One of the most ambitious Penticton restaurants in recent memory will launch this weekend.
When The Black Antler officially opens its doors Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m., it will do a lot of things differently. One of those things is an emphasis on cocktails over local wine and local craft beer. And that's what you get when you have owners who as recently as last year ran two swanky, cocktail-oriented lounges in downtown Vancouver.
In a place like Penticton, where local wine and local beer are oh so de riguer, the cocktails-forward concept might be seen as a bit of a gamble. But co-owner Dan Prokosh, a guy who's built and run food and drink establishments his entire life, couldn't disagree more.
"We wanted to enter the cocktail market in Penticton as opposed to the beer and wine market, because there's obviously an abundance of those here now. And it's not something I know much about. But cocktails, yeah, we know cocktails."
Cocktails at The Black Antler will run the gamut from placid to extreme. Prokosh points to concoctions such as the Hibiscus Tequila, a hibiscus tea-infused tequila blend. Or the Antler Punch, which is made, he says, with "five different styles of booze and fruit juices."
Prokosh calls his drinks "craft cocktails" and says many of them will feature craft soda from Jason Cox's The People's Soda Co., which shares the building.
"We've known Jason for over twenty years, from our time in Kelowna. Jason's recipes are from the 1800s, and they're great."
Prokosh says The Black Antler will also offer cocktail flights. "They're essentially samples of cocktails, like you'd get in a flight of beers. So you get a flavour and a taste, and we'll have a vast variety of flavours."
An assortment of local breweries (including YellowDog/Neighbourhood Pub and Highway 97 Brewery) and local wineries (including Red Rooster and See Ya Later Ranch) will be represented, but the cocktail emphasis is just one of The Black Antler's many distinctions.
Another will be its hours. They extend deeper into the night than most similar establishments.
"We'll be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday," Says Prokosh. "Friday it'll be 11 to midnight, Saturday 10 to midnight, and Sunday 10 to 10. We'll have a brunch on the weekend from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday."
And he maintains that winter won't impact those hours, which is great news for those of us who actually live here. "I think our hours is what Penticton needs. We're going to stick to them. We're going to stand up for what we say we're going to do."
Live music and DJs will eventually be part of the scene too, and Prokosh wants his new 82-seat covered patio to become one of the city's hotspots - particularly in the evening, where he says there aren't a lot of local options.
The venue will also be unique in its colour scheme and decor. It is, as the name suggests, predominantly black. That's in keeping with a lounge named "Black" that Prokosh opened and operated in Vancouver's Gastown before making the move to Penticton.
We asked him to succinctly describe The Black Antler look, and he quickly came up with "twisted farmhouse noir." And we figure that's pretty apropos for a place where a black palette mingles with a generous helping of natural wood and a variety of metal accents.
How twisted is twisted? The venue's illuminated bottle rack is built on an industrial strength chunk of what appears to be chain link fence. Half of the chairs in the joint are black, the other half gold. And antlers, painted black, hang from the walls.
"We wanted to keep it on the darker side to give the place a more loungier feel," said Prokosh. "We added cedar and raw wood to warm it up a bit."
One place where The Black Antler's playing it safe is the food lineup. That doesn't mean it's boring. No menu with stuff like Oven Roasted Stuffed Portobello, Risotto Balls, Jambalaya, and Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken could be considered boring. It's just that Prokosh wants to "cover all the bases."
"We try to keep our menu so it isn't overwhelming, yet we want to make sure we cover most of the bases, from the meat-hungry savage to the light and feathery vegan and vegetarian."
"Our burgers and ribs have been our go-to staples for a long time now in downtown Vancouver, but we offer plenty of vegan and vegetarian options too. And if you don't see something on our menu, let us know. We're open to suggestions."
And Prokosh is gaga over their Eggs Benedict, served during the weekend brunches. "Bennies, from sweet to savoury, we offer it all."
When The Black Antler launches this Saturday morning at 11:00, it will signal the beginning of a soft-opening campaign that will, says Prokosh, "get some of the kinks worked out." He promises a grand opening later, with "something really crazy."
At 215 Winnipeg Street, The Black Antler is in the heart of what we see as the city's new food/beverage/entertainment district. It will join Slackwater Brewing, the Angry Vegan, Wayne and Freda, and the Penticton Legion as venues that have opened there in the summer of 2019.
Bad Tattoo Brewing and Landmark Cinemas were already established, Neighbourhood Brewing is still due for the northeast corner of Winnipeg and Westminster, and we believe like-minded development is planned for the big lot at 249 Westminster.
For more info on The Black Antler, check out the website.
