Guide to New Edinburgh’s Patio Pathway

By Randy Mar. Map by Chantel Richard. This article originally appeared in the June 2022 edition of the New Edinburgh News)

Patio season certainly arrived with a blast of heat and sunshine this spring!

The New Edinburgh News has put together a guide to help make choosing your patio easier. As you can see from the accompanying map and legend, at print time, there are at least 13 locations to choose from. You can head out your front door and walk or bike there in mere minutes.

New Edinburgh patios have you covered, whether you want to enjoy fantastic scenery, fall into deep loungers, absorb the urban streetscape, savour international cuisines, test in-store-baked goods, or sip your favourite beverage at a bistro-style table.  

Our community’s patios have family-style picnic tables on which to spread out, are off the beaten path, can be either open air or have sheltered overhangs, or offer colourful umbrellas to provide much-needed shade.  

Equally important is your choice of beverage, whether sipping tropical cocktails, tasting local craft beers, non-alcoholic refreshments, or simply a cold brewed or iced coffee.

The map legend also notes which patios are accessible (for those with mobility issues or strollers); serve alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, have public washrooms; offer kid-friendly menus; and provide shade.

Fun fact: the New Edinburgh Patio Pathway is 2.5 kilometres in length. It starts at Tavern on the Falls on Sussex Drive, weaving south to Union Street Kitchen Café, turning east at the Royal Oak, and continuing along Beechwood connecting Ministry of Coffee, Dhruvees, Starbucks, the Clocktower Brew Pub, and Mr. Luko, with a slight detour to Ola Cocina, then continuing to the Red Door, Bridgehead, and Bibi’s, before ending at Soca/Plantain Cartel.

Sadly, the patio at resident-favourite Fraser Café on Springfield Road is not able to open this summer for reasons beyond the owners Ross and Simon’s control. We will miss stopping by and enjoying their menu outdoors.

Let’s get outside and continue to support our neighbourhood businesses!

Burgh Business Briefs (April 2022)

By Jane Heintzman and Tamara Miller (This article originally appeared in the April 2022 edition of the New Edinburgh News)

Red Door co-owner opens new café

Late last fall, Lauren Power, the energetic owner–operator of Red Door Provisions at 117 Beechwood Ave., opened a new destination in the region’s culinary world. Lauren joined forces with business partner and skilled barista Emmett Pavey to take over Café Palmier, a cozy eatery opposite the Gatineau Park Visitors’ Centre at 40 Chemin Scott in Chelsea, Que. Café Palmier is housed in a spacious, state-of-the art building, and boasts lots of outdoor patio space for the warmer months to come.

The restaurant is open seven days a week, from 7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It serves a regular clientele of Chelsea locals along with hungry skiers, cyclists, and hikers visiting Gatineau Park from across the national capital region.

Café Palmier is closely linked to its sister operation at Red Door Provisions: its pastries are provided by Red Door’s production kitchen on Walkley Road. You’ll find many of your Beechwood favourites on the Chelsea menu, along with a similar repertoire of specialty coffees. Like Red Door, the café offers a lineup of preserves, pickles, maple syrup, hot chocolate, small-batch flours, and other products you can pick up when you visit for breakfast or lunch. And if you work up a thirst cycling or hiking in the park, craft beers and natural wines are also on the Café Palmier menu. The café’s freezer is well stocked with breads and pastries, and the team plans to stock a range of frozen meals as well. 

The two eateries do have a few differences, not least the Chelsea café’s significantly more spacious quarters. The Café Palmier menu is also, in Lauren’s words, “more involved” than the regular Red Door offering. She describes the breakfast menu as “fun fare,” with a touch of the eclecticism that characterizes her baking at Red Door. 

Breakfast options range from avocado toast to challah toast topped with peanut butter and jam; peanut butter and chocolate; ricotta and jam; and also beet and salmon gravlax. Try out breakfast bowls of all descriptions (several gluten-free): chia bowls; brown rice porridge; a “power” bowl; a “poké” bowl; and shakshuka, featuring poached eggs, spicy tomato and red pepper sauce, parmesan and ricotta cheeses, green onions, and greens. 

Lauren’s immediate to-do list for the Chelsea operation includes a major update of the Café Palmier website. For the moment, you can call 819-827-1777 for more information. We wish Lauren and Emmett the best of luck in their new venture, and a long and successful summer in that sylvan location. 

