Inspired by the renowned barbecuing style of the southern United States, Harmer is proud of his food being both fast and healthy. In addition to barbecued meats and other savoury comfort food, the restaurant also serves home-baked desserts.

While customers can receive their meals in under three minutes, there is plenty of time spent behind the scenes making sure the meat sourced is free of antibiotics and growth hormones, and that all the take-out cutlery and containers are biodegradable. Harmer felt this was an integral step to take in the green-friendly community of Nelson. 

The Romanos opened the doors of their new establishment on Wednesday, April 26, and it is a new venture for both of them.

"This is the first time we have owned and operated a restaurant but Angel has had previous experience working in the food service industry," said Dean Romano. "We are really excited about being at the airport and we welcome travellers to visit anytime."

Where did the name, The Pickled Bean, come from?

"It's really a combination of our kids' nicknames. Our daughter is known as Pickle and our son as Bean, so we thought The Pickled Bean would be a good name for the restaurant," said Angel Romano, with a bit of a laugh.

So the next time you are at the Canadian Rockies International Airport be sure to stop by The Pickled Bean and say hi to the Romanos.

The new restaurant is located across the parking lot from Save-on-Foods in the former Max's coffee house location—a location briefly inhabited by Cranversations, another fine dining establishment.

The new eatery promises to add some spice to the Cranbrook/Kootenay restaurant scene. Watch for notices of opening in the near future.

His hotel and bar management history is extensive, in both his hometown of Cranbrook and in Grande Prairie, Alberta, leaving him confident in the success of the pub.

“The whole inside is totally brand new,” Stanton said, as he explained his ideas for renovations to the outside starting this spring. Those plans include residing the building, changing the parking lot landscape and adding a patio to the front of the pub.

Stanton also plays in a band, and believes the music will set Dee Dee Magee’s apart.

“If it isn’t live, it isn’t happening. That’s our slogan”, he said. “Our big coup here other than the entertainment is that we open every day at noon, and the food is amazing. The kitchen’s totally rebuilt.”

Dee Dee Magee’s Pub opened its doors to the public just in time for the holidays in December, and can be found in the old Finnegan’s Wake location on the Strip in Cranbrook.

The business recently celebrated its 25th year of serving home-cooked meals. Terry Rogers, who owns the business with his wife Alicia Rogers, said that honest business and quality food has been the secret to success.

"We do all our own sauces (and) don’t use any mixes—people who come here appreciate that," he said.

The restaurant started in a grocery store owned by the couple, then located on 10th Avenue. The Rogers used a spare room to start a tapas bar, and quickly outgrew the space, eventually being able to purchase a venue downtown. The Rogers are originally from Alberta, but chose Creston nearly 30 years after a fortunate accident.

"Our truck broke down here," said Terry. "We were looking to move to B.C. and sometimes it picks you—you don’t pick it."

The Other Side Café is located at 1021 Canyon Street.