The people at Kingston’s newest restaurant, The Crossing, have intentionally been keeping their lips sealed -- until now.
When The Crossing opened only three weeks ago, it purposely wasn’t advertised. The employees waited and watched people walk through the door. Word of mouth gets around fast.
“We want to offer a nice place you can come, sit down, relax, have a glass of wine, have a beer,” says Ashley Perry, The Crossing’s front house manager, but she prefers the title “head cheerleader.”
To squash the rumours: no, The Crossing isn’t a steakhouse -- although its 12-ounce steak is a best seller. The restaurant cooks up a variety of foods including seafood, burgers, soups, salads, and a different chicken dish every day. Perry says she’s already had the waffle-fried tofu bowl three times since opening.
As for the chandeliers, there aren’t any. Instead, low hanging bulbs are draped around ceiling rafters, giving a unique industrial feel. Perry calls them “fairy lights.” The restaurant’s design is clean, crisp and intimate. Those familiar with the location’s previous business, the Iron Pot Pub, may not recognize the room.
Adam Langille, head chef and partial owner, says the restaurant’s name can be interpreted in many different ways. Not only is it a reference to the old Kingston train station, Langille sees it another way as well.
“For me, my whole life I’ve been travelling, seeing a lot of different places,” he says. “I liked the analogy of The Crossing. Paths cross here. It just felt right.”
Langille, who grew up in Berwick but moved to Pennsylvania at a young age, felt The Crossing’s cuisine offerings were missing from Kingston. Amongst all the fast food and take-out between Kingston and Greenwood, Langille says his restaurant is “just home cooking done really well.”
If you want a table, Perry urges patrons to make a reservation.
“We’ve been smokin’ busy,” she says. “People are going nuts over the food.”
Now that The Crossing’s silence has been broken, its next move is to be a certified business on Google. For now though, it shares photos and updates on its Facebook page.