Back home in New Edinburgh, Red Door Provisions (117 Beechwood Ave.) continues to flourish as a hub for fine teas and coffees, and irresistible baked fare. Beechwood manager Kerry McRae also coordinates the supply links between Red Door’s production kitchen and Café Palmier, as well as the business’ catering operation. The store continues to operate on a take-out only basis, but looks forward to opening up both front and rear patios once the weather warms up. –JH

Dhruvees officially opens

We last spoke to Donald Wingell, founder and president of Wingell Hospitality group, in October 2021 just after his purchase of the former eatery Jasper at 18 Beechwood Ave., when his restaurant was just a concept. With Dhruvees now open for business, we caught up with Donald to learn more about his exciting new restaurant.

Dhruvees serves “North Star Cuisine,” inviting guests to experience various Asian cuisines in one location, with dishes carefully crafted by world-renowned Michelin Star celebrity chef Vikas Khanna. Dhruvees hasdeveloped its own signature spice mixtures – masalas – based on traditional recipes, with partners Arun Spices and Golden Roots in Malaysia.  Every day they mix the masalas, using key spice ingredients to marinate locally sourced Ontario meats.

Dhruvees’ signature dishes include the Indonesian favourite lamb rendang, Sri Lankan pepper crab, salmon tikka, and chicken malai tikka. The biryanis (available in lamb, chicken, shrimp, and vegetable) are made with fragrant long-grain basmati rice. Donald notes that if anyone has a specific meat or seafood request for a biryani, they can simply place an advance order. 

Dhruvees recently in introduced a daily “power lunch” menu that features a combination of steamed basmati rice, chapathi, chicken curry of the day, vegetable curry of the day, spiced baby potatoes, vegetable salad, and the daily dessert. This is in addition to a daily afternoon tea featuring Indian and Sri Lankan snacks, served from 3–5:30p.m. Their specially curated children’s menu with mini portions of select dishes has also been very popular with families.  

Donald also plans to start a weekday lunch buffet beginning in April, and a weekend brunch special which will include sparkling wines and mimosas, and an eclectic choice of North Star Cuisines’ dishes. Be on the lookout for live jazz music on select evenings at the Dhruvees’ corner patio as the weather gets nicer!

Dhruvees is located at 18 Beechwood Ave. Learn more or place a takeout order at dhruvees.com – your meal will be ready for pick-up in 35 minutes. –TM

New bakery emerges from its shell

When architect and designer Maged Kamal undertook an award-winning restoration–renovation of a dilapidated former bakery on The Mews Lane here in New Edinburgh, it never crossed his mind that he might someday operate a bakery of his own, only a few kilometres away at 285 St. Patrick St. (between Cumberland and Dalhousie Streets). But that improbable coincidence has become a reality, and Maged is poised to launch The Orange Turtle Bakery in the coming weeks. “It’s a new kind of bakery,” he explains. “Small, community-based and offering specialty baked goods inspired by cultures from around the world, notably those of Europe and the Mediterranean.”

The links between Maged’s professional background as an architect and designer and his new vocation as a specialty baker and small-business operator may not be immediately obvious. But, he says: “it became clear to me with time, that I was able to bring the same creative processes to this new project, and apply them to recipes with very interesting results!” Maged is no stranger to the art of baking, having worked as a youth with his mother and grandmother, and later recreating many of their recipes. His plan is to start slowly at the Orange Turtle with a small assortment of baked goods – cakes, loaves (including several banana loaf variations), scones, and shortbread, – along with coffee and tea. Once the client base is established, he will gradually expand the repertoire to include unique cakes, specialty coffees and gourmet sandwiches.

Tasty baked goods have an obvious appeal. But Maged’s cosmopolitan background and extensive travels convinced him that bakeries also contribute to the fabric and vibrancy of communities. Much of his youth was spent in Norway and Germany, close to the Swiss border, where he was struck by the importance of the many bakeries thriving in those communities, each with its own distinctive fare and character. 

Maged hopes to recreate that effect in the Ottawa context, via both the quality and appeal of his products, and the welcoming atmosphere at The Orange Turtle as a hub for sociability and community life. In the short term, Maged has plans for some modest outdoor seating as the weather warms up, and down the road, he intends to install a small indoor counter and benches where clients can enjoy a pastry and a cup of fine coffee en routeto or from the market. He is enthusiastic about the advantages of his St. Patrick Street location, where there is one-hour free parking, along with local bus routes. “And it’s within walking and cycling distance of New Edinburgh,” he adds.  

Maged explains the significance of the bakery’s intriguing name: “The turtle was a logical choice. It’s a friendly, timeless, universal symbol. And I settled on the colour orange from the beginning, because it’s a cheerful and positive colour, and a contemporary one as well.” At this moment in 2022, cheerful, positive and friendly additions to our world are more than welcome!

