The Keg has changed hands.
For its entire existence in Prince George - it opened in 1976 - it has been under the watch of franchisee Kelly Nordin but when he passed away in 2012 it was held by the parent company until a new site-owner could be found.
Longtime Prince George business operator and Citizen columnist Jos Van Hage is now that owner. Known for his Art Knapp's Plantland operations, he now takes on restaurants for the first time. He makes it clear, however, that his role is more of the investor in another family business. His daughter Alycia will be in charge of the daily dealings of the downtown dining spot, as she has been for some time already.
"She has lots of experience in the food industry in Vancouver, Scotland, England, and she's been back in Prince George for the past few years," said Van Hage. "I'm very proud of her, she's been doing a great job as the general manager at The Keg, and she worked in the bar before that. She has a tremendous staff there, they are doing a great job together, I like the chemistry I see among the staff and management. They keep improving the sales and when I saw the books I knew it was a good investment choice. I decided more or less to buy in so she could work for dad. All my kids have worked for me before in the garden centre business so that's how we do it, always helping each other out and making each other grow along with the businesses."
The Keg does have special connections to the Van Hage family, in days gone by. When Jos and his wife Wilma first moved here and were starting the plant business from literal scratch, the couple put in long hours, every day, but would allow themselves one treat per week. That was a meal together at The Keg.
Later, after meeting Nordin, Van Hage mentioned that his daughter was taking her schooling in the culinary arts. Nordin told him if she ever decided to move back to Prince George, she had a job waiting at The Keg. He was good on his word.
"He was an amazing man," Van Hage said. "I had a lot of respect for him as a businessman, as a person, and I always will. I learned some things from him, he was a genius in many ways, and I am sad to see him gone."
His other children - Lucia, Patricia, Marinka and Lorena - all have various roles with the garden centre business, and he sees ways already that the two industries can cross-promote themselves.
"The Keg has been almost 40 years in town, and several times their sales numbers were number one in Canada," said Van Hage. "To still survive even in the bad times, and still be investing - I mean, have you been inside there since they finished their new renovations? This is the number one restaurant in Prince George, I have no trouble making that statement. It took a long time to work out the details but it's done, and I'm excited about it."
