Food Notes for April 6, 2026

Openings

• Teepee Treats opened last week at their new location, Kakio Studio Cafe, 10219 106 Avenue NW.
• El Cafesito is a new Mexican cafe located at 8111 102 Street NW.
• Always Coffee opened in the former La Prosciutteria space in March at 10906 105 Avenue NW. Always is also planning for a location in Windermere at 6070 Andrews Way SW.
• Pakistani restaurant Khan Kebabs & Karahi relocated to 2619 Ellwood Drive SW, and will re-open on April 7.
• Meat the Bun opened a third location in Edmonton last week at 9919 170 Street NW.
• Soul Fuel Kitchen in Beaumont, serving up fried chicken, pizza, dirty soda, and matcha, is celebrating their grand opening on April 11.
• I’ve had a few people message me about the breakfast sandwiches from Bruin, a weekend pop-up at St. Albert’s Bread Love. It’s been open since December, and has already amassed its share of fans. Looking forward to checking it out!
• A second Edmonton location of BB2 Korean BBQ opens at West Edmonton Mall on April 16.
• Paraiso Tropical had teased a new location earlier this year – they announced last week that their north location will be moving to Manchester Square.
• Dirty soda company Sip Soda Co. announced two additional locations in the Edmonton area (adding to their first in Sherwood Park): Schonsee and Ellerslie.
• A new food truck called Hibachi House Japanese Teppanyaki Grill will be opening on April 17 at The Lodge Inn parking lot, 15540 Stony Plain Road NW.
• The influx of American sandwich chains continue (something I am questioning just with the sheer volume over the past couple of years): this week sees Jimmy John’s enter the Edmonton area market, in Sherwood Park. Find it at 140, 663 Wye Road.
• Dennis Africa and Caribbean Market is now open at 17635 58 Street NW.

Closures

• Blue Chair announced its closure after 22 years in business, and will close permanently April 26.
• Progress means that even old high school haunts have to go – in this case, it means the Boston Pizza on Jasper Avenue and 106 Street, which closed on March 31. Mack and I had many a meal there back in the early ‘aughts.

Upcoming Events

• I love seeing diverse and interesting events, such as this Peruvian Pilipino pop-up at Boa & Hare on May 23-24: “Peru & Philippines share a deep history under the Spanish Empire, and this connection is reflected in both cuisines, which feature similar food concepts and cooking techniques.” Admission tickets are $10 and will be deducted from the diner’s final a la carte bill.

Local News

• Garner Beggs, co-founder of Duchess, announced that he will be stepping away from the bakery for his next chapter. Back in 2022, Beggs’ co-founder Giselle Courteau and her partner Jake Pelletier stepped away from Duchess, and two new partners, Jay Downton and Ewa Jastrzebski (of Little Brick and other businesses) were brought in.
• Japanese restaurant Soban will be relocating away from its Old Strathcona home.
• Edify highlighted some tea blenders and Boa and Hare, known for its matcha.
• Also from Edify, they checked out the KFC at Bonchon and The Coffee Shop in Devon.
• Twice Cream experienced a break-in at their Sherwood Park location over the weekend. Show them some love if you’re able.
• Welcome to no verification reporting: “Edmonton Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market lost half of its customers due to paid parking.”
• Thanks to Culinaire for the shout-out in their April issue, recognizing my twenty years of food reporting.
• It’s so great to see a homegrown brand like Aliya’s Foods Limited, through their Chef Bombay line, continue to grow their success.
• The Italian Centre Shop is readying their second Calgary location at Northland Village Mall.

What I Ate

No Food Notes next week as I will be out of town. But Taproot will have their Food Roundup published as scheduled, so if you need your fix, head over there!

• Mack and I had the time to make a sojourn to the south on the weekend. One stop was cafe Kissa10. I loved the small scale retail spaces around the traffic circle, and the owners have made the most of the pocket space. The Kinako latte was tasty with a subtle sweetness.

Kinako latte from Kissa10

• We also had dinner at JuuKu. We had high expectations given their recent honour, but it is unfortunate that they weren’t met. It wasn’t one particular thing, but many small things added up: the cuts on the ahi tuna were sloppy, the pacing of the dishes was poor, and service varied widely throughout our visit. Of what we tried, the dry aged picanha beef ho fun was our favourite, decadent and tasty. Hopefully it was just an off night.

Beef ho fun from JuuKuu

• We ended our evening at Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co. It was hopping that night! It was so great seeing a range of ages and groups. They also had good dessert choices (the Biscoff milk cake hit the spot), but I will say their lack of caffeine-free options will limit this as a daytime destination only for me in the future.

Dessert from Qamaria

• It’s been much too long since our last visit to Otto, so it was the perfect location for a family dinner with my sister and Jason. The food is consistently delicious, service helpful, and my kids always feel at ease. It’s such a gem.

  

  Otto platter