Beneath the late spring snowfall and a string of red lanterns, a French bar stands in place of an 1800’s herbal medicine shop. Marked only by a sign on the green door, its presence in Calgary’s Chinatown feels neither loud nor out of place. It belongs there—a natural blend of culture shaped by community, vivid experiences and a refreshingly authentic approach to cuisine.
At Francine’s, everything on the menu has a sense of humour to it, and every piece of the bar pays homage to the partners’ vibrant life experiences and the places that shaped them along the way.
That was the vision of chef Garrett Martin, who set out to reimagine French dining through a more irreverent lens. Trading white tablecloth formality for a moodier, more spirited atmosphere, he created a space where exceptional food, thoughtful hospitality, and a sense of play coexist with remarkable ease.
Martin’s passion for cuisine began at 14 years old, when he worked at Tim Hortons as a baker. Even when simply dipping donuts in chocolate, the presentation had to be perfect. He wanted them to look like the commercials. He had the same experience learning to cook fried eggs for himself. The yolk couldn’t break and they couldn’t be over easy, despite him being the only person eating them.
“A bit of foreshadowing there potentially,” he says with a laugh.
At 16, Martin moved on to Earls as a cook, where he eventually realized that working in restaurants was something he could do for the rest of his life. He discovered that cooking could have a “fun competitive aspect to it,” and that drove him to push himself to refine his skills and move to work in more challenging restaurants.
“When I started cooking, there was a fun competitive aspect to it. I loved the pirate ship mentality that a place like Earls had,” he says. “It was just a bunch of kids. It was well structured, and it was still a relatively professional environment, but it didn’t feel like working. It was just fun. I got to the point where I was like, I think I’m kind of good at this. I think there’s a future for me if I want to carry on doing this. So I just kept it out.”
Creating a French bar was a choice that just made sense to Martin. It bridged the gap between something recognizable and something new to Calgarians. He was joined by bar manager Nate Wry, who helped develop the bar aspect of Francine’s, drawing from his experience working in European taverns.
Wry’s journey to bartending contrasted with Martin’s love of competitive kitchens. “I was a line cook when I was 14 years old, and I was like, why is everyone so angry? This sucks. But I really liked the restaurant or bar environment,” Wry explains. As he got older, he enjoyed getting creative with drink flavours, first as a barista and eventually in neighbourhood pubs and clubs. By 24, he was fully immersed in the cocktail scene. His drinks today are created through the lens of classic cocktails, paying homage to his experience in London working at a bar called Milk and Honey.
Francine’s was designed with that distinct European tavern feel in mind, with dark lighting and tables intentionally placed close together so patrons can talk to the people next to them. The bar’s Chinatown location plays a major role in its overall feel, with homages to the building’s roots in the decor and a unique community spirit that can’t be replicated anywhere else in the city.
“It’s one of the few places in Calgary you can still get very character spaces,” Wry says, explaining the choice to keep the authentic wallpaper from the original medicine store behind the bar.
Beyond the wallpaper, the restaurant reflects authenticity through Martin and Wry’s choices to keep its natural charm. “We want the space to feel loved and feel imperfect, Martin explains, “and to me, that’s a really beautiful part of what Francine’s is.” He smiled, pointing out the unique features of the bar that others might call flaws. The chips in the plates. The nicks in the walls. The exposed beams that their contractor urged them to paint.
Martin compared these observations to the outlook he has on how the Francine’s team is managed. “It’s the same way that we want the room to have character and the place to have some chips and stuff like that. I think having a team where everyone feels like they can be themselves and they’re not under a microscope… I think it kind of bleeds into the very relaxed feel that we try to have in this restaurant.”
When asked how they’ll measure success for Francine’s, Martin and Wry make it clear that it’s not about winning awards. Martin acknowledges that years ago he was very set on being Calgary’s best restaurant, Calgary’s best bar, or best chef. But with Francine’s, their goal is just to have a place that is busy and fun. Wry adds that he wants to have a lot of regulars and be a part of the community, giving back by donating to charities in the area. “We’re not looking to scratch the itch of our own egos,” Martin says. “We’re looking to have a successful business that doesn’t work us to death.”
This approach bleeds into the relaxed atmosphere of restaurant, but behind that philosophy is a personal lesson Martin had to learn for himself.
“I think a big thing for me has been learning not to associate myself as just a chef or restauranteur, but as a person that is a chef and a restauranteur. Learning to compartmentalize different parts of my life, trying to pull back the perfectionism aspect, which is difficult when you’re a small business owner because little details can make or break you as a business,” he says.
He notes the importance of learning how to embrace things in his life other than cooking, such as writing, cycling, and playing hockey.
“For a long time,” Martin explains, “I would just cook. I would come home, and I would read cookbooks, and I would work on menus, and I would plan these hypothetical restaurants in my head. I learned how to just say, this is a part of my life that I love. It’s also part of my life that brings me a lot of stress.”
“But the more I incorporate all those things into my life outside of work, then they’re going to become more and more stressful, and it’s going to become everything that I am, and I don’t think that’s right,” he adds. “So I think learning how to take that step away from something I love to do, it’s going to come with stress, but if I learn how to embrace it with other parts of my life that bring me joy, then that stress will be reduced and I can enjoy this part.”
Martin notes that he’s surprised and proud of how he and Wry managed to open Francine’s without letting it take over their lives, let alone become a community staple so quickly.
They credit a lot of their success to the talented team they have at Francine’s, including head chef Laetitia Chrapchynski, sous chef Jordan Anderson, and GM Tamae Schafer. Martin and Wry are confident they can step away and give their team the space to flourish. It comes with a deep level of trust and a sense of gratefulness for the level of hard work and talent their team has.
Martin’s mindset of joy and authenticity shapes the food at Francine’s, where a sense of humour is infused into every dish.
Francine’s is known for its quirky menu items, like the underrated trout dish that resembles eating fish tacos, the popular French toast topped with cheese, and the nostalgic honey butter chips.
Martin explains that the process begins with the confidence that he knows the dish is delicious, and that he has a good sense of what Albertans like. He then takes those ideas, plates them together, and pushes customers 10% outside their comfort zone every time they step through the door.
“I think what makes me special,” Martin says “is the ability to play into Albertans’ wants, but have my own kind of twists and turns that make them smile a little bit.”
Martin’s cooking style didn’t come overnight, nor did Wry’s expertise on classic cocktails. They developed from their experiences and where they have been.
Wry describes their strength as being “just two dudes from Alberta that want to have good food.” They’ve both gone abroad, where they’ve experienced many different things and mastered countless techniques, continuously raising the quality of their work, but they’re still always bringing in aspects that they want and blending them to elevate the flavours people are accustomed to.
“I think what makes it really special is when you start to see all the pieces come together to form a to form a distinct point of view,” Martin adds.
Francine’s blends Albertan palates with French cuisine and a European atmosphere with nods to the diverse history of downtown Calgary. It puts together Martin’s sense of humour and Wry’s classic taste. The 48-seat French bar is a prime example of how community shapes industries and the way culture roots deeply into local businesses, pairing expertise with authenticity.
“There’s the evidence of where you’ve been,” Martin says, “but it hasn’t completely changed who you are. It’s just moulded your vision into something special.”
Story by: Abby Fralic
Photography: Jhomar Lidron
Location: Francine’s
Production: Robert Solomon
Production Management: The RCJ Company
