When Tyler Adam Smith and his wife Lee-Ann Pallett-Smith made the move from Toronto to 麻豆精选, they felt like there was a space in the hospitality industry.
"We got here and immediately kind of felt there's was a real gap for a wine bar and restaurant," said Smith to Black Press Media.
Now, they've made their dreams a reality, opening Wildling on Valentine's Day, 麻豆精选's newest restaurant and wine bar, located in the North End.
"It's been good, it's been really good," said Smith. "We have been kind of quiet about opening, we wanted all of our team to kind of like get working together, get kind of tight, allow the kitchen to get used to the space."
"We've had a great reception so far," he added. "Everybody that's come in thus far has been super happy, it's so heartwarming after a year of working on this."
Being a wine bar, they'll feature Okanagan wines from across the region, but Smith said the wine list will be about 90 per cent international, featuring vino from France, Italy, Spain, Georgia, Armenia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Chile, Argentina, and more.
"We're taking a little bit of a different path when it comes to the wine program," said Smith.
Additionally, Smith and his wife when it comes to American wines amid possible tariffs in the near future.
"We're planning on having maybe a few American suppliers, American wines... it's kind of yet to be seen how that's going to affect us," said Smith.
Smith is no stranger to the industry, as he said he's been working in restaurants since he was 12 years old, and opened and operated his first restaurant, The Courage/Tall Poppy Cafe in Prince Edward County before making the move.
He and his wife sorted out their business plan and secured the lease around a year ago. They started construction in July, however, they hit some of the typical construction snags and delays during the process before opening. They looked at spaces downtown and in Pandosy Village and ultimately were drawn to the North End because of the potential and "neighbourhood feel" of the area.
"All the other business owners are so supportive," said Smith, who added that wasn't the case at his first restaurant.
Wildling is a "vegetable-forward" menu, according to Smith, but they have meat options as well, working with their next-door neighbours Carnist, a butcher shop that opened in August 2024. They are also using cheese from Perseval and Young and plan on working with local organic farmers as the weather warms in the following month. On top of local wines, they also serve beers from Rustic Reel Brewing, Kettle River Brewing and 麻豆精选 Beer Institute.
As inflation rises, the hospitality industry is a tough one to crack into, and Smith saw that while putting the restaurant together as Vice and Virtue Brewing closed across the street.
"Statistics around restaurants are always kind of scary and doomy but I think in general, my wife and I are super passionate and love the industry. You know it's always a risk but we feel like there really is a need that we're filling in the neighbourhood. So, we're going to do our best and hope that's enough," said Smith.
As for the name, Smith and his wife came up with the name because of their vision but were also inspired by their first child they had in June 2023.
"The wine concept and the food is all about producers sort of working in coordination with the earth and doing things as natural as possible in order to leave their plot of land better than they found it, and all of that coincided with [Lee-Ann and I] having a baby," added Smith.
Less than two weeks in, Smith explained the restaurant has turned into three zones - the front he described as "cozy and warm", the bar area, and the back tables have turned into "the date night spot".
"We're excited to be here," said Smith. "We waited for the right space for a long time and are really aiming to be a local, the kind of place you can come to for a date can come to for grandma's birthday, a simple Thursday night, whatever."
He also added the menu will change often, making sure there's always something new to enjoy.
Wildling is located at 1036 Richter Street, open seven days a week with happy hour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. every day.
