In a region of Nova Scotia known for its beautiful coast, magnificent sandy beaches, warm waters, and world-famous brown sauce pizza. Little Gull Bistro has been soaring the culinary experience to new heights since its opening in Pictou County. We sit down with Willow Harrison and Tom Emmott, owners of Little Gull Bistro, to understand what has foodies from all over flocking to New Glasgow to try their uniquely casual and elevated culinary experience.
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On the cusp of summer 2023, Willow Harrison and Tom Emmott started serving up high-end culinary offerings with local produce at the Little Gull Bistro. They purchased the well-loved restaurant space, previously known simply as The Bistro, from Heather Poulin and Rob Vinton. The previous owners have passed the torch but continue to offer support and advice when needed, making Little Gull Bistro a thriving part of the Pictou County community.
When asked what they enjoy doing in their free time, Willow and Tom laugh. In the restaurant business—especially in a kitchen where it’s just the two of them—free time is scarce. But on the occasional opportunities that they find some, they like to head out into nature. They particularly enjoy beach days and foraging. But more than anything, they just take the opportunity to relax.
Willow and Tom are both red seal chefs who have worked across the country and around the world, in the kitchens of hotels to Michelin Star restaurants. They had known each other for several years through a mutual friend but reconnected more recently. Initially, they tossed around the idea of opening a food truck together. But the red tape that comes with that process is tangly, and it ultimately wasn’t aligned with the vision they wanted to bring to life.
Tom had previously worked with Rob and Heather, and they had built a friendship over the thirteen years. So, whenever Tom and Willow were in the New Glasgow area, the four would get together for dinner. Over these dinners, the idea of selling The Bistro to Tom and Willow grew from a suggestion to a reality. As previously mentioned, Rob and Heather are still always willing to lend a helping hand. “If there’s something that breaks, the first person I usually ask is Rob, because he’s been here for 20 years and he’s fixed everything,” Willow explains.
Taking over a long-established restaurant has its pros and cons, but it’s gone well for the two. “That was a challenge, and it continues to be there,” Tom acknowledges. “Whenever you do something new half the people aren’t going to click into it right away. But we’ve done well with a lot of the old clientele. They were quite loyal to Rob and Heather. Heather said to them ‘stick around’ and that we’re going to be doing some great things. So, a majority, or at least a good portion I’d say, of the old clientele come here and are happy with what we’re doing.”
When rebranding, they wanted something that was easily recognizable, fun, and casual, but also reflected the location. Tom explains “We’re just a small space. We’re only 32 seats. It’s just Willow and I running it. So, we’re the little gull.” Willow expands on that, saying, “we want to be a Nova Scotian and Maritime restaurant. And we want that to not only just be in the food we create and serve. We want you to feel the Nova Scotian hospitality and charm when you walk into the building.” That’s why you’ll find local art on the walls, and locally sourced ingredients on the menu.
The focus is to offer seasonal menus, curated cocktails, and wines you typically can’t find elsewhere. Their major ingredients are sourced as locally as possible, often from farms in Pictou County. When talking about the menu, Tom and Willow could not only list the ingredients for the dishes, but where those ingredients came from, which is impressive. Their most popular dish is the mushroom and bacon casarecce, with Porter River Farm and Forage mushrooms and smoked bacon from The Pork Shop. It also has caramelized onions, egg yolk, black garlic cream sauce, and Grana Padano cheese. Another popular menu item is their roasted pulled chicken, which is an addition to the pasta menu— as an add-on and comes from Crossroads Country Farm.
When asked what’s that “one dish” that they think everyone should try, Tom has a hard time deciding between the mushroom toast and the oysters. The toast features the same mushrooms from Porter River Farm and Forage, set on their popular grilled focaccia. It’s topped with fresh leeks, creme fraiche, fresh herbs, Grana Padano cheese, and olive oil from the local company Liquid Gold. The Merigomish oysters are baked in “gull butter,” an in-house compound butter, as well as a light focaccia gratin. The source of their oysters is no more than a 12-minute drive away, making them about as fresh as they come, without pulling them out of the water yourself. They’re also served on local beach stones, for an extra touch.
Willow, on the other hand, seems most excited about the special features that they do beyond the regular menu since it allows her to get creative with what she finds locally. If she finds a basket of squash flowers that can make about eight dishes, that will be what’s on the feature menu. Tom explains the difference in thinking, saying “There aren’t a lot of people that are doing that. They go, ‘oh, we can’t serve that for four or five days, or I can’t make 100 portions. I’m not going to bother.’ We look at it the other way. We look at it like that is an amazing product we should give anybody who feels that they want to be lucky enough to try that, to come in, and everyone who comes in and tries those small dishes is just blown away.” Their secret ingredient, well we are not going to give that away, but everything on their menu is made from scratch, from the bread to the pasta and you can taste the difference in the food they create.
They’re also very conscious of dietary needs, by making everything from scratch it is easier to cater to those needs. They don’t buy any pre-made products; everything is made from their own recipes. Willow explains, “We can control our production so heavily that we can cater to a lot of the dietary needs of our customers.” This is extra important to them since one of their long-standing employees has severe celiac disease.
It’s clear that Tom and Willow work to support the community in every way possible, and that goes beyond ingredients and artwork. Willow says “We’ve had a really great reception, especially from the small business owners. Here in New Glasgow, there’s lots of people who have supported us, more than just eating at the restaurant. We have flower arrangements on the table from one of them and that kind of stuff as well.” Tom and Willow use local labour for everything possible, and all the contractors for the rebrand were locals. “McLean’s Flooring helped us out,” Tom says, “and Dave Gallant Interiors, he’s a local. These are all local people that were everywhere.” Sullivan Fuels provides their propane, and Backstage Brewing provides their beer. Tom continues, “They come in for dinner. We buy beer from them. You know, it’s a true small-town economy where I think that that’s so hard to maintain these days, and I think we’re all very proud to be a small part of that, to know we’re buying local. We’re sitting down local, we’re eating local.” He tells about how joyful it is when their small space is full of people who know each other, laughing and talking across the room. “It’s a kitchen party!”
Whether their diners are people with standing weekly reservations or only drop in once a year, Tom says “We want them all to feel like ‘I’m special here. I get to see local art and taste local food.’ We feel we’re unique in that way.” That uniqueness is reflected in everything the Little Gull Bistro is, from their menu to their small space, and the path they’re forging to become a Pictou County institution in their own right.
by Amanda Stellisano