Recent visitors to the website of popular Whistler breakfast spot Elements may have been dismayed by what they found.
“We are closing forever on Sept. 3, 2023,” reads the main message in the site, followed by a note of thanks for all the support over the past 18 years.
But breakfast aficionados need not fret: Elements will live on under a new name thanks to local restaurateurs Jay and James Pare, owners of Caramba! And Quattro.
The pair contacted former Elements owner Kathi Jazic when they heard she might be looking to sell.
“We decided that we’re going to change the restaurant name, we’re going to change the concept, but we’re going to keep the breakfast, and we’re actually going to keep the Elements tartlet on the menu … the potato tartlet that everyone grew to love that kind of brought people in there from the beginning,” said Jay.
“We’re hoping to open in the winter time at some point—it’s all subject to how long the permits will take, and how long the process will take—but we’re going to reopen it as Lorette.”
The new name has a personal flair, derived from Jay’s mother and James’ grandmother (whose middle name was Loretta) and James’ late mother Lorraine.
“We’re almost keeping it in the family, if you will, and it was important that we do that,” James said.
“A big part of our life and part of our family is from Quebec, Montreal … we were just at the 100th reunion in September, [which was] super cool, so we wanted to pay homage to that a little bit.”
When it opens this winter, the menu at Lorette will showcase a French Canadian flair with Pacific Northwest ingredients, James added.
But the Pares aren’t looking to undo what made Elements a local favourite in the first place.
“As far as the breakfast aspect, as soon as we bought it, everyone that we’re hearing is like, ‘oh no, Elements is gone, our breakfast spot is gone.’ So we’re really trying to push that breakfast is not gone forever, it’s just gone for now,” Jay said with a laugh.
“As soon as we reopen, breakfast will be back on the table 100 per cent, because I think that was a big part of Elements’ history.”
But regulars will notice some big physical changes when the new restaurant opens its doors.
The new owners plan to renovate, making use of some temporary space Elements incorporated when COVID dining restrictions made space a premium.
“When that whole six-foot rule came into place, obviously Elements itself is so small that they could hardly put anybody in there, so the hotel gave them access to the room beside, and then after COVID just incorporated it into their lease, so that they had two rooms, but there’s a big wall in the middle,” Jay explained.
“So what we want to do is open that up into one big room, [which will] probably end up being about 100 seats … and where Elements is now, make that all kitchen, and then put the bar on the other side, that’s sort of the plans as of now.”
With Elements, now Lorette, entering the fold, the Pares will own three local establishments—but that’s not to say they aren’t open to other opportunities, both in Whistler and beyond.
“We’re definitely pro evolving and growing our businesses, but the most important part to us is that the nuts and bolts are working properly,” James said. “We don’t want to expand too quickly, and we want to make sure that when we are expanding … we can make sure that everything is of the quality that we want it to be.”
