Group behind El Jardin and El Corazon has String of Restaurants in Mind
The owners of the recently launched El Jardin have big plans to open several more restaurants in Edmonton.
The restaurant, whose name means “the garden” in Spanish, opened in the Mercer Warehouse in July. It’s a second venture from business partners Hifa Maleki and Percy Wiredu, who opened El Corazon in Glenora’s West Block in April 2022.
Maleki and Wiredu named their company 10 Hospitality Group, as they intend to open 10 restaurants, each with a unique concept, across Edmonton by 2027. They already have a third, named El Cielo (“the sky” in Spanish), slated for the Keswick neighbourhood in February 2024.
“We love Edmonton and want to see very exciting things done in the city,” Maleki told Taproot. “We have to be momentum shifters. We want to inspire more people to open businesses in our community.”
The space in the Mercer, which was formerly occupied by Rostizado, was an opportunity too good to pass up. Maleki said the landlord entertained 30 offers before selecting them.
“They wanted a restaurant to bring on a different clientele,” she said. “We told them that we’re going to do it justice, maintain the integrity of the building, and bring something classy.”
Maleki said all of their restaurant concepts are developed organically, influenced by the spaces they inhabit. “Our thought was because this space is hidden from the street it’s like a secret garden,” said Maleki. “All of our cocktails also have some kind of botanical in them — rosewater, saffron, basil, rosemary. Same with our food, we use aromatics unapologetically. It may not look like you’re in a garden, but it tastes like one.”
El Jardin co-owner Hifa Maleki and general manager Mehraz Soltani
The menu at El Jardin is similar to El Corazon’s in the way it highlights dishes from across the Latin American region. “We want to be influenced and inspired and incorporate more of a range of countries because it allows us to be more playful and offer more variety,” said Maleki.
However, Maleki points out that El Jardin has a slight focus on Peruvian items, especially cold seafood plates such as ceviches and aguachiles. One of the most popular dishes since opening is the tuna tiradito, a seared tuna with Latin and Asian flavours.
El Jardin is not the duo’s first venture downtown. Wiredu had been running El Beso for a few years before Maleki joined in on the ownership. Due to circumstances with the landlord beyond their control, they were forced to close El Beso in the same month El Jardin opened.
“We loved the brand and the location,” said Maleki. “It was heartbreaking to open another business while we were closing one. There’s a possibility we’ll revive El Beso in the future, but we would look for a space that would do it justice.”
Maleki is aware of the stigma surrounding downtown, but believes the spotlight has been disproportionately negative.
“There’s not enough focus on the great things that are going on downtown,” she said. “I am a female business owner and I am responsible for a lot of staff. If I thought they were at risk, I wouldn’t have opened a business here.”
While El Jardin has only been open for just over a month, feedback has been positive so far. “Everyone’s been very receptive,” said Maleki. “People are excited to see that there’s something new downtown.”
Openings
- Two locations of Paris Baguette, a South Korean bakery and cafe chain, are to open in Edmonton soon: at Southpark on Whyte (Unit #8, 10607 82 Avenue) and West Edmonton Mall.
- It looks like new life might be coming to the vacant space in the McLeod Building downtown, named Often.
- Quickly x Kokoriko, a bubble tea and Korean fried chicken shop has opened at 11013 26 Avenue NW.
- Butter Chicken & More opened up earlier this summer at 6875 Ad Astra Blvd NW.
- In May, Sushi Cafe Madang took over the space formerly occupied by Green Ash Cafe.
Upcoming Events
- A Culina Highlands throwback pop-up dinner is taking place at the Culina McCauley event space on September 14. Tickets are $59 and include a family-style dinner.
- On September 21, University of Alberta is hosting Dr. Michael Fakhri, a UN Special Rapporteur and Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law to discuss the fundamental right to food. The event is free but requires pre-registration.
- Mark your calendar for the next Chinatown After Dark event, on September 23, from 5-10pm in the alley behind China Marble (10566 97 Street). Expect tasty food and fun activities in an unusual location.
Local News
- After a brief closure for renovations, Bar Bricco has re-opened.
- Nepali restaurant Thamel Bistro has re-opened as Thamel Eatery in August at the same location, 12413 118 Avenue.
- Noodleholic has relocated from Chinatown to the southside, at 3350 Parsons Road (formerly Wow Chicken).
- Congratulations to Woodwork on a decade in business! To celebrate, they’re offering a throwback menu of cocktails and food from their original menu in September.
- Congratulations also to La Poutine for reaching their 12th anniversary.
- Edify checked out La Carraia’s gelato burger, and their latest Fav Eats is all about The Art of Cake.
- Fuge Sausage worked with a NWT evacuee who has a sausage shop in Yellowknife to replicate one of his sausage recipes. Proceeds from the sale of the sausages are going to the evacuee and wildfire relief.
- Two Yellowknife evacuees worked with local Pakistani organizations to provide hundreds of halal and vegetarian meals to fellow evacuees.
- It might be a little soon for some to be thinking about winter, but Baijiu is already preparing for its cold weather patio season. Baijiu shared that it will be installing a unique infrared heated structure for winter.
- The Journal featured the origins of a new coriander liqueur produced by Edmonton’s Above Average Drinks.
Urban Agriculture and Farming
- Edmonton Public Library has decided to end its seed library program after only on year due to an inability to keep up with demand.
- The Alberta Motor Association is installing beehives at some of its locations, including the building on Calgary Trail, in order to raise awareness about pollinators.
What I Ate
- It’s become a bit of an end-of-summer tradition for us to dine on Dalla’s patio before the end of those warm weather nights. The di mamma continues to be my go-to pasta at Dalla.
Di mamma from Dalla
- Emily and I enjoyed the Symphony in the Square on the weekend. It was a busy night for the food trucks, but I joked with Ariel from Filistix that the crowd was a fraction of what they would have seen on the craziest What the Truck?! night (something long time readers may remember). The chori burger was so tasty – I think it’s one of the underrated burgers in the city.
Chori burger from Filistix
- It’s been a while since our last Kasey Ramen order (I hope to make it to one of their pop-ups sooner or later!), but their tonkotsu sure hit the spot this weekend.
Kasey Ramen tonkotsu at home
Only Here for the Food 