Support the revitalizing ‘Shwa!
By Bill Fox/Columnist
Some of you may remember the old slogan, “Boost Buffalo, it’s good for you!” playing on Buffalo TV commercials many years ago. I found it rather tacky that Buffalo had to tell its citizens to boost their own city, but I see it differently today.
You see, I’m seeing things in the new, revitalized Oshawa that I never really noticed or appreciated before!
My wife and I, on the recommendation of Son #4, went to dinner on a recent Saturday to the Thai Culture restaurant that sits right across from the old, derelict Genosha Hotel. We were pleasantly surprised. I have never had Thai food before and the dish recommended by our waitress, Nikita, was excellent. My wife had the green curry chicken and was delighted by the taste and presentation.
On the advice of Son #3, often at a new restaurant I will request the dish the cook (in this case, Raj Siva) liked the best, as long as it is not spicy. Son #4 exaggerates when he says even ice cream gives me heartburn, so I ended up with the ‘oodles of noodles with seafood’, and it was delicious. The price as well was excellent at just under $25 total for the both of us, which included spring rolls, our main courses and my mango ice cream and coffee, plus we ended up with doggy bags from the ample servings.
Now here is the point of this column. The owners have made a real effort to bring some class to this section of Oshawa. The restaurant is bright, well decorated and clean, but as the manager, Pratheep Rajah, explained, business is not as busy as they would have hoped. Here we were at 4:30 p.m. on a Saturday and we were the only customers, aside from those coming in for take-outs. Thankfully, when we were leaving, the restaurant was busier, but there were still plenty of empty tables.
So what is the problem? It is certainly not the food or the staff or the ambience of the restaurant. I’m encouraged to see new establishments like Thai Culture, Smoke’s Poutinerie and the brand new La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel setting up shop in this area of Oshawa, right across the road from the Genosha. Gosh can we not get rid of this eye sore?
I don’t care if it is a heritage building or not. I don’t care that in its prime, it was “the place to go” in Oshawa. It is derelict and discourages businesses and people from walking into this area.
Every so often, someone will get great publicity about their plans to restore or renovate the Genosha. But of the five or so stories of renovations I have seen, none have taken place. While I’m at it, the infamous parking garage is another waste of space. The outside facade is quite attractive and, if possible, could be the shell for some lovely apartments; but a large, tall building featuring “parking” right at the corner of Mary and King? What were politicians and planners thinking?
Son #4 lives right in downtown Oshawa and, along with his partner, has really educated me about all the highlights of living near the four corners. There seems to be so much more to discover than just the GM Centre. Time to start walking through this area rather than just drive through, as I’m sure many of us do many times a week.
I do suggest that you go to TripAdvisor.ca, where there are 3,523 reviews of 312 Oshawa restaurants. There are 12 such reviews for the Thai Culture restaurant, which has only been open for three months. Or you can contact me at bdeefox@hotmail.com.