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There are two new restaurants in Charlottetown where college students can spend their student-loan money. Harvey's and Swiss Chalet, at a new University Avenue location, opened Nov. 26 at 11 a.m. "Welcome to our restaurant," owner Donald MacLean said, as he opened the doors of the non-smoking facility. The building is divided into separate dining rooms for each restaurant. The Swiss Chalet half is the larger, more elegant room which seats 147 people. It is decorated with foliage and numerous prints by artist A.J. Casson. Harvey's seats about 75, with a more conservative layout which MacLean calls the Vision 2000 look. "It has cleaner menu boards," he said. "They're not cluttered and are easy to read." While the facility has a total of 70 employees, there were extras on hand such as Enid Power, from Corner Brook, Nfld. "We're helping to get them on the right track," she said. Paul Smith, an area manager from Truro, N.S., was also there. "It's handcrafted food, the way you like it," he said. Your meal at Harvey's is prepared right in front of you as your food travels down an assembly line of employees. At Swiss Chalet, however, a host seats you in a cushioned booth where a waitress takes your order. Both restaurants have friendly atmospheres and comparable menus. Many Islanders will recall a previous Harvey's-and-Swiss Chalet restaurant on University Avenue, located where Staples is now. It seated about 300 people, and while Swiss Chalet was doing well, sales weren't great for Harvey's, so they sold out to the large office supplies company. D'Arcy Horton of Charlottetown worked at this franchise for five years before it closed. "It was just too big," he said. "The new location has less eating space and is more comfortable for customers." The new eatery, which took three months to build, is closer to downtown and although there are many other fast food joints nearby, MacLean feels it's good for business. "They bring potential customers around," he said. MacLean has been in this business for 10 years and said he thinks the new store will do well. "This is a corporate restaurant," he said. "There's support behind us from the mother store." He also said there has been interest in a new restaurant for some time. "People realized they missed it," he said. Chris Currie, vice-president of the student union at ATHI, calls it the best of both worlds. "The food is good," he said. "This is a better location than the old one."
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