Hockey legends in Ö-vik offer three-course

“It's great to be able to contribute in the little things and it's so clear how well liked Börje was,” says Markus Näslund, former NHL player and now co-owner of a restaurant in Örnsköldsvik.

Together with Peter Forsberg, Fredrik Varg and Magnus Gestrin, they and the other co-owners run Strandkaj kitchen & bar in Örnsköldsvik. OwnersNight, as the evening was called, became an evening for Börje and a way to give a little back to a great role model.

“Börje paved the way for us to come to the NHL after him. Before I went over to Pittsburgh and Börje had just gotten home, we were both in an interview and afterwards Börje stayed and took the time to sit down and talk to me and prepare for life in the NHL. It meant a lot,” says Markus Näslund.

From NHL to waiter

The dinner guests at Strandkaj kitchen & bar had paid in advance for a three-course menu with flavors from Norrland such as Kalix lug rum and horse chestnut. At the bar were Emil Åreng and Zakarias Lindahl from Bar Facit in Umeå and who had prepared special drinks for the evening with aptly named Stitches and Bones and BJ Highball.

After dinner, an auction started with, among other things, signed match jerseys from Markus and Peter. Guests could also bid for the restaurant's two chefs to come home and cook for ten people.

And another appreciated feature was that the serving staff during OwnersNight consisted of hockey players and the other co-owners.

What was it like working as a waiter?

It was sweaty but it went well. I think a glass broke during the table setting, but as far as I know we didn't drink any guests, and that was nice,” concludes Markus Näslund.

Surplus from the evening at Strandkaj kitchen and bar raised SEK 186,000 to the Börje Salming ALS Foundation.

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