Felice Café Embraces Local at Stadium Yards

The founders of Felice Café, a new café and market located near Commonwealth Stadium, are hoping their love for local is infectious.

Felice (the musical term for “happy”), which opened on April 25, is the brainchild of couple Michelle and Tim Brouwer.

In addition to serving drinks and treats, Felice features a market where local vendors can display and sell their products for a flat monthly fee. This support of entrepreneurs extends to allowing participating businesses to access a devoted loft space at Felice where they can network, have meetings, and host classes.

“I just wanted to create a place where local businesses can come together and support each other better,” said Michelle Brouwer. “Across my vendors, under this one roof, the support they’re offering each other is overwhelming.”

So far, Felice has partnered with 20 local companies, ranging from food to personal goods. The café side will serve locally-sourced products to enjoy on-site, in addition to housing items from the same brands for customers to buy for at-home consumption. The companies include Bakenary, Benny’s Bread, Caramunchies, DRTY Ice Cream, The Cove Tea Company, Mala Foods, Mama Han Pastries, Maestro’s Empanadas, and On the Edge Coffee.

“We purchase items wholesale and don’t rebrand,” said Brouwer. “We sell everything under that local business’s name. We want them to increase their sales, and assume the food wastage costs on our end.”

Felice is the Brouwer’s first foray into food and hospitality and came as a result of the pandemic.

“I was raised in an entrepreneurial family as my mom owned a local home decor store,” said Michelle Brouwer. “I worked in health care and never owned a business before. I took stock of my life during COVID and thought about my passions. Music and love of local were the main things. A café seemed to fit the model where I could wrap all of these passions in.”

Michelle and Tim Brouwer of Felice Café

With 3,100 square feet of space, Felice has ample room for its owners’ ambitions. Inside there are 35 seats, and outside two patios are currently under construction, with licensing in process. “You can have your coffee in the sun in the morning and beer in the sun in the afternoon,” said Brouwer.

In the near future, a series of after-dark events under the Felice Noir banner will offer entertainment.

“We have a professional sound system that musicians can plug into and play,” said Brouwer. “Anyone who wants to perform — musicians, slam poets, comedians — will have an opportunity. We love local talent and wanted to give them another avenue.”

The café is located at Stadium Yards, a rental development built by Rohit Communities. In February 2020, Rohit organized a high-profile competition called “The Cut” to fill the commercial unit, but the pandemic ultimately sidelined the winner of that contest. When the Brouwer’s original space fell through, they were overjoyed to come across the unit at Stadium Yards, and thought it fit well with their vision.

“Rohit really wanted a community-focused business that serves the community,” said Michelle Brouwer. “It’s kind of a food desert in this area. We want to be that community anchor and hangout spot.”

Brouwer shared that the young professionals that make up most of the tenants at Stadium Yards are their target demographic, and in recent weeks, many residents have expressed excitement about the forthcoming opening. But she said Felice also hopes to attract Edmontonians from elsewhere, too.

“It’s close to public transportation,” said Brouwer. “It’s close to the stadium. People who park nearby and are going to an event will stumble upon us.”

Brouwer believes that Felice represents some of the best of what Edmonton has to offer. “Felice was born out of a love of wanting to support local, and I think we need more of this. All of my vendors are sharing their passions. It’s infectious.”

Openings

• Woodshed Burgers opened up a location in Rundle Park (2909 113 Avenue).
• Rally Social Room is now open in Old Strathcona at #200, 10505 82 Avenue.
• Siam Thai Kitchen is opening a second location in May 2022 at 242 Mistatim Road, St. Albert Trail.

Local News

• Battista’s Calzone and Flava Cafe were damaged due to a fire behind their building. There is a crowdfunding campaign to raise $10,000 to offset costs of the repairs and closure.
• Maestro’s Empanadas have joined the 5th Street Food Hall.
• Phil’s latest Best Dish column highlights long-standing restaurant Tzin.
• Edmonton AM featured Beb’s Bagels, Shojo Izakaya, and Ancaron Macarons.
• Congratulations to Drift who just opened a larger commissary kitchen.
• Happy second birthday to Rosewood Foods!
• Hart’s Table was the lone Edmonton restaurant that made the list of Open Table’s Top 100 Brunch Spots in Canada.
• Edify paid visits to El Corazon, PACT Coffee, and Rossonero Trattoria.
• Also from Edify, they profiled the folks behind Board and Iron Charcuterie and Arcadia Brewing.
• Taproot Edmonton wrote a story about how The Public is connecting the brands they represent with consumers.
• The Journal covered Pei Pei Chei Ow Chef Scott Iserhoff’s cooking classes with Edmonton Public Library’s The Kitchen, as well as the end of Filipino Restaurant Month.
• SkipTheDishes launched Skip Express Lane in Alberta, which promises to deliver essentials, household and grocery items in less than 25 minutes.

