SYLVAN LAKE — A new restaurant in town is preparing to take casual dining to a new level.
Swings is scheduled to open next Thursday at 5040 50th St. in Sylvan Lake — the former site of Contender’s Sports Bar & Grill. True to its name, it will offer diners the option of sitting in one of 12 swings suspended alongside tables.
“It looks amazing,” said Michelle Walker, a partner in the restaurant. “The whole back wall are swings.”
The “wings” part of the name is also descriptive of the eatery.
“We have 75 different flavours of wings,” said Walker, listing molasses, and sour cream and onion as among the options.
She said the restaurant, which has seating for 120, will emphasize homemade foods like burgers, fries and lasagna.
Although developed for family dining, it’s licensed and will operate as a lounge in the evening.
Other partners in Swings are Walker’s parents, Tim and Joanne Sikma, her sister Kari Resendes and her brother Scott Walker.
Meanwhile, plans are in place for another new restaurant in Sylvan Lake’s Ryders Square shopping centre.
Fuzion Restaurant and Lounge is expected to open in February, said one of the two men behind the proposed business.
He asked that his identity and that of his partner be withheld at this time.
The man said the menu will be “contemporary” and combine different styles of cooking.
Sylvan Lake’s rapid growth, the high traffic volumes in and around Ryders Ridge and the absence of a restaurant like Fuzion in town should help business, he said.
“That style, there is nothing comparable to it at the moment, for what our offerings will be.”
Fuzion Restaurant will occupy approximately 5,100 square feet and share a building with Royal LePage Network Realty Corp., said Ryan Darragh, leasing and development manager with Ryders Square’s developer Ronmor Developers Inc.
That will leave a 1,950-square-foot bay in an existing multi-tenant building in the commercial centre, and a pad site on the corner of 47th Ave and Hwy 20 that could accommodate a building approximately 4,500 square feet in size.
It could be developed for a single tenant or multiple occupants, said Darragh.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com