct operation, Jones thought, and had the resources and staff to make it happen.
“That’s what I saw as the future of Mile One from a growth perspective: more strategic support in everything from staffing, purchasing and just that vision,” Jones said. “There is only so much independent, singular businesses in the food-and-beverage world can do these days.”
For Alistair Cray, Whistler Cooks’ GM, adding Mile One to the fold made sense from both a professional and cultural perspective.
“Mile One is so beloved. That’s the sentiment we want to build on,” he said.
The award-winning Mile One has, over its 11 years, become known for its high-quality comfort food, including a diverse selection of gourmet burgers, artisanal mac and cheese, and wide range of B.C. craft beers. Cray said maintaining the “status quo” menu-wise is the order of the day for now.
“It will still be the same burger menu. There will still be the great mac and cheese. Their offerings will be the same in terms of craft beer,” he said. “At the same time, we have some exciting visions that we see for how we can grow the business.”
In many ways, Whistler Cooks is a shining example of a local business success story. Founded in 1999 with just two employees—Grant Cousar as chef and his wife Hilarie as server—the company built off the momentum it had gained from small, private catering gigs, until its watershed moment, the 2010 Olympics, when Whistler Cooks counted more than 700 staff, operating out of five venues.
Then came the post-Olympic slump, when Whistler’s sluggish economy convinced the Cousars they needed to switch things up. “From 2012 onwards there has been a sustained reimagining of the company,” Cray said. “Part of the vision from Grant and Hilarie is [to] give them the freedom to live their lives, and that comes with the success of the company. They’ve grown from a husband-and-wife company; they’ve not come from huge pockets. So it’s all built on that success.”
The pandemic brought with it another shift in direction, as Whistler Cooks’ payroll dwindled to just five employees (they quickly hired their staff back, thanks to COVID relief funding, and now count about 100 employees), and catering gigs dried up left and right.
“We don’t see that horizon on catering ramping up as quickly as it was before,” Cray said.
Whistler Cooks first expanded into the restaurant space with the opening of Hunter Gather in 2017, and has continued expanding in recent years, first with the launch of its food delivery service, Fridge Full, in 2019, before the company bought Cranked last year.
“We don’t invest to make these moves without seeing the route to success. And that’s in everything: that’s in capital expense, that’s in expansion and acquisition, that’s in investment in the team,” Cray said. “You have to see how it’s going to provide success, and that’s the equation that we’re always working off of.”
Learn more at mileoneeatinghouse.com.
