Openings
- MSSM will open a sister restaurant called Yori in Edmonton.
- Long-standing Capilano restaurant Fargos has opened a second location at 11998 109A Avenue NW. They will commemorate their grand opening on September 4.
- Sip Soda Co.’s fourth location in the Edmonton area is now open at 10512 82 Avenue NW.
- Kindling is the newest food truck to hit the streets of Edmonton, offering artisan pizza.
- Calgary-based Lil E Coffee, a non-profit that provides employment to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is coming to Edmonton. Lil E will open a cafe in the HSBC Bank Place in early 2027.
- Coffee House 77 is forthcoming to 1377 Rosenthal Blvd NW.
Upcoming Events
- Festa Italiana returns to Giovanni Caboto Park on August 30. Expect food, entertainment, and vendors.
Local News
- There was much drama in the food scene last week, between an influencer known as yegbesteats and local bakery The Better Baker. It all started when yegbesteats posted her private messages with the bakery asking them to consider renaming a feature sandwich they were offering, from a “cro-mi” (or croissant banh mi) to a banh mi-inspired sandwich. The bakery owner, who is white, responded by accusing the influencer of not posting after receiving free product. Many criticisms have been lobbed against both sides (including allegations that The Better Baker owes unpaid wages to numerous employees). In many ways, yegbesteats has been made a proxy for the growing distaste of influencers. Time will tell if the bakery can sustain its business in the long term with this bump in awareness, and whether the public becomes more demanding of ethical influencer practices.
- I love a good collaboration, and White Rabbit’s newest flavour, inspired by Kissa 10’s Kinako Latte, definitely fits that bill.
- Hurrah for the return of Pho Tau Bay! They re-opened on August 21 after a temporary closure due to health complications of their Soup Grandma.
- Roasti Coffee shared that customers on August 4 and 13 may have been exposed to Hepatitis A.
- The Globe and Mail profiled Aliya’s Food, the Edmonton company behind the popular Chef Bombay brand of frozen products.
What I Ate
- Our family enjoyed the festivities at the Edmonton Dragon Festival on the weekend. It was neat to watch the premiere of Shades of LuLu, a documentary about a prominent local hairdresser who came as a refugee fleeing the Vietnam War (I have early memories of going to her shop as a child). We enjoyed food from some of the vendors, including this pork belly bao from Java Chef.
Pork belly bao from Java Chef
- I joined the family for lunch at Sabor’s annual fish and chips Fridays, an annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House and Santa’s Anonymous (there is just one more on August 28)! It was great to see a healthy crowd lined up down the block. While I recognize that pop-ups for charity are not a true stand in for those running an ongoing business, given all the bad news stories about downtown this summer, it’s great to have a good news story.
Any excuse to eat outside
Only Here for the Food 