Mill to open in August

Posted 1 year ago

JEFF HELSDON PHOTO

Built in the 1870s, the former Tillson pea and barley mill has been renovated into a restaurant/inn by Gord Craig. It will open, likely in August, as Mill Tales Inn.

By Jeff Helsdon

Staff Writer

The answer to a question many Tillsonburg residents are asking is August.

Talk on the street is Mill Tales Inn – which was once part of the dynasty of mills owned by the Tillson family – will open in July. Owners Gord and Laura Lee Craig said it’s almost a daily occurrence for people to stop in and question when the renovated restaurant and inn will open.

His goal is to have it open by the end of August.

“It’s hard though just to pinpoint it until we have everything here,” Craig said.

The major tasks still to be completed are outfitting the kitchen and installing carpet in the guest rooms upstairs.

The end result will be a 140-seat restaurant with what Craig called a casual dining menu. It will include the fish Craig has become famous for, prime rib and steaks. The fish will not only include battered Lake Erie perch and pickerel, but also other steamed fish and pan-fried trout. Fridays will include a pigtail special.

“It’s more a complete menu than we’ve done before,” Craig said.

The facility will also feature a meeting room for 40, a 90-person banquet room, 10 guest rooms and a suite that encompasses most of the third floor.

Craig is planning to cater to the luncheon crowd with salads, soup, corned beef cut off the brisket and prime rib sandwiches. The memorable evening meal will be designed with prices ranging from $12 to $25.

“I hope to make our evening meal an experience, rather than just an in and out,” he said. “Things like taking customers to the wine cellar and having a couple of flaming desserts.”

The wine cellar is a unique experience. Located in the basement, it has unique art on the floors and the original Tillson brick – which was likely made in a nearby mill – is visible in the walls. Laura Lee will take customers to the wine cellar and let them choose their own wine.

The inn portion of Mill Tales Inn will provide accommodation, but also be a tourist destination on its own.

“With the natural setting beside the Big Otter Creek, we hope to draw people from across southern Ontario,” Craig said. “I’m hoping people who are retired can come and stay a night or two and relax by the river.

“It’s different. That’s what this place is, different. Everything we’ve done is a little better than what you could have done.”

With its beautiful location next to The Bridges at Tillsonburg golf course, it should work in Craig’s favour.

Although a few finishing touches are still needed, the facility is already impressive. When Craig purchased the property in 2000 from the Laister estate, it was rundown, and save for a rental apartment in the front, it hadn’t been used for anything except for storage in decades.

Naturally-finished pine siding on the outside was one of the first visible improvements to the building. Natural wood finish – much of it locally sourced – is a theme that is constant throughout the interior. A glassed-in dining room was added on the back, overlooking Big Otter Creek.

Landscaping won’t be completed until next year, although work is underway on the parking lot. With four acres of property, Craig said this will be a big task as well. He wants to build a trail system and highlight the remains of another Tillson mill that is also on the property.

With the dining room and main entrance nearing completion, Craig is starting to bring in his own personal antique collection. This includes an antique pump organ manufactured by the Thomas Organ Co., his son Mike Craig’s hockey memorabilia and antiques found in the mill.

The building is a piece of Tillsonburg history, but it is also a reflection of Craig, who has poured his life into it over the last few years. Despite being 67, he and Corinth resident Bob Foutre did all the work with the exception of plumbing and electrical.

Craig believes he will be leaving a legacy for the town in the mill.

“This should be a real drawing card for the Town of Tillsonburg,” he said. “A place with some character and an old building saved. When I bought this, there was a guy from New York State going to buy it, take it down and rebuild it down there.”

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