While he is understandably reluctant to name a specific opening date, given the recent challenges of the pandemic and the recent downtown occupation, Maged hopes to launch The Orange Turtle by the end of April, operating initially on a farmers’ market schedule between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. “Maybe it’s apt that our logo is a turtle,” he says, reflecting on the numerous delays encountered in the fit-up of the premises. While the bakery’s website is still in development, you are welcome to call 613-562-2253 (BAKE) for the latest on the opening date. 

We wish Maged success in his new venture and look forward to the day when the Turtle emerges from its shell to greet the spring!  –JH

Tiny corner café a great meet-up spot

Spring has sprung at the Union Street Kitchen Café at 42 Crichton St.– just ask some of the loyal customers who, according to owner Christine Garand, have been like family.  Since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago, Union Street Kitchen Café has moved away from indoor ordering and eating to an outdoor-only model. This has led to an unexpected result – neighbours gathering and getting to know one another!   

Christine tells us that although the café’s outdoor space is limited to a few seats and benches, patrons now tend to mill around the outside of the location while they enjoy their drinks and treats. Folks are congregating in a way that they never did when they were inside. In fact, some of their biggest gatherings happen on Sundays after church services when customers socialize after collecting their coffee orders.

And Christine is in no rush to change this model. She and her team have been able to remain open for the duration of the pandemic (except for a few months at the beginning) because of the shift to outdoor pickup.  Her regulars really appreciate this new way of operating and she tells the New Edinburgh News that she is doing her part to make sure our most vulnerable remain safe.

And with the nicer weather just around the corner, this makes outdoor and physically-distant gathering even easier.  Patrons can now enjoy favourites that are back on the menu, such as their popular iced drinks or their lavender lemonade, homemade with an organic lavender syrup that they make in-house from scratch – just like everything else on their menu!  You can even get your order packed into a takeaway picnic box for convenient transport. And no need to worry about waste: all of the utensils and containers are compostable, including the coffee cups (though many regulars just bring their own mug for a fill up).

So if you are looking to get out of the house this spring and meet up with some of your neighbours, the Union Street Café has a bench waiting for you!

Union Street Café is located at 42 Crichton St. and can be found online at onunionstreet.ca/.

Their hours are: Mondays from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Tuesday to Fridays from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. and weekends from 9a.m. – 3 p.m. –TM  

Keep calm and eat scones

Ottawa restaurants and small businesses can perhaps be forgiven for lamenting that the prevailing local law recently has been Murphy’s Law: whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. 

Following two difficult years of dislocation and lost business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many in the downtown core were subjected to still more punishment during the three-week occupation by the so-called freedom convoy. Just as the relaxation of COVID restrictions offered the possibility of recovery, those hopes were dashed by another lengthy shutdown while protesters had free rein downtown.

Heather Matthew’s four SconeWitch outlets were among the many restaurants feeling the pain of this succession of calamities – not least the shop at 150 Elgin St., which was effectively marooned when Shopify abruptly departed the building at the start of the pandemic, and the lunch-hour crowd evaporated when federal offices shifted to a work-at-home model for employees. During the occupation, doors were closed altogether for the safety of SconeWitch employees.

But with characteristic resilience, Heather, her daughter Madeline, and the whole SconeWitch team have continued to do a brisk take-out business throughout the ordeal and introduced a popular home-delivery service for orders of frozen, ready-to-bake scones. In fact, the delivery service has been so popular that Heather has had requests for scone shipments to Toronto, New York City, and Chicago – clearly not an option, but a tribute to the stellar reputation of her legendary scones! 

It now seems there may be light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. But eager as they are to welcome back customers for indoor dining, at press time in March, Heather and Madeline have opted for a gradual return to full service, bearing in mind the lingering presence of the virus and the need to minimize risk to both staff and clients. Heather thinks the picture should be clearer once travelers return from March Break, and when the effects of the end of mask mandates have been fully assessed. 

Step one of the ramp-up to full service will begin April 1, when SconeWitch customers can once again take a seat in the café to enjoy their purchases. Until then, meals will remain in a take-away format, and limited to the current scone and sandwich menu. “After that, we will gradually expand the menu and allow more relaxed access once things look a little better,” says Heather. 

When full indoor service resumes at SconeWitch, plans are afoot to introduce table service: a departure from the long-time cafeteria-style model. But this second step will be contingent on several critically important factors: COVID conditions in the community as spring unfolds; the pace at which business recovers after a long and painful slump; and the martialing of the financial and human resources required to restore normal operations. After two tumultuous years, Heather is understandably reluctant to name an exact date for these final steps, but she encourages patrons to check the sconewitch.ca site for timetable updates. 

