Yellowknife's Wildcat Caf closed for the season after fire damage

Yellowknife's Wildcat Cafwill stay closed for the season, after a fire damaged its building.

The restaurant wasclosed for repairs after a firebroke out last week around dinner time, while it was full of staff and customers.

The restaurant, which opens every summer, is housed in a mining-camp style log cabin built in the 1930s.

In a news release Wednesday, the City of Yellowknife said repairs to the building would start in the coming weeks, to ensure it's in good working condition for next summer.

"It has been a pleasure working with Chef Niki Mckenzie and we are saddened by the unfortunate events causing the Wildcat Caf to close early," Johanna Elliot, facilities manager withthe City of Yellowknife, said in the release. "We look forward to making the necessary repairs so that residents can enjoy more of Niki's elevated dishes again next year."

Speaking to CBC News last weekend, Mckenzie said she wantedto reopen the restaurant as soon as possible.

She said she and her staff weredevastated that their summer season, which was set to conclude at the end of September, could be cut short.

"The city is working hard behind the scenes to get everything back up and running for the 2025 summer season, where we will bring you a new version of nostalgic classics, northern flair and as many locally grown vegetables we can get our hands on," Mckenzie said in the release.