If you’ve ever dreamed of running a restaurant perched above the ocean with panoramic views, there’s an opportunity on Prince Edward Island this summer — and it comes with no rent.

The Wind and Reef restaurant in North Cape, the Island’s northernmost point, is offering a $0 lease to the right operator for their first season.

The restaurant sits inside the North Cape Wind Energy Interpretive Centre. It didn’t open last year because there wasn’t anyone to run it.

Tignish Initiatives, the non-profit that owns the restaurant, is hoping to change that. The organization recently posted about the free lease on Facebook, and it prompted hundreds of shares.

“We’ve had our challenges to find someone to run it the last few years, and so we’re really looking forward to seeing how this opportunity transpires for people,” Tignish Initiatives general manager and CEO Anne Arsenault told CBC’s Island Morning.

“We are getting lots of interest, and so it’s looking good for this season.”

Judy Morrissey Richard, who runs M.J.’s Bakery and Caboose Café in Tignish, said the Wind and Reef’s closure last year was noticeable. She’s operated her business on Church Street, about a 10-minute drive from North Cape, for nearly 40 years.

She said many tourists told her they visit North Cape not just for its coastal views and the two-kilometre natural rock reef, but also to dine at the Wind and Reef.

“It’s definitely an attraction that needs to be opened back up again,” she said. “If they can find somebody to open it, it would be wonderful.”

Finding workers a challenge

A seasonal lease for the restaurant has ranged between $36,000 and $40,000 in the past, Arsenault said. The restaurant has typically opened from around Mother’s Day until Thanksgiving.

And the location is a busy one.

Arsenault estimated North Cape draws about 50,000 visitors each season and is among the most visited attractions in western P.E.I. On peak summer days, hundreds, up to 1,000, people can stop by.

“They’re right on the doorstep looking for lunch or dinner,” she said. “And it is a beautiful location with a great view.”

But running a business in the area does come with challenges, particularly when it comes to finding workers.

Morrissey Richard said businesses in this part of the Island often struggle to recruit compared to major tourism hubs like Cavendish, which can draw from larger centres like Summerside and Charlottetown. Meanwhile, North Cape businesses tend to rely on a much smaller local labour pool.

“Everyone is struggling to find staff. Staffing is probably one of the biggest struggles in running a business up at this end of the Island,” Morrissey Richard said.

Tignish Initiatives hopes the zero-dollar lease will help offset some of those challenges.

While reduced lease rates have been offered to operators in the past, Arsenault said this is the first time the organization has publicly advertised a rent-free season.

So far, she said, several qualified applicants have come forward. Those seriously interested have been asked to submit proposals outlining their plans.

“We will look over those proposals, and they’ll be evaluated by a steering committee,” she said. “We’ll see which one is going to fit with what we envision for the site.”

Proposals will be assessed on several factors, including the operator’s experience and training, financial security, the type of dining experience they plan to offer and how well it fits the character of North Cape.

She added that long-term commitment is not a requirement, though it will factor into the decision.

“It’s the matter of finding the right fit, someone who has the experience to operate a full-service restaurant.”