Kenosee Lake's Club 19 is gaining a reputation as a venue for live music, thanks to the efforts of food and beverage manager, Amanda Moloney and her staff.
Moloney-who has a decade-long history with Club 19-was appointed food and beverage manager in January, 2013. Since then, she has succeeded in drawing patrons to the restaurant through the winter season by hosting a series of eclectic events-many of them musical.
“Each event in our Winter Concert Series is completely different,” says Moloney. “For example, (roots and blues artist) Ken Hamm and (country artist) Chris Henderson are completely different from one another, musically.”
Along with performances by Hamm and Henderson, Moloney has welcomed four-time North American fiddle champion Yvonne Hernandez, country singer-songwriter Blake Berglund, fiddlers JJ Guy and Gordon Stobbe to Club 19's stage, and will be finishing off the season with an April 23 show by female folk artists Rosie and the Riveters.
“We're losing live (music) rooms in Western Canada all the time,” said Henderson during his recent performance at Club 19. “So for Amanda and everybody at Club 19 to open it up to live music and for the audiences to come out, well all I can say is 'Thank you.'”
“I have to say hat Michele Amy and her (Kenosee Lake) Kitchen Party friends have definitely done a lot to bring live music to Kenosee Lake and to The Happy Nun in Forget. It's been great for live nusic in our part of the province.”
Moloney also hosts open mic nights at Club 19. “We've had three so far, and they've gone really well,” she says. “They've been really well-attended, with people performing and coming to watch.”
“Ken Hamm came to the first one. People perform a wide range of music and it's always a surprise to see who shows up.”
Moloney, who grew up in Langbank had her first taste of the business working at her sister and brother-in-law's restaurant in Kennedy. Interrupting her university studies to travel and work abroad, she not only found her husband Eoin in Ireland, but also a wealth of experience, working everywhere from a pub to a coffee shop to a formal dining room.
“The first restaurant I worked in was in Cork. It was so fancy, I didn't know what all the food was at first,” she laughs. “I worked in a sandwich shop, a coffee house and of course, a pub.”
“When I was working in Ireland, there were also a lot of people from Eastern Europe working in the service industry there. There were a lot of Polish girls at the place where I worked who didn't really speak English, so I remember saving a lot of people's wrong orders.”
“One difference that really stands out and which has certainly stayed with me are the very, very strict food safety rules in Ireland and at the place where I worked. It's not that Canada's aren't, but in Ireland, it's very strict and it's just become ingrained in me,” says Moloney.
“And I'm proud to say that Club 19 has received perfect scores in the health department,” she adds.
Moloney has also hosted tasting events at Club 19, the most recent of which featured premium-made spirits micro-distilled by Lumsdens's Last Mountain Distillery.
“They micro-brew heir spirits right her in Saskatchewan,” she says. “And some of them are infused with things like dill pickle and cinnamon. They have quite a range and we paired things like dill pickle vodka with food from our kitchen.”
“As much as we can, we use fresh and local food at Club 19,” adds Moloney. “I'm hoping to add a few more fresh items over the summer.”
“I really want to offer something special to our customers,” she says. “In the winter, I'd like to remind people that we're open and ready to welcome them with an evening that goes beyond just going out for supper.”
“When I took over, one thing that was very impotant to me was that as much of the food as possible be fresh and prepared in-house. We want to offer our customers a nice restaurant where they can come out for lunch or dinner, yet still offer snacks and appetizers for our golfers who are coming in afte a game.”
“Golf Kenosee and Club 19 is like home to me,” says Moloney. “And all of the members and customers are friends.”
“It's really important to me that we give them great service and a place they can enjoy all year round.”