Despite the lingering uncertainty about timing, Heather and her team look forward to launching the new table-service model, which is certain to appeal to many regular clients. Heather has high hopes that a clear separation of take-out from in-house dining will streamline service for all concerned. The aim is to minimize long waits in the queue, when, for example, a large group takes its time resolving the weighty questions of scone flavour or jam type for each guest, leaving those at the back of the line in hungry limbo.   

Based on her experience operating Domus Restaurant some years ago, Heather plans to steer clear of the competitive struggles that can occur between servers and kitchen staff over the allotment of tips. All gratuities will be fairly shared among all SconeWitch staff.

Some late-breaking news for scone lovers: SconeWitch’s menu has a recent addition! Date and fennel is shaping up to be a new scone favourite. To Heather’s amusement, one client who pretended to bristle at the store’s pressure to try this new item returned the very next day to purchase a package of six!

We wish Heather, Madeline and their team an early return to full operations, and smoother sailing in 2022. –JH

Epicuria under renovations April 17–May 8 

Beginning in late April, Epicuria will launch a major spring renovation project to overhaul their storefront at 357 St. Laurent Blvd. (at Hemlock). It’s been a little more than a decade since the shop moved to its present location following the Beechwood Fire of 2011, and Tracey Black and her team have found that they need some changes to better accommodate their current brisk business. 

They are cagey about precisely what the plans are but have shared some highlights in Epicuria’s weekly newsletter: “We will be bringing back our full-service pastry counter; expanding the freezer and grab-and-go fridges; and will be changing the layout to provide a better shopping experience.” NEN hopes to provide more details in a future edition.

Clients should take note that the shop will be closed from April 17–May 8 while work is underway. But renovation timetables can be notoriously unreliable, so look for updates on their website: epicuria.ca. The online shop will remain open throughout the renovation for both pick-up and delivery orders.

Here’s another exciting note for those with interest in the culinary world: Epicuria is now hiring new recruits for both its retail and its culinary teams. Top criteria for applicants are “genuine enthusiasm about food and people; high standards for their work and their workplace; and a love of working in a fast-paced environment.” Send resumés to team@epicuria.ca. –JH

BBB Local Holiday Guide: Gifts

Find beautiful, tasty, and fun gifts – within walking distance

By Tamara Miller (This article appeared in the December 2021 edition of the New Edinburgh News)

If you don’t want to worry about shipping delays for holiday gifts this year, consider shopping local to avoid the hassle. Many of our local business in Beechwood Village have curated wonderful holiday offerings for everyone on your list. Here are some gift ideas from local business to get you started.

ORESTA organic skin care is a boutique at 137 Beechwood Ave. specializing in clean beauty and wellness. Their ORESTA Holiday 2021 Gift Guide offers a unique selection of stocking stuffers and thoughtfully curated gift boxes, beautifully wrapped and ready to give, for everyone on your holiday list. The ORESTA team is here to help you find the perfect “I love it! How did you know?” gift. ORESTA’s beautiful shop is located at 137 Beechwood. Holiday hours are Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Find them online at oresta.ca.

The Jacobsons team at 103 Beechwood Ave. has prepared some truly special gift options from among their favourite seasonal items: from Santa-adorned Italian panettone, limited-edition drinking-chocolate sets, and a series of exclusive chocolate bars by Anna Stubbe, to sweet treats for your Advent calendar. Bespoke gifts are easy this year: with four sizes of seasonal tote bags to choose from, guests can fill a beautifully designed bag with their favourite items from around the shop. No need for wrapping! For those you want to really spoil, consider giving a subscription to Jacobsons’ Cheese of the Month Club, a specialty food gift set, or a gift box filled with fine foods and tied by hand with a bow. Lastly, the team at Jacobsons is always happy to prepare a gift certificate (in-store or online) if you would like to give the gift of choice. Jacobsons is located at 103 Beechwood Ave. and is open seven days a week. You can also find them online at jacobsons.ca.

“What strikes you as beautiful?” That’s the motto of Electric Street Gallery, a friendly, local neighbourhood art gallery at 299 Crichton St. specializing in uplifting, life-affirming, positive art – all locally made, of course. If you have ever strolled by the large shop windows, you know they often have themed collections, and their theme for the holidays is “Songs of Celebration.” Local artists have contributed fabulous, music-themed works including songbirds, whales (yes, whales sing!), guitars, a trumpet, and a French horn, and more. The gallery carries a wide variety of artistic styles and media, at a range of prices to appeal to a variety of tastes. And if you don’t know exactly what the art-lover on your list would like, you can always choose a gift certificate. The Electric Street Gallery is now open for extended hours: Wednesdays and Fridays from noon until 5p.m., and Thursdays and Saturdays from noon until 7p.m. The gallery is located at 299 Crichton St. Visit them online at electricstreet.art.