What I Ate

• Mack and I finally made it to Stopgap Coffee – it’s a charming, bright space that offers some great coffee!

Our drinks from Stopgap Coffee

• We had some Friday night Thai from Viphalay.

Take-out from Viphalay

Nourishak Switches Gears for Downtown Crowd

Korean-fusion restaurant Nourishak recently relocated their restaurant from the west end to Downtown, and in the process, is revamping their menu to suit a different population.

Kiwook Lee, marketing director with Nourishak, shared that their intension is to provide a bridge to Korean cuisine. “Our goal is not just selling Korean foods but to build a strong formula that can convince and open minds to enjoy Korean recipes,” said Lee. “Even though K-culture is moving into the mainstream, Korean foods are not always a comfortable choice.”

Nourishak first opened in the west in April 2021, and functioned as a “testbed” as they better understood which menu items did well. “We served Korean authentic food menu such as Korean BBQ, including bulgogi, kalbi, and dakalbi, and also K-donair with Korean BBQ meat and sauce,” said Lee. “The menu received great feedback from our customers so we made a decision to run more menus like donairs with Korean recipes.”

In February, Nourishak relocated Downtown, and over the past few months, have been working to build up a customer base. Some of their fans have followed them from their previous location, but Lee is optimistic that the foot traffic Downtown will continue to increase. “We believe the pandemic is at the end of the corner and workers are starting to come back,” said Lee. “The area of our cafe has a lot of professional and engineer workers around. We are taking our own pace by carefully observing the customers’ needs and trying to build a strong set up for our business.”

Nourishak will be introducing a vegan menu shortly in response to the trends they have observed, and will also be opening up a patio as the weather permits.

Lee is hopeful that Nourishak can play a role in introducing more Edmontonians to Korean culture. “We believe more people are open to knowing about Korean culture and we hope to introduce Korean recipes and let the people find the joy and beauty in them.”

Openings

• Fu’s Repair Shop has taken over the Prairie Fish and Chips space (9902 109 Street) and is offering dim sum brunch, dumplings, and cocktails.
• Hoang Long’s third location, Hoang Long 888, is now open at 9892 Jasper Avenue.
• Mario’s Poutine & Pizzeria is now open at 8943 82 Avenue (the former Cheese Factory restaurant location).
• Stuffies Pastries Cafe, a BC-based chain, hosted their grand opening this past weekend. They specialize in custard-stuffed pastries. Find them at West Edmonton Mall
• Oodle Noodle has opened a new location in Fort Saskatchewan at 110, 9382 Southfort Road.

Closures

• Ono Poke is permanently closing their Edmonton location on May 28, 2022.
• Greenhouse will be closing their University of Alberta location but will be opening a new location on the south side in May.

Upcoming Events

• Biera, Garneau Block, and Little Duchess are hosting a joint pop-up at Ritchie Market on April 23, 2022 to showcase natural wines and some snacks.
• Kasey Ramen is hosting their second pop-up at District Cafe on April 24-25, 2022. Their first pop-up sold out, so if you’re interested, make sure you jump on the tickets when they become available.
• Save the date for the ninth annual Culinary Arts Cook-off, which supports arts programming at Highlands School. The event will take place on May 14, 2022 and will highlight cookies.
• Join Linda Hoang for a Jane’s Walk in Chinatown on May 8, 2022. Registration is required.

