Perched above a forest of sparkling liquor bottles in Daajing Giids’ newest pub is a dark blue bird with a spiky black crest.
The bird is a Steller’s Jay, namesake of the new Steller’s Jay Community Pub that co-owners Matt Lunner and Joshua Arkell opened in early May to bigger-than-expected crowds.
The pub windows still look south over the marina boats and the islands of Skidegate Inlet — the same view that gave the pub its former name, Oceanview.
But under new owners, there is a bird behind the bar, a new menu, and new art on the walls, not to mention open-mic nights, a Gumboot Guys book launch, and live music from The Alkemist, Theresa Michelle, and Lancelot Knight.
“This place has always been the heartbeat of the town,” says Matt Lunner, sitting by a window with a row of multi-coloured pens tucked in his chef’s shirt. It’s 9 a.m. on a Wednesday and in the kitchen behind him, Joshua Arkell is prepping for the 4 p.m. open.
Lunner says the idea of Steller’s Jay is to be a locals-focused pub — a place to eat, hang out, and hear music that has a reliable pulse even in mid-winter, when a lot of Haida Gwaii restaurants tend to shut or slow down.
Although the bird at the bar is actually a garden ornament gifted by Gracie Flanagan, owner of Gracie’s Place hotel down the street, Lunner says the Steller’s Jay is a good symbol for what he and Joshua want to do.
On Haida Gwaii, the Steller’s Jay is a unique subspecies, just as loud but a few shades darker than the more common birds on the mainland.
There are likely fewer than 1,000 on island and, like the people here, these unique birds tend to have a limited range, rarely if ever venturing beyond Cumshewa Inlet.
Given the limited restaurant options in Daajing Giids, especially in winter, Lunner and Arkell added an always-changing feature menu.
“Obviously, you have to have pub mainstays — chicken wings, nachos, things like that,” Lunner said. But looking at the success of restaurants Blacktail and Gather, as well as the pop-up food trucks, he said it’s clear locals have an appetite for variety.
So, on their feature menu, which Lunner titled “Chekov’s Gun,” there is a Tunisian kafteji sandwich, Welsh shearing cake, a rhubarb tart with lavender Chantilly cream, even Tater Tot poutine.
“That’s a great one, it’s like an enchilada poutine,” Lunner said.
All the fish and seafood served at Steller’s Jay comes from T&M Seafood, which is so local diners can see it out the window, and much of the produce comes from islands producers like St. Mary’s Spring Estate Farm and North Pacific Wild Foods.
Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lunner was guest chef at the Sandspit Wild Harvest Festival dinner, which served 160 people. It was eye-opening then how much local food he could find.
“For the first time ever, I only used two ingredients for a four-course menu that weren’t from here,” he said.
Another local ingredient that Lunner wants feature regularly in the pub is X̱aayda Kil. He and Arkell have asked the Skidegate Haida Immersion Program for help with the X̱aayda Kil for the pub name.
According to the Hlg̱aagilda X̱aayda Kil app, Steller’s Jay is tl’aay tl’aay in Haida language. Not only does it sound like the bird’s call, it rhymes well with tlaaydaaw naay, words for “meeting” and “house.”
Lunner said they would like to have bilingual signage throughout the pub, even for common things like exit signs. It’s not only a way to show respect, he said, but also a chance for visitors to learn.
“Everyone hears ‘haawa,'” he said. “But we can do a little more.”
Lunner and Arkell are both 38, grew up around Kelowna, and they’ve been friends for over a decade. For a time they ran a small catering company together, called Grey Jay.
After learning the ropes in “premium casual” Kelowna, Lunner worked his way through a circuit of high-end Vancouver restaurants such as Hawksworth, Hook, and L’Abattoir, a French-influenced West Coast restaurant recommended in the Michelin guide.
He just happened to be working at a fine-dining restaurant south of Bonn, Germany when the pandemic struck. They got full pay, he said, and it felt like a paid vacation.
But for about four years leading up to the Steller’s Jay open last month, Lunner and Arkell were working at the Oceanview Pub with a plan to take it over and relaunch it.
Now that it’s finally started, Lunner said it’s very rewarding, even with the stress of starting something new. They’re providing servers a good wage, regular opening hours, and good music, he said, but even that’s not the best part of being a chef on Haida Gwaii.
“The best part of cooking here is knowing the person who is eating your food.”