For years, Prince Edward County has been Toronto’s favourite escape route — an island escape that’s only a short drive away, with gorgeous beaches, picturesque towns, and a vineyard circuit that can give the whole trip a raison d’etre.
But since the pandemic, a growing number of chefs, winemakers, and entrepreneurs have made the county their permanent home. If PEC was once simply a summer getaway for Torontonians, it’s increasingly becoming an international destination, with Condé Nast Traveller recently naming it one of its “Places to Go in 2026.”
RIGHT: QUETZAL PORTRAITS, GRANT VAN GAMEREN. 2018. PHOTO BY AJ FERNANDO.
One of the clearest signals of the region’s evolution arrived this March, when Grant Van Gameren — the chef behind Bar Isabel, Bar Raval, and the Michelin-starred Quetzal — opened his latest venture, Rosetta, on Picton’s Main Street. Although Van Gameren moved to the county with his family in 2020 and has been running his more casual burger spot, Harry’s Charbroiled, this marks his first full-scale sit-down restaurant in his adopted home. He’s partnered with friend Jesse Fader (of Favorites Thai BBQ in Toronto and Darlings in Bloomfield, among others). It’s a vote of confidence in the county’s future and in its ability to attract both locals and visitors year-round.
“Restaurants aren’t really the food business anymore. They’re the experience business. The lighting, the music, the design, the service — all of that shapes how people remember a place.”Grant Van Gameren
Rosetta is pitched as an Italian steakhouse with grilled meats, a raw bar, seafood towers, larger-format pastas, and serious cocktails. But as a full-time county resident — and a father of two — Van Gameren is also designing the restaurant to function as part of everyday life for locals, not just special occasions. Rosetta will offer a dedicated takeout program built around generous, family-style portions, filling a gap he noticed after moving from Toronto. Dependable weeknight takeout, he says, can be surprisingly hard to find in the county.
For Van Gameren, the goal is to make a restaurant a destination that also ideally fits into everyday life, and feels memorable when it does. “Restaurants aren’t really the food business anymore,” he says. “They’re the experience business. The lighting, the music, the design, the service — all of that shapes how people remember a place. Most guests won’t remember exactly what they ate three weeks later. They remember how it made them feel.”
That experience approach mirrors the way PEC itself has been evolving. A new wave of operators has brought a more intentional, design-driven version of hospitality with them. The Royal Hotel helped transform Picton’s downtown into a place that feels lively even in the off-season. Flame + Smith in Bloomfield is known for its wood-fired, farm-forward cooking. Bocado serves Spanish-inspired plates and natural wines in an intimate, high-energy space.
It helps that these chefs and entrepreneurs are living in the region, not commuting in, and as a result, they’re reshaping how the community works because of it. “In Prince Edward County, I can drive to a farm on the way to work and pick up vegetables or harvest them from my own garden fifteen minutes before service,” Van Gameren says. “That changes how you think about cooking. You feel connected to the place in a way that’s harder to replicate in the city.”
That proximity — to land, producers, and community — is part of what’s drawing creative people out of urban kitchens and into rural ones. The ripple effects extend well beyond restaurants. PEC now offers a full itinerary: thoughtful hotels like the Drake Devonshire, independent retail, a vibrant arts community, and a growing wellness scene from Wander the Resort’s lakeside Scandinavian spa to year-round yoga, meditation, and retreat culture across the county.
Prince Edward County is increasingly being built for year-round life — and for the people who live there every day. Some locals worry that the influx of stylish new spots could shift the region’s character. But with many of the people opening them now residents themselves, the businesses taking shape are rooted in permanence — hiring locally, putting down roots, and designing places meant to last.
FEATURE PHOTO BY SAROJ SHRESTHA, COURTESY OF LARO MEDIA.
