Straight across the lake from Willow restaurant, stands a distinct willow tree.

Amanda Carter, one of the owners of the Willow, describes the willow tree across the lake.

“It really stands out in the fall it’s a different colour, in the summer it’s a different colour and its got space around it stands out.”

Fourteen years ago, as the Willow on Wascana was being built, Carter looked across and noticed the willow tree but at first didn’t know it was the only one on Wascana.

Once she realized, it gave her the inspiration for the name, Willow on Wascana.

The willow still stands and as you sit and enjoy your dinner at the Willow you can look across, both inside and out, and pick out this unique tree in all its glory.

But, with the change in seasons comes new opportunity and Carter is making some changes.

As of March 31, the Willow on Wascana will be under renovations and coming back in mid-April as Bar Willow.

“We are super excited to announce that we will be closing the Willow on Wascana, re-branding and re-opening as a new restaurant called Bar Willow,” said Carter

This new and improved restaurant will be coming back with an all new menu.

“We are looking for that next competitive edge so our new restaurant ‘Bar Willow’ will be focusing on small plates, shared plates, charcuterie but a real emphasis on flavour,” said Carter

Along with Carters hope and initiative to be mainly focused on flavour she says they are planning to incorporate more seafood options.

“A little bit of a Spanish kind of feel, so we want to be able to use a lot more seafood than we have used in the past,” said Carter.

Carter explains that she would still like to buy as local as possible and continue supporting local suppliers for her seafood and food in general. She says there isn’t just the support you give to local sellers but you buy great tasting, great quality foods as well.

Carter also explains how the smaller dishes and faster service they plan to provide, will allow more people to mix and match their meals so everyone can taste as much as possible.

Carter is also offering a new way of enjoying wine, and not just one kind of wine.

“We are also expanding our wine program so that you will be able to taste maybe one ounce of this wine and it’s a really expensive wine but we can now have a preservation system so that you can have one ounce and just taste that wine without having to buy a 300-dollar bottle of wine,” said Carter.

Carter’s plan is to make it a very interactive and fun experience for everyone who attends the new Bar Willow.

Renovations start on March 31 and will include a change in the floor plan.

“We are going to be putting a bar in the middle of the room, to encourage people to come in and sit at the bar and have a beer if they would like or have a quick glass of wine,” said Carter. “There will be a few high top tables in the room to kind of encourage interaction and just to make it a lot more comfortable of a feel.”

With close to a 100 labels of wine, the new bar will have a wall to display all of their types of wine. Especially due to their unique selection and bringing in new kinds constantly.

“Our whole program is special order, we don’t use anything off the shelf except for maybe our house wines,” said Carter.

With the new changes, Carter said the hours will be the same for the summer starting May 1.

“Were super sad to kind of see it go but times have changed and we just want to make sure that we are producing a quality product and still adding to the food culture in Regina.”