RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT
/MOXIES DAVIE
New Branding, New Dishes
Through the elegantly austere steel and glass entrance to the Sandman on Davie, take a hard left and you’ll find yourself in Moxies, “premium-casual” restaurant. Moxie’s Davie is one more than fifty locations of a chain that originally started in 1986 as a 96-seat deli in Calgary called Muncie's. Less than two months later, the name was changed to Moxie's because too many people were mistakenly, or maybe just humorously, calling it “Munchie's”.
In Canada, Moxies now have locations in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. Since 2017, Moxie's has expanded to the United States with locations in Florida and Texas. Each location is custom-designed to reflect the neighbourhood.
The menu at all outlets is oveseen by executive chef Brandon Thordarson, who draws inspiration from his experience in a Michelin-recognized restaurant and designing the menu for the James Beard House Canada 150th celebration. His personal mantra is “If it isn’t right, it doesn’t leave the kitchen.”
In 2004, Moxies reinvented itself, with a menu and restaurant design transformation as part of a hospitality industry trend called “premium casual”, designed to provide the comfort and elegance of fine dining while retaining the casual ambience and environment of casual dining restaurants. In 2007, Moxies earned an unprecedented number of achievement awards across Canada, including: Best All-Around Restaurant and Best Lunch Spot, Best Menu, Best Service, Best Appetizer Menu, and Best Bar.
This fall is seeing yet another step in Moxies’ evolution. You may already have noticed that the apostrophe that used to be in the name “Moxie’s” has been dropped, along with the “Grill & Bar” part of the name, and the West End venue is now “Moxies Davie”, but that’s just the external and visible change as the chain goes through a subtle rebranding, adopting a new logo, adding unique menu items, and otherwise modernizing and updating their image. There’s lots more on those changes at their new website here.
Including such signature dishes as their Cashew Chicken Wraps and Chimichurri Steak Salad, a variety of steaks, and plant-based dishes, you’ll find old favorites and new dining experiences on their menu here.
Moxies Davie general manager Kristie Oiom is a ten-year veteran of the chain, having begun her career at the Guildford location and managing the Davie outlet since the beginning of the pandemic. She is also overseeing plans to open a new Georgia Street location. Busy, much?
Moxies Davie has long been an active member of the Davie Village community, hosting and sponsoring community events, achieving their goal, cited above, of reflecting the neighborhood they serve.
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Kevin Dale McKeown
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