Local News

• 124 Market is gearing up for the 2022 season, and announced they will be expanding into a third location this summer. On Saturdays from June 5 – October 8, the 124 Market can be found at Manchester Square.
• Taproot featured the couple behind Stopgap Coffee, and has an update about the progress being made in the Barto Residence which will eventually house Vintage Fork.
• Chicken King, which has been open for about a year at 10951 101 Street, is worth seeking out, says Boyle McCauley News.
• Linda’s most recent Lindork Does Life vlog showcases Ernest’s at NAIT.
• Blues on Whyte opened their expanded patio last summer without the proper permits, and will likely now have to close it as it puts them over their allotted capacity.
• On a related note, the City opened their Summer Patio Program to enable businesses to “create safe and accessible spaces for everyone.”
• Kind Ice Cream’s Highlands location just celebrated their first birthday.
• Edmonton-based Tiffin Fresh Kitchen will be opening up an outpost in Kelowna soon.
• Hungry Zine’s Issue 02 is now out.
• The Journal highlighted several local “anti-foodie foodies” who have sprung up as a response to food influencers, including Ramneek Singh, Salvador Garcia of Fat Sal, and Brotherhood of Plates.
• John Williams of Blue Plate Diner will be stepping back from the day-to-day responsibilities at the restaurant.
• The new Roxy Theatre features a kitchen named after long-time supporter Gail Hall.
• This week’s episode of Let’s Do Coffee involves a chat with MilkCrate’s Steven Brochu and how he kept his business going during the pandemic.
• The latest episode of Let’s Meet For a Beer features Peter Keith of Meuwly’s.

What I Ate

• After what felt like a long week, we decided to kick off the start of the long weekend with pizza from High Dough. No regrets.

Pizza for days from High Dough

• It’s hard to avoid Mini Eggs at this time of year, and I happily indulged this season. The Mini Egg donut at Farrow hit the spot this weekend.

Mini Egg donut from Farrow

Ghost Kitchen Incubator Markt Brands to Launch this Fall

Markt Brands has leased a 10,000-square-foot space in south Edmonton to house up to 25 ghost kitchens, offering food entrepreneurs a chance to get into the restaurant business at a lower cost and with less hassle.

The space at 99 Street and 34 Avenue, which will be carved into bays of 200 square feet each, is set to launch in October. Markt CEO Kyle Ferbey said his experience in the food industry over the past two years led to the idea.

“We’ve seen two big trends in the pandemic,” said Ferbey, who separately operates 16 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchises in Edmonton. “The first is a shift to a delivery-based model. Our delivery numbers at Popeyes increased from 3% to 20%. Second, there are rising costs that make it more difficult to start and operate a restaurant.”

Markt’s model is similar to CloudKitchens, an American-based startup that operates in more than two dozen states and recently launched in Toronto. Markt vendors will pay $5,000 a month for basics like rent, utilities, and pest control, as well as marketing support, third-party delivery app coordination, and securing other backbone services such as accounting at competitive rates. Ferbey compares this overhead cost to an estimated $500,000 to launch a conventional brick-and-mortar restaurant.

“The goal is to eliminate a lot of the major challenges to open a restaurant and set them up as a success,” said Ferbey. “I think there’s a lot of that out there, people who are too afraid to start a restaurant because it’s too financially risky. If someone comes to us and has really great food, we can help them create something great by eliminating the hassles and headaches.”

So far, Markt has nine confirmed vendors, whose concepts include Chinese, Filipino, Thai, burgers, and vegan food.

“We have a mix of people who have never owned a restaurant in their lives to people who have owned restaurants and want to try a new concept, and one gentleman who wants to expand a concept,” said Ferbey. “One woman is currently working at 7-Eleven and has always dreamed about opening a restaurant. We are taken aback that she trusts us.”

Nghia Truong and his wife Nin are among the vendors who have already signed on to Markt. Along with his parents, Nghia ran Sweet Mango and then its successor, Mini Mango, for 13 years. Due to health-related challenges, the family decided to sell the business in 2020, but they are now looking to get back into the hospitality industry in a different way.

“Being a restaurant owner is one of the most challenging ordeals,” said Truong. “When you’re putting your heart and soul into making the best product, and if you have a young family, it makes it even harder. When we first opened Mini Mango, my son wasn’t even one yet. It took a lot of years of sacrifice and time away from my kids to make it work.”

Truong has known Ferbey for more than a decade as a regular customer at Mini Mango, and he’s keen on letting Markt do the heavy lifting so he and Nin can concentrate on the food. They’re considering up to three concepts for their ghost kitchen: a scaled-down version of Mini Mango, offering vermicelli bowls and banh mi sandwiches, a drink concept featuring Vietnamese coffee with boba, and packaged Vietnamese cakes.

“Anyone with a food concept can just focus on making food,” said Truong. “They cover all of the maintenance and nuances of running a restaurant, and the startup will be one-tenth of the traditional restaurant. It’s much more feasible and realistic.”

Truong was also swayed by Markt’s vision for expansion. If successful, Ferbey’s intention is to build additional locations in Edmonton and, eventually, throughout the country.

