Fall River Restaurant's new EV charging station

May 20, 2015

FallThanks to the efforts of Sun Country Highway, a Canadian-owned company that is a leader in the electric vehicle movement; a generous donor from Ottawa; and the owners of the Fall River Restaurant in Maberly, electric car owners traveling between Ottawa and Peterborough on Highway 7 will be able to charge up their vehicles at a new EV charging station, which was officially unveiled at the Fall River Restaurant on May 16.

Peter Manson of Ottawa originally won the unit in Sun Country Highway's annual Amazing Race, an electric car rally that is held across the country, in which participants can win a number of prizes by collecting points at charging stations en route. Manson and his wife, who own a Tesla Model S, drove across Ontario in October last year in the 2014 race and visited 52 charging stations, which won them a fifth place finish and the charging unit prize. Since the couple already own their own charging unit, they decided to donate the prize to the Fall River restaurant.

The unit was installed at the restaurant free of charge courtesy of Laser Electric in Perth and the station is now up and running. It is the first of several charging stations that Sun Country hopes to see set up along Highway 7.

Therese Steenberghe and Jeroen Kerrebijn, owners of the Fall River Restaurant, celebrated the event with a special dinner following the unveiling. Paul Camiré, regional director of Sun Country Highway for eastern Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, attended the event and said that the company has been partnering with corporations, municipalities and small business owners in efforts to electrify roads and highways across Canada. Currently they are focusing their efforts along Highway 7 from Ottawa to Peterborough so that residents and tourists can travel this popular scenic route as an alternative to driving on the 401. “In doing so we are promoting the use of electric vehicles and empowering Canadians to make the switch to electric cars since they are good for the environment, the economy and cost very little to run”, he said at the unveiling.

Sun Highway Country has been in business for just over three years and in that time has electrified the entire Trans-Canada highway from St. John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, BC. Camiré said that while electric vehicles have been around for a hundred years, they have been slow to catch on because people have been slow to set up charging stations. “It's a chicken and egg kind of thing”, Camiré said, “and we are solving that issue by inviting businesses to install chargers through certain promotions that we are offering.”

Business owners want to offer the service because they see the benefit. Charging an EV vehicle can take a number of hours and people who stop and charge their cars also have time to enjoy a drink or a meal and do a little shopping while they wait.

Jerome and Tess see the station as attracting potential new customers to the restaurant, which they took over last year and re-opened for their 2015 season on April 3. Jerome said that the charger falls in nicely with the green ideology that the restaurant identifies with.

Also present at the event was Keith Kerr, Lanark County warden and reeve of Tay Valley, who said, “It's great that this station is now here; it shows we are going green here in Lanark. It is great for business and tourism in the area and should attract drivers to the area who otherwise might not take this route.”

Those wanting to charge up are welcome to call ahead to the Fall River Restaurant at 613-268-2197. The restaurant is located at 21980 Highway in Maberly. For more information visit www.fallriverrestaurant.ca