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
Only Here for the Food 