Renovations at a downtown restaurant have uncovered some local history.
As the staff and owners of the restaurant at Punjabi Restaurant, located at 211 Algonquin Blvd E., remodeled the dining area, they discovered intact wallpaper from the location’s days as a barber shop and a wallet with paperwork from the early 20th century inside.
“It’s very easy to just destroy something and build over it,” said owner Kanwaljit Bains. “But this is the history of this place.”
She plans on finding a way to display the finds in the restaurant to highlight the history of the building.
“It’s amazing to think of the people who built this,” said Bains.
The renovations that uncovered these pieces of history increased the dining space, added more prep space in the kitchen for the restaurant, and the next big project will be a patio in the back for outdoor dining.
This summer, the road in front of the restaurant is closed due to the massive Connecting Link project that's reconstructing the main road through town.
It's meant a drop in traffic that gave the staff and Bains time to tear down and build up the space.
The new space will also allow the restaurant’s food cart services to continue into the colder months.
“So the cart is up in the summertime, but in the wintertime, you can still come and enjoy a treat,” said Bains.
The office space that used to take up half of the main floor will now be housed upstairs.
The work is almost complete, with only a few benches and tables yet to be in place, and Bains said they’re expecting to hold a grand opening event soon.
