Our Story
Welcome Home!
After years of planning and months of construction, in the summer of 2012 we were finally able to move our Financial Services company, The Gryphin Advantage, from downtown Hamilton into the building across the street, at 50 Coreslab Drive. You can imagine the excitement of moving from a rented floor of a downtown Hamilton building into a brand new establishment designed enthusiastically to our specifications. In fact, our office building was intentionally constructed to take on the appearance of a heritage home to match that of this building, a beautifully built structure established in 1896. It was also part of our vision that our building would be the third building on this corner, Highway #5 and Coreslab Drive. You can see on the south side of this inter-section there is another beautiful home built at the turn of the last century.
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So, after years of searching the perfect location for our Financial Services business, we created our head office across the street at 50 Coreslab. After investing countless hours of time and financials into the design and construction of a building to mirror the same characteristics of this building (restaurant) and the home on the south side of highway #5,and with the emotional thrill of actually moving into our dream across the street, can you even imagine receiving the devastating news that the owner of this building(restaurant), then her home, was preparing to sell her home to an individual who was planning to demolish this building(restaurant) with the intention of constructing a gas station? While crushed at this news, we needed action.
It was so gratifying to be able to buy this property in 2014 and STOP the tear down of a piece of history and replace it with a gas station. However, the next challenge became ‘what to do with the building ?’
After many conversations on how to proceed with a use for this beautiful old home, the City of Hamilton and their zoning laws played a significant role in our planning. After establishing the possibility of a restaurant was within the city guidelines, the question became,’do we really want the headaches that go hand in hand with restaurant ownership?’ The answer became obvious. No. There was little chance we had any interest in cooking, cleaning dishes, or dealing with any of the restaurant challenges. However, if it were possible to find an individual or group of individuals keenly interested in the managing of a restaurant, our thoughts turned to the idea that perhaps we could renovate this majestic old home into a restaurant.
After interviewing many individuals with the intention of finding a solution to our restaurant management challenge, we found the most exciting opportunity in a situation of complete coincidence.
During the summer of ’15, our staff at the Gryphin Advantage (Financial Services at 50 Coreslab across the street) thought it might be fun to order a ‘Food Truck’ to provide lunch on a Friday afternoon. After confirming our reservation, my anticipation was that of an individual appearing in half ton pick-up truck with an aluminum cap serving sandwiches. To my astonishment, a bus appeared with the most amazing Bistro food ever experienced…the best French fries on the planet… the proud owners of this Food Truck are Michael Speer and Morgan Smith (494 Catering). After several conversations, we found the perfect solution for our restaurant management challenge in 494 Catering.
Assuming an ownership position in our restaurant, 494 Catering has generated infinite capacity in creating for you a meaningful, unique ‘casual fine dining’ experience.
It is with great pride and passion we introduce to you, SHY’S PLACE.
