Maple to Open Restaurant

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Always looking for another endorsement opportunity or additional stream of income, Dogwood Maple signed a deal to open up a new restaurant in downtown Vancouver, Dogwood's Diner.

 

"I know I can't play hocket forever, so I want to make sure I have a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak, when it comes to retirement income.  I was fortunate enough to get to know some great people in the restaurant industry during my time here and we found a partnership that's really going to blossom," Maple explained.

 

When asked about the menu and what type of restaurant Dogwood's Diner would be, the Wolves' forward was clear that he was going to stick to his roots.

 

"I'm from the Deep South, so there was only ever going to be one choice for my restaurant - good, old-fashioned Southern home cookin'.  Like my grandmother used to make for me when I was a boy.  I'm talking scratch made buttermilk biscuits, sausage gravy, fresh-cracked omelets, and that's just for breakfast.  When it comes to lunch, we'll have all the Southern staples.  Meat loaf, fried chicken, turnip greens, mashed potatoes, everything," he said.

 

The elephant in the room, of course, is the location.  Vancouver is not known for its abundance or history of Southern cuisine, but Maple doesn't see that as too big of an obstacle.

 

"There's going to be some massive overhead costs, which we're aware of.  We'll have to fly in all the ingredients from Georgia, but that's something we're prepared for.  Going into it, I know that's something we will plan for and we're all comfortable with the plan.  We've located several suppliers in and around Atlanta who will be able to send us everything we need same-day.  I always said that the ingredients make the meal and that's what we're going to stick to," Maple said.

 

One concern, however, was that all of these additional business ventures might detract from his on-ice performance.  Some critics have even claimed Maple will soon be retiring to tend to all of these other interests.  When asked about that, he was clear on his intentions.

 

"There's a lot of hours in the day and I can certainly do both. I started my career in Vancouver and that's where I want to end it, hopefully a long time from now.  We already have one ring here and I'm not satisfied with that.  I want to help be a part of a dynasty that stands the test of time and nothing that I do outside of hockey is going to change that.  I have a great management team who helps run all of these ventures and I lean on them a ton to get it all taken care of.  But nothing will impact how I play for the Wolves, zilch.  First and foremost I am a hockey player, period.  The people of Vancouver have put their trust in me and I'm not going to throw that away.  We might not be off to the hottest start this season, but there are still many big things to come here in Vancouver and I plan on being here for all of it."

 

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