Scanlan: Chris Phillips plants roots — and hops
Chris Phillips is an Alberta boy, all right, but he’s no Sutter. Unlike the members of hockey’s famous farming family from Viking, Alta., Phillips — Calgary-born, Fort McMurray-raised — is more likely to have oil stains, not soil stains, on his fingers.
Chris Phillips is an Alberta boy, all right, but he’s no Sutter.
Unlike the members of hockey’s famous farming family from Viking, Alta., Phillips — Calgary-born, Fort McMurray-raised — is more likely to have oil stains, not soil stains, on his fingers.
Undaunted, last week, on his Manotick property, Phillips, a mainstay on the Ottawa Senators’ blue-line since 1997, planted hops in the ground and whispered a small prayer. The idea is that these hops one day grow into the Big Rig beers that Phillips will be selling around town, and at his new Big Rig Kitchen and Brewery on Iris near Greenbank, a mere slapshot away from this newspaper building.
Real-estate agents preach location, location, location.
The Phillips brew pub has a mantra of local, local, local, from the men that own and run the place to the ingredients of the pints that carry the man’s name.
“I’m a little nervous to talk about it so much because there’s a chance there’s not a thing that comes out of the ground,” Phillips laughs, just minutes after the final inspection of the premises was completed. On Monday, the restaurant is in dress-rehearsal mode. Tuesday is the official opening.
“We’re 100 per cent home grown and local,” he says. “To be able to put that touch on it, and have some beers with locally grown hops, that would be very cool.”
But no farming background at all?
“I’m from the Great White North,” Phillips says. “We just grow oil.”
Makes sense. He is the Big “Rig.”
He’s not the first pro athlete to enthusiastically venture into business. Play a sport, earn a lot of money, and there is no shortage of big ideas pitched. Phillips has his eyes open on that score.
“You talk to almost any investment person or whatever, a higher percentage of these places fail than succeed,” Phillips says. “But I think a couple of factors set us apart. No. 1 is the ownership group (including the founding partner of the Clock Tower Brew Pub), and the people running the place. They have a lot of experience, have had a lot of success.
“And the confidence we have in our brewmaster (Lon Ladell) — he’s done an unbelievable job and is the most likable guy.”
All last week, the kitchen staff worked on its recipes, all menu items made from scratch, and Phillips sampled it. Along with the homebrew, of course. This is nice work if you can get it.
Proprietor Philly insists that not a single detail has gone missing. As the father of three, Phillips knows how it feels to see a child born. There is nothing to compare, but his latest “baby” has him fired up, proud.
“Especially when we started with nothing and built it from the ground up.” he says. “We were able to put our fingerprints on the design, and the layout. From A to Z, our group was involved. Everything that you see or touch came from one of us or all of us.”
His job is to bring instant name recognition, of course, but Phillips has been more hands-on in the run-up to Tuesday’s opening than he imagined. In the construction of a building, setting up a brewery, a menu, a brand, a thousand decisions need to be made and approved.
“Now, you have people in place that are going to run it and operate it,” he says. “I will be a little more hands-off. Obviously, I’m going to be here as much as I can, and be seen as much as possible, but being involved in the building and design of it has been fun.”
Other hockey players have come to Ottawa for hockey, and stayed, working in media or business ventures long after their playing days were over. Phillips gets that, even as he prepares to suit up for his 15th Senators season, with more than 1,000 games played in the uniform.
“It’s the city,” he says. “From Day 1 you get welcomed with open arms. I’ve had the chance to really mature here. My wife, Erin, is from Ottawa, and we now have three kids. Having them involved in sports and activities, the amount of people that we’ve met and are friends with, I couldn’t think of a better place to raise our kids.
“There’s such a great sense of community here, so I would say long before this restaurant came along, I said the same thing, that we wouldn’t be going anywhere when hockey is done.
“This certainly solidifies that.”
Some hockey players plant roots.
Others plant hops.
Way to go chris, i cant wait to come visit your new restaruant.
I will buy his beer because he has set roots here, but Phillips is not truly local.
That’s my biggest issue with the team. Our GM isn’t from Ottawa, he is from Shawville Quebec. Our coach isn’t from Ottawa, he is from the Maritimes. Our captain isn’t from Ottawa, he is from Sweden.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what they do and that they have set roots here but…
I am from Ottawa. I was born in Ottawa, I grew up in Blackburn Hamlet then moved to Gloucester and now live in the Gatineau area. That’s 43 years spent here in Ottawa. When I vacation I go to a different part of the city. I bristle when I have to go to Montreal or Toronto or anywhere else on business. Team 1200 I listen to because Steve Lloyd is from Carleton Place and that’s local.
Local is important.
Bryan Murray, sadly, doesn’t get it. He keeps drafting Americans and overseas people and very few Ottawa-based guys are on our team. I would have loved Pat Burns as our coach in the day (RIP Pat) but he coached the Leafs and then the Devils.
My best friend is born and bred here in Ottawa.
I do love the Senators though and I will support Big Rig Beer, I’ll support our players if they stay here and live here. One that worries me in that regard is Jason Spezza, who goes to Toronto in the summertime. I hope one day he stays here year-round like I do.
Taking the homegrown local thing a little far no? Quality people are quality people. It’s ok to check out the rest of the planet.
See you all at the Big Rig for some food and brew.
RecalSentrant, local is only important to the extent that it works with what you are trying to build. This is professional sports, not a popularity contest. I’m also born and raised in Ottawa and like the idea of having a local flavour to some players but feel it’s way more important to get the best players/management for the position.
Ask the Montreal Canadiens how their “French Canadian players first” philosophy has worked out in stocking their minor league ranks. It worked 50 years ago when they got the best players from Quebec before anyone else could draft them, in a 12-team league, but their continued catering to the media by selecting players from Quebec has only hurt their organization over the past 20 years. Unless of course you think Louie Leblanc is the next Sidney Crosby……
Way to ruin a feel good story RecalSentrant. Why don’t you enjoy a beer and leave the hockey to people who actually know a little about it (Like skill over birth place).