You may know Red Door Provisions (177 Beechwood Ave.) as a small, cozy coffee shop, but did you know you could also find the perfect gift for that special someone on your list this holiday season? Their seasonal, handmade, microbatch jams, marmalades, and pickles are always a treat. And this year, besides their food and drink offerings, you can pick up some of their merchandise, from a pink or cream coloured Red Door Provisions Cycling t-shirt, a black cycling hoodie, or a Red Door Provisions cycling water bottle! Red Door is open seven days a week at 117 Beechwood Ave. or online at reddoorprovisions.com

And don’t forget about two more locations where you might find that special something!  The Guardian Pharmacy at 5 Beechwood Ave. (corner of Crichton Street) has a wonderful assortment of items to peruse. There are children’s toys and crafting supplies, beautiful jewelry and clothing, housewares, and décor as well as some great stocking stuffers like candy and skincare items.

And there’s more than just books at Books on Beechwood at 35 Beechwood Ave. at MacKay Street! They have something for everyone on your list, including puzzles, children’s activity and sticker books, cards, stylish totes, and more. Check out Books on Beechwood’s staff book picks on page 30-31. Visit their online shop at booksonbeechwood.ca.

BBB Local Holiday Guide: Drinks

Seasonal drinks and festive bottles: so close you can taste it

By Randy Mar (This article appeared in the December 2021 edition of the New Edinburgh News)

Getting into the holiday spirit is thirsty work, but fortunately our main street, Beechwood Avenue, has a variety of options for festive drinks, cocktail mixes, bottle pairings, and non-alcoholic beverages this season.

Here are some highlights for your savouring pleasure or as gifts for others.

In the early stages of the pandemic, brothers Ross and Simon Fraser of Fraser Restaurant, Takeaway & Bottle Shop (7 Springfield Rd.) converted the private dining space previously used for the popular Table 40 venue and opened access to their curated wine collection to complement their burgeoning takeaway and prepared foods offerings.  

Today, the bottle shop is a key feature attracting knowledgeable and curious customers alike. As curator, Ross is particularly proud of the rapidly changing cellar of red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines assembled from renowned wine regions around the globe, including Italy, France, South America, United States, and of course, Canada. Many – if not most – are consignment wines not readily available at the LCBO.  

Ross highly recommends Suertes del Marqués 7 Fuentes, showcasing Tenerife’s volcanic soils and altitude, as well as lesser-known grape varietals. It is full-bodied, balanced, and refreshing and is very versatile with meats. It would pair wonderfully with Fraser’s traditional meat tourtière. 

With the festive season rapidly approaching, the bottle shop has a selection of bubblies such as cava, prosecco, and (naturally) champagne. For non-drinkers, Fraser also features locally crafted City Seltzers. Of note, alcohol purchased at the Fraser must be purchased with food.

Also from Ross, a word of thanks to clients: “After all the transformations Fraser has gone through over the past 20 months, we are incredibly grateful to still be here and able to rebuild. We can’t thank the community enough for their overwhelming support.” Fraser Restaurant, Takeaway & Bottle Shop is at 7 Springfield Rd. Contact 613-749-1444 or frasercafe.ca.

Local craft beer lovers may already be looking forward to the upcoming lineup of seasonal beers at Good Prospects Brewing Company (411 St Laurent Blvd.)! Open since late February, Good Prospects has weathered a pandemic start-up and is putting the finishing touches on a tasting room in time for the holidays.  

“We’ve been working hard to get our taproom open so we can spend more time getting to know our neighbours who have supported us from day one” said head brewer Duncan MacKay. “Who doesn’t want to get together with friends and family over a beer?” enthused Duncan with a smile. He has also been busy at the fermenters, readying batches of more winter-oriented ales and lagers such as dunkel (dark German lager) and another saison variety. He is also testing his first batch of sour beer. Find Good Prospects Brewing Co. at 411 St Laurent Blvd. Contact 613-746-7707 or goodprospects.ca.

While local shops offer a wide variety of options, our neighbourhood liquor store, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO, 10 Beechwood Ave.), has a listing of nearly 1,700 wines, spirits, seltzers, and beers within its 8,100 square-foot street-front location.  

The Holiday 2021 edition of the ever-popular LCBO Food & Drink magazine is now available and as its title suggests, features numerous recipes for easy-to-make, low-alcohol pitcher drinks and seasonal nightcaps, along with food pairings.  Readers will find an entire section – “Twists: Bottled Up” – devoted to fashioning numerous bottled mock- and cocktails for festive drinks or gifts.  