“By expanding our footprint, it gives vendors an option to rapidly expand their brands across Canada,” said Ferbey. “If we have 25 locations in Canada, people could licence their brand across Canada within a matter of months.”

But it will all come down to good food. “We look at it as a restaurant incubator with people who want to share incredible food with the world,” said Ferbey. “Food brings us together.”

COVID-19-related News

• Pho Tau Bay is closing for a week due to a staff member contracting COVID-19.

Openings

• El Corazon, a Mexican restaurant located in the West Block Glenora (14101 West Block Drive, #150), opened last week.
• Burger Daddy is now open at 4351 167 Avenue.

Upcoming Events

• The Lions Club is hosting a wine and cheese tasting fundraiser on April 30, 2022 at the St. John’s Cultural Centre. Tickets are $65.
• Urban Pedal Tours start up in April, with public and private tours now available to be booked.
• Chef Table Living announced their new season of Food Bike Tours, running May 7-September 24, 2022. Tickets start at $139 per person, and each include stops at four businesses.

Local News

• CBC highlighted the newest café in Oliver, located in a heritage home, Stopgap Coffee.
• Sharon visited three new-ish pizza spots: Birch & Bear, Community Taps + Pizza and High Dough’s second location.
• Edify also stopped by Community Taps + Pizza.
• Phil’s latest Best Dish column is all about Little Village.
• Riverbank Bistro’s duck confit was featured by Edify.
• The Journal caught up with the owners of Broken Spoke Cider, Normand’s, and Haweli.
• Global showcased sports bar Home and Away, which took over the Mercer Tavern space downtown.
• Good Earth will be taking over some of the vacant Starbucks locations located inside Indigo and Chapters shops, including the west end Chapters.

What I Ate

• We had a lovely time last week at our favourite staycation getaway, Prairie Creek Inn. I always look forward to their breakfasts and it’s such a treat to be able to eat outdoors in the spring.

Hot breakfast from Prairie Creek Inn

• We also stopped by Rocky Mountain House and grabbed some take-out from Cucina, a restaurant offering Korean and Italian dishes on the same menu. I really enjoyed their bulgogi poutine.

Bulgogi poutine from Cucina

Pandemic Pivot High Dough Becomes Permanent Fixture

High Dough, the Detroit-style pizza pivot from Three Boars, celebrated two milestones this past week: it commemorated its second birthday amidst opening up a second restaurant.

Pizza was never meant to be a long-term solution when High Dough was born in March 2020, said chef and co-owner Brayden Kozak.

“Transitioning to High Dough in the moment was a temporary plan while we weathered the storm of COVID, but that just never ended. Any chance of opening back up for dine-in just seemed so far that we kept rolling with High Dough. But we were happy with how quickly it took off, and we eventually wanted to look for a more suitable permanent location.”

Although the Three Boars space in Garneau has housed High Dough for two years, it hasn’t been ideal. The ovens at the restaurant weren’t meant for pizza, and as a result, the cook times were lengthy, and they often had to cap orders as a result. “We just couldn’t maximize our outputs at the Garneau location,” said Kozak.

After some shopping around, they settled on a space across from Strathcona High School, which in a previous life had been a commissary for local chain Royal Pizza. They installed high output ovens, and they have access to a larger garage door to easily receive sizable supply orders.

“It was necessary that this location could absorb the business from Garneau,” said Kozak. “We were really focused on this location being designed for high-volume delivery more than dine-in and pickup.”

As was the case with Garneau, the Strathcona branch offers counter service only, but the larger space made it possible to install four booths for seating. It will also sell pizza by the slice, but likely just at lunch. If all goes well, Kozak said, High Dough will open additional locations in the future, taking a page out of the playbook for Farrow, which he also co-owns.

The Garneau storefront will continue to operate as a High Dough for the time being, but not forever, Kozak shared.

“It is a highly underutilized restaurant space, and we want to get back into the groove to have a fully dine-in restaurant,” said Kozak. “But the High Dough concept doesn’t work in that space. The tables are small, and with the cook times on the pizza, who wants to sit there for 45 minutes to wait for pizza to show up?”

However, fans of Three Boars will be disappointed to learn that it will likely not return. “It’s probably going to be something else,” said Kozak. “For me personally, I’ve had two years to grieve the death of Three Boars. Three Boars had a time and a place, and the people who worked there made it what it was. To try and reopen that place from scratch doesn’t feel right.”

