Fat Rabbit, a Michelin-recommended butcher shop and restaurant, is getting ready to expand its existing location in St. Catharines at 34 Geneva Street.
The company’s expanded space will take over a neighboring unit, allowing the restaurant to grow beyond its original footprint, according to Toronto Life. While an exact opening date has yet to be announced, the larger space is expected to debut in late May or early June 2026. The expansion comes as a response to the restaurant’s limited 30-seat capacity and rising food costs tied to its in-house production model. Customers can expect a larger dining room, additional seating, and an expanded food and drink program.
Originally opened in 2023, Fat Rabbit quickly built a reputation as a destination for diners traveling from across the region, including nearby Toronto. The concept combines a full-service restaurant with an in-house butcher shop, focusing on whole-animal butchery and house-made charcuterie. Its early success highlighted both strong demand and operational constraints tied to its smaller space. The new expansion aims to address those limitations while maintaining the business’s core identity.
The redesign is being led by Brett Paulin, who also created the original space. The updated layout will triple the restaurant’s capacity to 90 indoor seats and 115 total seats, including a patio. New additions include a second dining room, an 18-seat private event space, and a bar area. The design will remain minimal but slightly more refined, with added booth seating and visible kitchen elements, including dry-aging cabinets and charcuterie preparation areas.
The menu will continue to highlight house-made items and lesser-known cuts of meat, alongside new large-format offerings such as porchetta, prime rib, lamb shoulder, and suckling pigs. Existing menu items include dishes such as an 8-ounce beef burger with sherry-caramelized onions, gruyère, dijonnaise, and pickles, as well as house-cured meats like lonza made with Linton Pasture pork. The restaurant also produces its own sourdough and rotating small plates.
The beverage program is also expanding with a new focus on lighter, seasonal cocktails. Drinks will include a cava spritz, a strawberry gin cooler, and a rye-and-coffee cocktail, while the wine list will continue to be curated by Grape Witches. The larger space will also allow the restaurant to accommodate group dining better and introduce lunch reservations, which were not previously available.