Store manager Marc Grondin invites neighbours to stop by to explore the more tha 300 holiday gift and festive sampler packs, and special seasonal offers available at the store or online. Local insiders know about both same-day, in-store and curbside pickup options at the rear of the building.  The LCBO is located 10 Beechwood Ave. Contact 613-741-5046 or lcbo.com.

Wondering where to go for no- or low-alcohol drinks, liquid treats, and mixers to add to your home bar or to enjoy while out for a stroll? Look no further than neighbourhood faves Red Door Provisions and Jacobsons Gourmet Concepts.

Both local purveyors offer a vast selection of seasonal choices. At Red Door, you will find spiced rosemary, eggnog, and honey thyme lattes; peppermint mocha and holiday blend from Pilot Coffee Roasters (medium roast batch brew); as well as beer and cider from such local and Ontario brewers as Dominion City, Revel, and Bellwoods Brewery. Jacobsons offers such speciality beverage items as Ceder’s, a non-alcoholic, distilled alternative gin; Gimber, a non-alcoholic, ginger concentrate with a bite; Silver Swallow luxury kombucha; and Hall’s Apple Market cider, a local seasonal favourite. 

Red Door Provisions is located at 117 Beechwood Ave. Contact 613-695-6804 or reddoorprovisions.com.

Also available at Jacobsons are a range of mixers, bitters, and cocktail toppers for any pouring occasion. Ottawa’s Split Tree Cocktail Co. holiday cranberry ginger cordial, Walter Gregor’s handcrafted, all-natural tonic from Scotland, and Bittermilk’s gingerbread old fashioned cocktail mixer, are all perfect for holiday entertaining. Find Jacobsons Gourmet Concepts at 103 Beechwood Avenue. Contact 613-746-6002 or jacobsons.ca)

NEN reminds readers to please enjoy the holiday season safely and responsibly and to arrange alternate means of transportation as required!

Burgh Business Briefs (April 2021)

By Andre. R. Gagne, Jane Heintzman, Christina Leadlay and M. Marta Reyes. This article appeared in the April 2021 edition of the New Edinburgh News.

Bye Table 40, hello Bottle Shop

Over the years, Fraser Café’s Table 40, next door to the long-running restaurant at 7 Springfield Rd., has played host to gatherings of all descriptions, including Books on Beechwood’s popular Titles at Table 40 series, when local authors dined with neighbourhood residents to discuss their latest works. 

But since the pandemic began more than a year ago, communal dining and group gatherings in general have disappeared, abruptly quashing the raison d’être of Table 40. So café owner Ross Fraser and his team decided to convert the space to a new use.

In early March, Fraser’s new Take Away and Bottle Shop launched operations in the former Table 40 premises. The shop offers both a range of fresh prepared foods such as house-made pasta, freshly baked breads and pastries, salad bowls, and fried chicken, along with such frozen specialties as tourtière, meatballs, lasagna and a variety of soups. For the sweet-tooth crowd, the shop is featuring coconut butter tarts, pumpkin pie with ginger streusel, and a selection of Fraser’s homemade ice creams. You’ll also find such tasty Fraser condiments as preserves, hot sauces and dressings: the shop’s product list will “be ever growing and evolving,” says general manager Carmen Gunn

As a complement to your gourmet meal, the Bottle Shop offers a full range of libations from cocktails to craft beer and wine. The wine selection is particularly extensive, featuring Italian, Chilean, French, Spanish and California red wines, along with white, sparkling and rosé wines from New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, France and California. And mark-ups have been deliberately kept within a reasonable range. 

Online orders from the shop can be placed any time, for pick-up Wednesday through Sunday from 4–6:30 p.m. In mid-March the shop’s doors also opened for in-person shopping. And there’s more to come: “We’ll be expanding to include a lunch-time service in the coming weeks,” says Carmen, “stay tuned for an update!”

When the pandemic struck, the Fraser Café team pivoted swiftly from indoor dining to an extraordinarily popular family-style dinner service, offered Wednesday through Sunday for take-out or local delivery. Fraser’s cuisine is offered in generous portions for families of two or four, with menus posted online several days in advance. But these meals sell out quickly, so don’t dither before placing your order! 

In recent weeks, the café has added yet another arrow to its quiver, launching a focaccia pan pizza menu, available for pick-up Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There are currently three options, covering a range of tastes from the adventurous meat-lover to the vegetarian. In the former category, the Spicy T-Loaded Pan Pizza, is lives up to its billing with hot paesanella salami, Italian sausage, red peppers, banana peppers, red onion, hot honey, and more. The Fennel Countdown dials down the spice a touch, offering a combination of fennel cream, mushrooms, artisan ham, bacon, arugula, carrot sesame pesto, pear, parmesan, and mozzarella. And last but not least, the Legend Has It Antipasto Veggie-Loaded Focaccia Pan Pizza serves up a combo of artichoke hearts, broccoli rabe, black olives, fior di latte, tomatoes, pickles red onion, oregano, and mozzarella.

