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Dining in Dufferin: Main Street Station Bar & Kitchen makes long-awaited return

November 16, 2023   ·   1 Comments

By Gail Powell

It’s full steam ahead for the return of a popular Dufferin County 90s destination hangout — brought back to life by two Orangeville women.

Co-owners Ashley Temple Thomas and Maureen (Moe) Saunders are pulling out all the stops for the grand opening celebration of their Main Street Station Bar & Kitchen today (Nov. 16), including a formal ribbon cutting and a visit from Orangeville Mayor Lisa Post.

The duo, along with their restaurant team, have created such a marketing buzz about their 75 First St. establishment that they’ve had to stop taking reservations for their inaugural music night on Nov. 17 because maximum capacity has already been met.

“We’ve had such a positive response in the community about reviving the Main Street Station brand,” says Thomas.

“It was my husband who opened the first location just off Broadway back in 1992 then sold the bar in 2004 to pursue other ventures. Both Moe and I have been in the hospitality industry for a long time in Orangeville and we kept hearing from the community that people wanted a fun bar to go to again. Back in the day, the original Main Street Station was a regular meeting place for many people in this town. We wanted to create a good community gathering place like that again here with this Main Street Station.”

The new restaurant will host live music every weekend (beginning with the Campfire Poets on Friday), a regular Sunday Brunch — with mimosas at the ready — starting in December, plus a revival of 25-cent wing nights starting in January.

“We want customers to think of us as a high-end gastropub trending in a modern direction,” explained Thomas. 

Their eclectic and upscale menu will offer a variety of classic Canadian dishes such as (nachos, burgers and chicken avec frites) plus internationally inspired kitchen favourites like Jerk chicken with pineapple salsa and Jalapeno crema or their Poke Buddha Bowl with soy-marinated tuna accompanied with sprouted grains, cucumber, mango and avocado with an Asian influenced hoisin-sesame sauce.

“I think our tacos will definitely be a popular item, plus we will offer a great appetizer selection and every effort will be made to offer vegan, vegetarian and real fresh foods instead of the pub typical deep-fried menu choices. Our drink menu will consist of signature drinks developed by my best friend and mixologist—Alex Giemborek.”

Thomas and Saunders plan to source local ingredients as much as possible and will strive to maintain a high level of quality and dependability through their menu offerings. 

“Food needs to be delicious and also consistently the same meal each time a customer orders it. So, when they request a particular dish, they know to expect a high quality and predictable experience,” said Thomas. 

“We’ll strive to maintain a quality experience for our customers from the moment they first step into our restaurant and when they return to visit us again,” she added.

To make reservations or for more info about Main Street Station’s upcoming music nights or their upcoming 80s-inspired New Year’s Eve party, visit www.mainstreetstation.ca


Readers Comments (1)

  1. Lori says:

    I’m not sure the statement of her husband owing the first location if she is referring to the one on the corner of Mill st and Armstrong. It was owned by Ralph and wife, I think her name was Debbie… so maybe they co-owned it?

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