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One iconic Canadian restaurant brand will be replacing another on the Westside later this summer.
Smitty’s has announced a franchisee will be moving into the former Swiss Chalet location at 2115 Louie Dr. in the Westbank Hub North. The Swiss Chalet closed in late 2021 and the location has been vacant since.
The Smitty’s owners are a family who fled the war in Ukraine. Kateryna Masalova, her husband and three children aged 5, 8 and 10 originally settled in Calgary, after leaving Kyiv three years ago.
“We had just one bag with everything because we didn’t expect that would be so long. We thought that it would be maybe one week and everything would be good, but, you know, it’s still not very good,” said Masalova. “That is why we decided to move in Canada.”
Kateryna and Artem had run a performing arts school in Kyiv. They had no prior restaurant experience until they were hired by a franchise owner in Calgary to be the restaurant and kitchen managers.
“He told me, I know Ukrainian people are so hard-working, I know that you can do this. Because I wasn’t sure that I could do this but everyone, my friends from Canada told me that you need to try,” said Masalova.
She said they got a lot of training from Smitty’s, including help with their English language skills.
“Our regular customers started to be like family and friends and everything started from there.”
Now, two-and-a-half years later, they are opening their own Smitty’s here in the Central Okanagan. They sold their house in Ukraine to help finance the business.
“Just one week ago we moved here. Again, starting from the beginning. New life, new schools, everything,” said Masalova.
They expect to take possession of the former Swiss Chalet on June 1 and begin renovations with the aim of opening their Smitty’s restaurant in time for Canada Day, July 1.