On April 8th, Fraser will reopen to indoor diners. But as long as COVID-restrictions remain in force, both restaurant hours and the numbers of diners will be limited, and physical-distancing, mask-wearing and strict hygiene protocols will continue.

Dinner service will be offered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5:30–9:00 p.m., and in keeping with provincial alcohol restrictions, bar service ends promptly at 9 p.m. A maximum of 35 guests may dine at one time, with no more than four guests (including children) at one table. Guests’ reservation and arrival times will also be staggered to minimize crowding at the entrance. 

And one more thing to look forward to at Fraser Café: when spring and warmer weather finally arrive, plans are shaping up to relaunch the outdoor patio operation: “We do plan to rebuild and give it another go!” says Carmen. 

Visit frasercafe.ca for their latest menus and ordering details. ­–JH

Red Door re-opens after fire

New Edinburgh coffee lovers were quickly set at ease only a day after the neighbourhood favourite café Red Door Provisions had a fire scare.

In the wee hours of Feb. 19 a malfunctioning water pump caused an electric flame-up that sent firefighters rushing to the 117 Beechwood Ave. coffee shop to find smoke billowing from a basement room. The blaze wasfully extinguished by 2:40 a.m. with minimal damage.

Chef and owner Lauren Power is happy to report that it took only 24 hours to clean up, as firefighters didn’t have to use much water. The café was able to open again in short order. The team, already stressed in these trying times, worried what the loss of perhaps a week or longer might mean for business, so news from the City that they could re-open so soon was as sweet as their baked goods. From the many online posts, it was welcome news for the taste buds of their clients, as well.


“We had an outpouring of support from our community which was really incredible!” says Lauren, who says that the flood of orders to their online shop kept the kitchen team busy during the clean-up.  “Because of the support, we didn’t lose the sales that we had predicted, and we had a fantastic 12 hours preparing more than200 orders for pick-up the following day. It was amazing, and we are very thankful to our beautiful community.”

While this wasn’t something the team could have predicted, Lauren says the café is going to do a complete re-evaluation of their fire, security, and surveillance system. Though it worked perfectly, the Red Door Provisions team wants to ensure it always will.

Meanwhile, the café is looking ahead to the summer patio season – armed with lessons learned during the first summer of COVID-19 restrictions. 

“We learned how to adapt on a weekly, if not daily, basis! We will continue to make these adaptations as required this patio season,” Lauren says.“We are really looking forward to opening up our back parking lot with picnic tables again, and are going to try to improve our seating as best we can. Our front area will also be open for distanced seating.”

As for what patrons can expect in 2021, Lauren says they’ll focus on expanding their offerings. They’ve addedmore grocery items, as well as prepared meals and frozen pastries, allowing customers to take Red Door Provisions favourites home to enjoy. 

They are also looking to branch out this summer, with a food truck and a second location – certainly no easy task these days. But, as Lauren explains, like many other small businesses, Red Door Provisions has no option but to keep going.

“These businesses are our livelihoods, and the livelihoods of our staff. We have poured years of blood, sweat, and tears into our business, and have a lot left to accomplish and prove! It will take a lot more than a global pandemic to shutter our doors, and we are always ready for the next change or adaptation that we need to make in order to keep growing and thriving.”

Visit Red Door Provisions at 117 Beechwood Ave., online at reddoorprovisions.com or by phone at 613695-6804.-ARG

Sezlik team grows

Ottawa’s hot real estate market has been making headlines for a few months now, so it’s no surprise that realtors are building their teams to keep up with demand for their services. Long-standing NEN advertiser Sezlik Realty (sezlik.com), based on Landry Street, is doing just that.

Charles Sezlik and Dominique Laframboise welcomed Tracy Martineau to their team full-time this past February. Tracy will be a familiar face to many readers. For the past seven years, she managed Jacobsons Gourmet Concepts at 103 Beechwood Ave. (Her mother Terri still works there, Tracy confirms in an email to the New Edinburgh News.)

Attention to detail and kind customer service are skills Tracy honed not only at Jacobsons but also in her 25 years in the restaurant industry in Ottawa and Toronto. In 2016, she launched her own business, Vanilla Staging and Home Organizing, and has been helping the Sezlik team for more than a year.

