Page 40 - 01-Jan-Feb-2025

UP WITH GOOD TASTE
Chris Lachance built a restaurant empire,
but now faces his toughest challenge
Photography COOPER & O’HARA
W
ith an empire of seven restaurants,
and over a quarter century of being
a tastemaker on the Edmonton
culinary scene, you’d think that
Chris Lachance would be able to
even take a few minutes to savour
the taste of success.
But you’d be wrong. With rising food costs,
an uncertain economy, crime and difficulty in
finding good staff — 2024 was one of the most
challenging years in the history of the Century
Hospitality Group.
“It’s harder than it’s ever been,” says
Lachance, sitting at the rear of Birdog, the
downtown jewel in Century Hospitality Group’s
crown. “At 55 years old, you’d think that things
would be getting easier. But there’s more
sleepless nights than I’ve ever had before.
I am working harder than ever before.”
While the Edmonton Chamber’s Business
Leader of the Year recognizes the work
Lachance has put into the city’s hospitality
industry, he understands that now is not the
time to sit back and simply enjoy things — it’s
time to work even harder, doubling down on
his mantra on how to make dining experiences
even better for Edmontonians.
“It’s not enough just to have great food and
great rooms,” he says. “We have to look at the
people who come through our doors as guests,
and not as customers. If I was selling nuts and
bolts, you’d be a customer. ‘Hospitality’ is the
way you make someone feel — ‘service’ is
something you get from an ATM machine.
“But, even then, taking care of guests isn’t
enough. The value proposition has to be there,
more than ever.”
In an era where more and more people are
choosing to stay at home and order in, or are
worried about how to stretch their dollars,
Lachance knows that when people go to one
of his restaurants — whether they are sleek
downtown spots like Birdog or LUX Steak-
house and Bar, or neighbourhood spots like
Rebel on 142nd Street or Hart’s Table & Bar
on the south side — they invest their time and
money. And the guests need to feel like their
money is well spent.
Lachance never intended to be a restaurateur.
Go back to the late 1980s, and he was
focused on becoming a lawyer. And, like any
dedicated student, he decided to take a job in
order to help pay the bills. He started working
at Trumps, on Edmonton’s south side. And he
had a lot of fun.
Trumps was run by legendary Edmonton
restaurateur Hans Voegeli. He pulled
Lachance aside and asked if maybe the
restaurant business was the kid’s true calling.
“On one hand, he was giving me shit
about how I was carrying plates, and on
the other it was, ‘Kid, you’re really good at
this business. What do you want to do with
your life?’”
Lachance rues the fact that he answered
with “I’m going to get a real job.”
1—PREMIUM PARTNER
Hair and makeup by Briand Frankson