Powell River gets a new high-end restaurant this month with the opening of Manzanita in Townsite by Allan and Amy Sharp. The kitchen staff of Manzanita work in what once was the vault of Powell River’s courthouse, which now has a new life as a nine-room hotel beautifully renovated in a style appropriate to Powell River’s history as Canada’s first lumber town by owners Ian and Lilia Gould. Oldtimers can likely confirm that the Old Courthouse Inn is much more commodious and welcoming than the original courthouse ever was. Today its closest contact with crime is the drop-dead view from Manzanita’s sunny dining deck.

Occasionally the connection with the law is stronger—the Law of Attraction. In its first week, Manazanita hosted the thirty-seventh wedding anniversary of a couple who had been wed in the courthouse. The groom attributed the longevity of their marriage to the Law of Obedience: “Yes, Dear.”

The Sharps are proud to be part of Townsite’s grass-roots renaissance. Perhaps it was inevitable that they open a seafood restaurant in such a convenient venue. Allan has farmed mussels and oysters in the Okeover Inlet for years, and Amy comes from San Francisco, renowned especially for its seafood and nouvelle cuisine. With its warm, bright Southwest colors, a menu built on local produce, Allan’s seafood, and salmon caught by local supplier John Hughes, Manzanita is bound to refresh local appetites. Chef Paul Preminger, with twenty years’ West Coast cooking behind him, plans on changing the 12-item menu every other month to reflect seasonal peaks in produce and protein. The wine list, however, will complement the local foods with wines Powell River has not seen before.

Manzanita will be open for dinner seven nights a week, 5-10 p.m. Reservations are appreciated: call 604-483-2228.