He doesn’t have a specific timeline in mind, but is hopeful that the shift will happen within the year.

At the very least, Kozak is looking forward to being able to interact with diners again soon.

“I miss hosting people. A large part of the job is creating an atmosphere that people want to come and enjoy. The bar and the patio was my favourite spot in Three Boars. It feels strange with no one in there.”

Openings

• Calgary-based PACT Coffee is now open at 10370 82 Avenue (formerly a Starbucks).
• High Dough’s second location in Strathcona, at 7341 104 Street, is now open.
• Yomie’s Yogurt, offering an “authentic natural yogurt drink”, is opening on April 9 at 10746 82 Avenue.
• American-based chain Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is opening in Edmonton on April 21, 2022 at 5125 Mullen Road.

Upcoming Events

• Sorrentino’s annual Garlic Festival celebrates its 30th year for the month of April, and returns with garlic cooking classes, wine dinners, and a special garlic-focused menu.
• The Century Grill concept (which closed many years ago) is taking over Hart’s Table on April 14, 2022.
• Chef Table Living will be hosting 118 Food Walk Tours from April 16-May 7, 2022. Tickets are $82.

Local News

• Congratulations to this year’s Western Living Foodies of the Year. Edmonton-area representatives on the list include Jennifer Keith and Luke Butterworth of JustCook Kitchens, Scott Iserhoff of Pei Pei Chei Ow, Faaiza Ramji and Lindsey Good of Field Notes, Gurpreet Ranu of Anohka Distillery, James Grant of Little Hong Kong, Omar Mouallem for his documentary The Last Baron, and Kyla Pascal and Kathryn Gwun-Yeen Lennon of Hungry Zine.
• Edmontonian and forthcoming cookbook author Cheata Nao will be leading a Cambodian cooking class at Get Cooking.
• Edify pays a visit to Spice Kitchen & Bar (located in the former Cibo space).
• Pampa’s west location is offering a new a la carte menu.
• Northern Chicken co-owner Matt Phillips shared on social media that the “next few weeks are critical to the continued existence of our business”, and in response, the local community stepped up.
• Congratulations to Tokiwa Ramen on reaching its fifth birthday!
• Sea Change Brewing is relaunching its popular special label, Shumka Blonde Ale, in celebration of Shumka on Tour. $1 for every four-pack sold will be donated to Artists in Ukraine.
• Alberta Food Tours shares ten places for sourdough in Alberta, highlighting Bon Ton, Boulangerie Bonjour, and Brio Bakery in Edmonton.
• Al Fresco on 4th will return this summer for 10 Saturdays from 11am-3pm, running June 25 and ending August 27, 2022.
• Mike Yasinski, formerly of Hudsons, was elected as the Board President of Restaurants Canada. Yasinski is currently working on opening Rally Social Room, an activity based bar and restaurant, in Edmonton.
• The latest episode of Amplify Your Business features The Art of Charcuterie.
• Edmonton-based company Flat Out Feasts has pioneered creating freeze-dried meals in Alberta intended for backcountry trips.
• Food4Good re-launched their Good Food 2 Go affordable food options boxes, and sold out “due to unprecedented demand”.

Beyond Edmonton

• Calgary hosted a “pay what you want” market that aimed to reduce stigma of food insecurity by posting suggested prices but allowing customers the opportunity to anonymously pay what they’re able to.

What I Ate

• Our first Downtown Dining Week meal saw Mack and I sharing two different $20 deals (the beauty of take-out)! – the Stonair from Farrow and my favourite Hangover Burger from Jack’s Burger Shack. Mack loved the Doritos crunch on the sandwich, and waffle buns are a fun novelty. By combining combos we also got to split fries, a milkshake and dessert.

Farrow and Jack’s Burger Shack Downtown Dining Week features

• Our next Downtown Dining Week meal was another mash-up to enable us to try more restaurants: Tiffin, Dagu, and Smoke BBQ. The portions at all three restaurants were massive, and my family all had leftovers to take home. We were especially impressed with the burnt ends from Smoke BBQ, and continue to be impressed by how crispy their fries remain after being carted home in a box.

Take-out for four adults(!) from Downtown Dining Week

• It might be the best Downtown Dining Week deal this year – 2 breakfast sandwiches and 2 coffees from District Cafe for $20. So delicious (hard to argue with either truffle mushroom or bacon and egg), and it was even tastier enjoyed in the sunshine.

Breakfast sandwiches from District Cafe