After just under 1 years in business, Nanny's Diner-Baking Catering at Westwood Shopping Mall, owned by Donna Wilson, closes its doors Saturday.Wilson said she will not be renewing her lease and cited a lack of foot traffic at the location as a major reason for her decision."There's just not enough people coming through," Wilson said in an interview. Nanny's Diner opened on Dec. 12, 2011 with an emphasis on Newfoundland home-style cooking and a quaint, corner diner atmosphere, including its "Newfie Fries" made from fresh-cut fries, topped with stuffing and Newfoundland savoury and gravy.Wilson also had her own signature dish on the menu called "Uptop Fries," she recalled a year ago in an interview with the Thompson Citizen, which is another dish featuring French fries, topped with dressing, onions, bologna and gravy."Back home in St. John's my father used to always talk about being on the boat called the Uptop, so I named the dish after the boat," said Wilson.She once worked as a cook at the old Highway Inn here, and wrote her own cookbook, which she sold for charity in 2010 to help raise funds for A Port in the Storm in Winnipeg. A Port in the Storm is a partially completed project aimed at providing temporary accommodations for rural Manitobans who are receiving extended treatments for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses in Winnipeg. Last Oct. 9, A Port in the Storm began offering short-term, fully furnished rental units in St. Boniface just minutes away from St. Boniface Hospital and Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. As of April 2012, the most recent figures released by A Port in the Storm, it had raised $2.5 million towards its $10 million fundraising goal in order to create a safe, home-like environment for patients and their families. They've been fundraising for more than seven years since March 2006.A former general manager of the Thompson Citizen and Nickel Belt News, Wilson, who graduated from R.D. Parker Collegiate in 1980, is perhaps best known around town for emceeing and organizing a slew of charity event fundraisers. If it's for a worthy cause, Wilson has probably at one time or another lent her name, talents and energy to the event. On April 27, the annual Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which she spearheaded again this year, raised $131,225 - a number surpassed only in 2011 when Relay raised 139,400 in cash - along with over $41,400 in gifts in kind for a grand total of $180,882. This year, $49,499 was contributed through gifts in kind, bringing the grand total to $176,723.Wilson was named the City of Thompson's volunteer of the year in 2008 and is also active on the Juniper Centre's board of directors and is the president of Thompson Playhouse.
