What is a weary, pickled and peckish Cochrane partygoer to do in this town when it comes to getting some food in their belly during the late-night hours?
With eating establishments popping up all over Cochrane during the past few years, options for those who like to go out for a few drinks during the evening (and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning) are rising, but other than a comfortable bed, what is the one thing every tipsy bar-hopper needs at 2 a.m.?
Food, of course.
In Cochrane, however, there are minimal food options for people past 10 p.m.
One of the sole eating establishments open during the early-morning hours is McDonald’s on 5th Ave. The problem, however, is the only way one can get any food from the ‘Golden Arches’ is by going through the drive-thru…and believe it or not, you must be in a vehicle.
There are enough taxicabs in Cochrane for a portion of tipsy food-seekers, but it is quite ironic that the only way an inebriated individual could get food in Cochrane late at night is by being in a vehicle. Would it not make sense – financially as well – to allow people on foot to purchase food, either through the drive-thru or by keeping the doors open to customers?
One restaurant that would cash in greatly if it were open during the late-night hours is Donair on the Run.
Few eats are better than a donair, regardless of the time of day, and surly if Donair on the Run extended its hours, at least on Friday and Saturday nights, it would see a steady lineup of hungry bar-hoppers foaming at the mouth for some shaved meat wrapped to perfection.
Speaking of meat, why is there none on the streets of Cochrane?
It’s quite common in many other areas in Canada (pretty much everywhere in Ontario to name one) to find meat in tube form smoking on a grill right outside the watering hole door. Sausages, hotdogs…even hamburgers, sizzling away on a mobile barbecue for a reasonable price…no drive-thru required, just a stream of hungry people spending their final bits of pocket change before heading home.
Cochrane has none of this.
Cochrane’s downtown streets are like a barren gastronomical wasteland past 10 p.m.
So how can this be remedied?
The town does allow temporary, seasonal food vendors, but they must be on private land, and the vendor must apply for a development permit to be legally able to sell food.
In other words, unless a street-meat vendor gets permission from a downtown business to set up shop on their property, or an already-established food establishment decides to move a grill outside, and remain on their property, Cochranites won’t be getting their fill of after-hours munchies anytime soon.
So please, someone step up and get some meat on the street, or extend your hours of operation Friday and Saturday nights to feed the masses of Cochrane socialites simply wanting a late-night snack…trying to go through the McDonald’s drive-thru just doesn’t cut it.
