The Hub Launches Pop-Up Restaurant Incubator in Old Strathcona
Peter Keith, the co-founder of Meuwly’s on 124 Street, is excited that his new venture The Hub is located in Old Strathcona.
“I love 124 Street, I own a home in that neighbourhood,” said Keith. “But Whyte Avenue is a different beast. There are so many pedestrians, so many other businesses where people can make a day of it. You can get breakfast, go shopping, get lunch, and hang out outside in one short walk.”
The Hub is Keith’s new business incubator with Glendon Tan, a commercial landlord and co-owner of Meuwly’s. It is intended as a launch pad for businesses wanting to own their own brick and mortar space, and allows them to offer a full-service restaurant experience in a pop-up format.
Keith strongly believes The Hub is filling the gap specifically for businesses that don’t fit as seamlessly into utilizing farmers’ markets as a starting point. “Not everyone fits that mold,” said Keith. “Alberta Health Services doesn’t love people serving ready-to-eat food at markets. Farmers’ markets are great for packaged food. We’ve figured out how to make the jump from farmers’ market to grocery store shelf. But to jump from market to restaurant or café, this is to fill that void. That’s why this needs to be on Whyte Ave and set up for food service, and not in a basement like Meuwly’s.”
Located at 10345 82 Avenue NW, The Hub takes it name from the location’s historic occupant as Hub Cigar and Newsstand.
“Things like this can help give people a fighting chance,” said Keith. “Help them save up some cash before they open a permanent place, help them test drive ideas. We talk about iteration, making improvements. This is meant to be a stepping stone.”
Peter Keith at The Hub
The Hub launched in early July with two brands: Balay Coffee and Beb’s Bagels. Balay Coffee offers a variety of coffee and tea-based drinks, as well as Filipino pastries. Under its previous name, Intent Coffee, Balay had a short-lived café in Southgate Centre that closed in 2021. Balay shared that the lessons learned from their café closure led them to “do pop-ups first before moving to bigger projects like opening a full on coffee shop or take on roasting.” This year, Balay had been running pop-ups at Delavoye Chocolate and Kommune Snack Bar.
Beb’s Bagels has been baking out of Meuwly’s since 2022, and in 2023, Keith became a partner in the business. Beb’s Bagels are served at six locations around Edmonton and Camrose, including at Transcend Coffee and Objects. Beb’s is also known for their brisket sandwiches that were available at Meuwly’s on Saturdays.
Keith said that both businesses set their own hours but the hope is that any overlap could benefit the other. “There is a halo effect from each other’s brands,” said Keith. “Customers can come in for coffee and then discover another brand.”
Since opening, Keith said The Hub has been well received so far. “The energy on Whyte Ave has been fantastic, with weekends being especially busy,” said Keith.
At present, Beb’s and Balay have only committed to The Hub until the end of August, but they may extend their stay. Keith said he has already been approached by several other businesses hoping to be a part of The Hub in the future.
Keith shared that his partner Tan owns the building, and given the space was most recently a restaurant, it was close to a turnkey situation. While The Hub has taken on the lease, utilities and equipment maintenance costs, businesses pay rent to cover some of those expenses. Unlike the risk of taking on long-term lease and the costs of renovations directly, businesses wishing to join The Hub can do so for short-term stints, as brief as a weekend in duration. Later in August, Keith will announce details for several pop-ups scheduled for the fall, including Pitt County BBQ, “Choogle Dogs” hot dogs (currently available at Polyrhythm Brewing), and Van Loc/Boa and Hare.
In addition to Meuwly’s and The Hub, Keith’s full-time day job is in a similar field, as a director of the eHUB Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Alberta. He works to support founders to conceptualize and scale their companies.
Keith’s passion about supporting entrepreneurs is a direct result from his own experience. He said he benefited from having strong mentors as he came up in the food industry from the age of 14, and it has charted his path to continue to give back. “People started to surround me and provide me with opportunities as role models,” said Keith. “The right thing to do is to be the same person for others.”
Openings
Closures
- Back in May, Northern Mexican restaurant Maria closed.
Upcoming Events
- Prelude is a “speakeasy pop-up” being hosted Thursday evenings until the end of September at Last Modern Events. Tickets are $17.31 and attendees can order cocktails and tapas.
- I missed sharing the first event, but the West Block Food Crawl will run again on August 20, 2025. Tickets are $81.21 and include a visit to all West Block restaurants.
Local News
- After six years as Toast Culture, the restaurant is rebranding fully into its sister brand Birch & Bear. It closed on July 28 and will re-open on August 27 to embrace a pizza-based menu. The Wîhkwêntôwin location will offer a limited brunch menu with some previous Toast Culture favourites. After the re-brand, Birch & Bear will have three locations in Edmonton.
- Century Hospitality’s Rebel Food and Drink has moved into its former Stingray space in Crestwood. Find it at 9682 142 Street.
- An update on the couple trying to re-open Jasper’s Patricia Street Deli in Edmonton indicates that it could be open in September.
- The Edmonton Journal interviewed chef Eric Hanson of Bar Trove to discuss the menu and how he came into the role.
- Taproot published a piece on the popularity of pop-ups in Edmonton, with examples of The Hub and Vagabond.
- Edify checked out Pharoah’s Restaurant (Edmonton’s only Egyptian restaurant), Castle Bake, and published a profile of forager and filmmaker Kevin Kossowan.
- Congratulations to Little Brick and Rogue Wave Coffee on a decade in business!
- Speaking of coffee, the 2025 Canadian National Barista Championship was held in Edmonton this past weekend, hosted by The Colombian. A barista from Calgary’s The Monogram placed first.
- The Tea Girl shared a letter sent by the lawyers representing David’s Tea demanding that they stop using an allegedly trademarked name, Serenity Now. The Tea Girl shared that two other Canadian independent businesses were sent similar letters, then that the company reached out to “clear up the misunderstanding.” It is a reminder to support local when you can!
- Condolences to the family and friends of Vivo Ristorante’s founding partner, Gregg Kenney, who passed away.
What I Ate
- We had a wonderful vacation on Vancouver Island – being immersed in the mix of the rainforest and ocean is like balm for my soul. We also ate more local on this trip than previous times (it helps when you go at the near-height of their growing season to stock the kitchen), including picking enough blueberries at Stewart’s Berry Patch to last us our entire trip. We loved the Qualicum Farmers’ Market, and found an amazing fishmonger in French Creek that was worth revisiting twice.
Picking blueberries with Ellie
- Of course, out in Sooke, we had to visit our family favourites Stoked and Shirley Delicious. I will treasure the photos of our kids taken over the years in these same spaces.
Stoked Pizza
- Since returning to Edmonton, I’ve had my share of good food here, too. I attended the Swine and Dine dinner at Boualouang with my friend Su, and tried some new-to-me dishes that I will definitely return to, including their crispy coconut shrimp and drunken noodles. The $40 family-style meal was a great value; we sampled a total of eight dishes, with leftovers.
Drunken noodles from Boualouang
- I also had lunch with my friend at The Marc, my first visit since the folks behind The Butternut Tree took over ownership. The steak frites were perfect – we had only hoped to enjoy the meal on the patio.
Steak frites from The Marc
- The Bánh Khọt (mini pancakes) from Saigon Taste was my favourite bite from Taste of Edmonton this year. Saigon Taste also won Best Booth Design at this year’s Taste of Edmonton Awards, along with five other restaurants.
Bánh Khọt at Taste of Edmonton
- Our family also headed to KDays for our annual midway excursion. And of course, we had to indulge in Those Little Donuts.
Ellie, asleep in the stroller, is not pictured
Only Here for the Food 