If you haven't discovered it yet, Collingwood has a new Asian-fusion restaurant with Noodlebox.
Real food, made fresh, with fire is the company motto and on the sign outside the 281 First Street location.
It opened June 24 and the community has embraced it.
“So far it’s been amazing. The response we’ve got from the community has been exceptional,” said franchise owner Sabi Dhawan.
“The first week, we were literally sold out every day. It's been nothing short of great," he said.
The restaurant serves made-to-order noodle dishes for dine-in and take-out.
"I've done my research. I've been coming to Collingwood for quite some time ... I saw there was an opportunity," said Dhawan.
"We have seen how well Noodlebox has done in smaller communities. The Kingston one is doing pretty good," he added.
Dhawan has been looking for a restaurant brand for a long time, but was attracted to Noodlebox, because he loves noodles of all types and because fresh noodles, meat, nuts and vegetables are all cooked to order. Dhawan also owns a franchise in North York.
“This has something for everyone. If you like pad Thai, there’s pad Thai. If you like spicy, there’s kung pao, if you like fried rice, there’s Yangzhou fried rice for you. It also touched a little bit on the Indian side, there’s butter chicken," he said.
Staff at Noodlebox say the most popular boxes are Teriyaki, pad Thai and Thai-style chow mein boxes. What you do is pick your box, pick the level of heat from mild to scorching, and pick one of six types of noodles or rice. Some dishes come with a protein or you pick your protein. Choices are fried egg, tofu, pork, beef, chicken or shrimp.
Side dishes include vegetable spring rolls, naan bread, coconut prawns, Tempura chick bites or Bombay cheese balls, and a hot dessert spring roll such as Nanaimo bar.
The Collingwood store added bubble tea to the offerings in July.
There are vegetarian and gluten-free options.
If you have a group of people and someone doesn’t like noodles, there are rice options and mac and cheese, so people can sit and dine together.
There are 10 staff so far, most of whom are commuting from Barrie as Dhawan said he had trouble finding local staff.
Social media in Collingwood has helped spread the word of the restaurant's opening. Its location between Tim Hortons and McDonald's and the public parking lot for the Collingwood Arboretum all help increase exposure.
“I want to thank the community. I did not expect the response I got and I could not be more thankful," said Dhawan.
For more information, call the restaurant at 705-443-8000 or find it on Facebook or Instagram. Noodlebox can be delivered by food delivery companies.
