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King Taps still waiting to be crowned as construction continues in Kelowna

Opening day is still undetermined

King Taps construction is well underway in Kelowna.

Media were invited to tour the site Thursday and get a sneak peak at what the finished restaurant will look like.

Turning thorns to crowns, King Taps refurbishing the iconic Rose’s Pub on Water Street.

Regional Manager Thomas Beetlestone said they don’t yet have an opening day.

“Demolition actually started back in 2019, but obviously with the pandemic everything got put on pause for a while there. So, we started back up probably late last year and working through the early part of this year, fingers crossed we’re going to be able to open in the near future.”

The Kelowna restaurant has the same owners as Cactus Club and is the second of the King Taps locations, the first being in Toronto.

Regional Chef James Bunting said this location is much larger. They are looking to hire about 80 kitchen staff and approximately another 150 for front of house.

As for the menu, it will feature many local wines and beers, and a top menu item will be pizza.

“We’ve got two pizza masters,” Bunting said. “They come from Italy and what’s really great about these is that they’re built for speed. So, they have the ability to retain the heat in it and rebound up to proper temperatures very quickly which gives us the opportunity to be able to cook great tasting pizzas very quickly and be able to serve as many guests as possible.”

“We are just really excited for this opportunity to show King Taps here in B.C.,” said Beetlestone. “Kelowna is our first location here in the province. It’s pretty special. We’re really excited to become a national brand.”

Beetlestone noted they are still hiring and anyone interested should go to their website to apply.

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Brittany Webster

About the Author: Brittany Webster

A video journalist with Black Press Media. I recently made the exciting move from my radio anchor position at AM 1150 to this new venture.
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