“People who love to eat are always the best people,” said famed chef, author, and television personality Julia Child. Melissa Hryb, chef and one-time Niverville resident, couldn’t agree more. Child’s quote blazons from a large chalkboard sign overlooking the dining room of the Marion Street Eatery, where Hryb and business partner Laneil Smith serve up daily home-cooked dishes made for people who love to eat.
Hryb’s career had humble beginnings, working as a cook at JJ’s Dinner and a Movie in Niverville 16 years ago. Though the menu was limited to typical takeout fare, it set in motion Hryb’s culinary dream. She enrolled in Culinary Arts at Red River College immediately after graduating from Niverville Collegiate. There, she trained in traditional French fine dining. The new career took her across North America, competing in cooking competitions and eventually to Shanghai, China, for a seven-month work experience.
Hryb returned to Manitoba when she was offered an executive chef position at Bridges Golf Course in Starbuck. From this launching pad, Hryb eventually opened her own restaurant.
“The idea of the [Marion Street] Eatery was to make approachable comfort food for everyday people,” says Hryb. “Things that your mom or grandmother would have made, but they have been refined and taken to the next level.”
The ambience of the restaurant, located inside the iconic Marion Hotel at 393 Marion Street, reflects Hryb’s culinary language and sensibilities: trendy, with its exposed ceiling, brick facades, and low lighting, yet still homey with patrons gathered around wooden tables, on mismatched wooden chairs or along the café-style bar. The dining room is flanked on the south side with large windows overlooking Marion Street and a classy patio for outdoor dining.
“We want everyone that comes through the door to feel at home and relaxed,” adds Hryb. “We never want to come across as pretentious or uptight.”
The menu isn’t extensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Anyone’s comfort-food favourites can be found there, including stuffed meatloaf, chicken pot pie, mac and cheese, an Angus beef burger, steak sandwich, and pulled pork. With ingredients such as Bothwell cheese, bison, and Canadian beef, it’s clear that owners Smith and Hryb take pride in sourcing their products locally. The menu offers tempting vegetarian and gluten-free options as well.
“We make almost everything from scratch… [and] strive to keep everything fresh and as homemade as possible,” says Hryb. “Our kitchen staff consists of Red River College graduates. I pride myself on mentoring young cooks and passing along every ounce of information I have to give.”
Being a bit of a French fry snob myself, I visited the restaurant for a second time just for another plate of Hryb’s home-style fries served with her signature garlic aioli dip. No matter the main course, these fries and dip are first rate.
Hryb’s notoriety broadened when she received the 2014 Chef of the Year award from the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Culinary Federation of Chefs and Cooks.
In 2015, the Marion Street Eatery garnered the attention of John Catucci, host of the Food Networks’ You Gotta Eat Here! Catucci and his crew travel North America in search of hidden culinary gems. In the fall of 2015, they discovered the Marion Street Eatery and featured it in the fourteenth episode of season five, which aired in May 2016.
“It is a true honour to be chosen for this show as they are very particular about who they pick and only a few places in Manitoba have been on the show,” says Hryb.
If there’s one thing Hryb and Smith understand well, it’s that the restaurant industry can be tough. Their goal is for the Eatery to still be relevant and exciting in ten years’ time.
“Personally, I hope to become a Culinary Arts instructor at Red River College,” says Hryb. “I love to teach and work with young people. My hope is to have the Eatery and be an instructor at the same time.”
