Food Notes for July 27, 2020

Italian Centre Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19

On July 23, 2020, the Italian Centre Shop released news that one of their south location staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

In response to this news, we took immediate action and conducted a deep clean and sanitization of the entire store and notified Alberta Health Services (AHS). The team member who tested positive last worked shifts on July 13, 14 and 15. Today, remains self-isolated at home.

AHS is conducting close contact tracing and will contact any employee who may require testing and will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days. To our knowledge, AHS has not identified any individuals to be a close contact or at risk.

The next day, the Italian Centre announced that starting July 27, 2020, all of their team members will be required to wear masks in common areas and public facing spaces.

The Italian Centre chose a proactive route, sharing the statement on all of their social media channels. This may be the course of action most advised in the food and hospitality sector as a measure of maintaining customer trust. In June, several restaurants, including Greta, MKT, and Earls Tin Palace, closed voluntarily due to staff or customers testing positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19-related News

• Uccellino and Corso 32 will re-open for dine-in service August 1 and 6, respectively.
• The Marc is resuming lunch service on July 29, 2020, while Nineteen is resuming brunch service on August 2, 2020.
• Related to the decrease in flights because of COVID-19 (plus poor growing conditions in mango-producing countries), there has been a mango shortage in Edmonton.

Openings

• Krew Cafe is now open inside Honor Baby and Child in Lendrum (5722 111 Street).
• The Fringe Grounds Cafe is now open inside the ATB Financial Arts Barns (10330 84 Avenue), serving food, coffee, and beer and wine.
• Seafood City Supermarket, a Filipino/Asian grocery chain, is now open at 17540 100 Avenue.
• You Need a BBQ offers barbecue supplies and classes, and is run by two local decorated BBQ competitors. It is located 113 65 Chippewa Road, Sherwood Park.

Upcoming Events

• Get Cooking is resuming in-person farm dinners at Prairie Gardens with an event on August 1, 2020. Tickets are $145 per person.
• Linda’s next Instagrammable Wall Photo Walk & Food Crawl will take place in Old Strathcona on August 8-9, 2020. Tickets are $25 per person with 25% going to the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society.
• It’s Food Truck Friday at the Emerald Hills Sports Pavilion every Friday from 4:30-7:30pm until August 21, 2020.
• The virtual Heritage Festival runs for the entire month of August, and “foods from…small, locally-owned cultural restaurants” will be available for purchase on August 1, 2020.

Reviews

• Sharon checked out Old Strathcona’s Boxer Albertan Kitchen & Bar.

Local News

• Plant-based food truck Guilt Free Eats is one of the food trucks inside the NHL bubble, catering to up to 700 players and staff every day.
• The Taste of Edmonton has extended their fundraiser to gather funds for the 2021 event. Donations will be accepted until August 31, 2020.
• There’s a new locally-roasted coffee available in town: Kaffa, roasted by the folks behind Sugar Bowl and Eleanor and Laurent.
• The second part of the Let’s Find Out Podcast about former restaurant Mirama’s significance to the Chinese community is now live.
• Sharon rounds up some of the new small food-based businesses she has tried recently.
• Jason Foster declares that the “age of local craft beer is nigh”, based on the availability of local brands at small liquor stores across the city.
• A site called Best in Edmonton contains a variety of food-related lists, including highlighting Vietnamese restaurants, cafes, and sushi restaurants.

Beyond Edmonton

• The Sprawl published a story about former employees’ experiences at Righteous Gelato (formerly Fiasco Gelato).
• As many people are seeking adventures closer to home, Linda just shared a sponsored post about her food recommendations in Medicine Hat.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• Urban beekeeper Dustin Bajer was called in to relocate 50,000 honey bees on a worksite near Stadium LRT station this month.

What I Ate

• I finally had the chance to join an #EatWithMeYEG for the first time for a conversation about systemic racism and its impacts on food security and injustice. Thanks for the organizers for putting together a fantastic panel! For my lunch, through not an official #AdoptAShopYEG entry, I picked up my favourite beef and gouda arepa from El Fogon (Linda updated to say that 173 people collectively spent more than $8,000 during #AdoptAShopYEG week).

My #EatWithMeYEG set-up

• Mack, Emily, and I finally made it to our front porch (aka Say Uncle’s patio) on a sunny day. We found its familiarity and proximity to our home much more manageable for pandemic dining.

Our Say Uncle spread