As a client concierge and staging consultant, Tracy helps clients get their home ready and picture-perfect, working hands-on with each client. With Ottawa’s housing market showing no signs of cooling, Tracy’s staging skills will be working overtime this spring, the traditional season for house purchases. 

“We continue to come up with new, innovative, and personalized marketing strategies to assist [sellers] in achieving their goals,” Tracy tells NEN, hinting that Sezlik has “big changes” in store this season. Intriguing!

NEN thanks the Sezlik team for their continued support, and we wish Tracy and the entire Sezlik team all the best for 2021. –CL

Teaching all dogs good tricks

A new service in our community has arrived just in time to polish up the manners of pandemic pooches for the coming season of social activity (distanced, of course) in local parks and green spaces. 

Happy Fido Dog Training (happyfidocompany.com) offers force-free dog obedience training, puppy socialization classes, and consultation on a wide range of dog behaviour issues. It’s owned and operated by Manor Park resident Fumie Watanabe, a professional dog trainer. She holds certification from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and has specialized training in dealing with dog aggression, and in canine first aid. Before launching her business, Fumie worked for several years in a local force-free dog training school. 

Fumie has attended a variety of seminars, conferences, courses and workshops with leading professionals in canine training, and works hard to stay abreast of the latest research. “The art and science of dog training are constantly evolving based on research,” says Fumie. “I want to help dogs and their families using up-to-date,evidence-based dog training methods through my business.”

Fumie has had dogs in her life since childhood. As a child in Tokyo, Japan, her family had a large German Shepherd, which she admits was “a challenge” in that famously populous cosmopolitan centre. Interestingly, she redirected her early training skills to pet birds, which she taught both to “speak” and to come when called! 

In recent years, Fumie has lived and worked with Jaxx, a rescued cocker spaniel. Like many rescue animals with difficult backgrounds, her companion came with a host of behaviour problems, the handling of which first sparked her interest in dog training. Perhaps the most widespread behaviour issue in Fumie’s experience is “reactivity.” 

Reactive dogs overreact to such situations as meeting another dog, a loud noise, or what they perceive as a hostile object. (In my own household, garbage bags and umbrellas were prime offenders!) “It’s like a panic attack,” says Fumie. Typically, the dog’s reaction (lunging, barking, growling, or snarling) is driven by fear, lack of socialization, over-excitement or a combination of all three. And as many struggling owners know, the problem can be incredibly difficult to handle, so professional expertise can be a lifesaver. 

As long as pandemic restrictions continue, in-person/paws training is regrettably not an option. However, Happy Fido offers dog training sessions and behaviour consultations via Zoom (visit the website for details). Once the COVID situation improves and rules are relaxed, Fumie plans to offer indoor, in-person, semi-private classes (three dogs maximum per class), as well as one-on-one, in-person, private sessions. The exact location remains to be determined, but, says Fumie, “it will likely be in the New Edinburgh and Manor Park area.”

Happy Fido’s Good Manners class in basic obedience is an eight-week course that includes a 45-minute webinar on training theory and puppy development stages, followed by seven one-hour classes. The Puppy Socialization class – which Fumie regards as a critical step in the training process – includes a 45-minute webinar, and six one-hour classes. Fumie thinks of her own beloved dog as “a perfect example of what happens when a pup is NOT socialized early,” and is strongly in favour of starting the socialization process at eight to 12 weeks, after the puppy’s first round of shots. 

Among the many skills required to be a capable dog owner is the ability to “read” canine body language. “I often feel that owning dogs without knowing how they actually communicate is like trying to survive in a foreign country without knowing the language,” says Fumie. Through her training and experience, she has acquired considerable fluency in this mysterious language, and helps her clients to develop their own expertise in reading the signals, from the submissive grin of a guilty mischief-maker to the raised hackles of fear or aggression. No training needed to interpret the wildly wagging tail and loopy smile – they’re happy to see us!

Contact Happy Fido Dog Training at info@happyfidocompany.com; on Facebook facebook.com/HappyFidoCo; or on Instagram instagram.com/happyfidoco. Good luck to Fumie: you’ll find no shortage of potential clients in our dog-loving neighbourhood! –JH

New brewery pours liquid gold

For Duncan MackayDuncan Studd and Jeff Moore, part of the team behind the brewery, it was about time! The nugget of the idea emerged years ago, when the three were working as geologists in search of gold.While many of us have tasted a craft beer (or seven) before, this may be the first to have a golden beginning. 

“The name was thought up by my fiancée while we were on a drive through rural Ontario and happened to pass a gem mining location. We wanted to keep the theme close to [our] shared mineral exploration background,” explains Duncan Mackay, referring to the trio as prospectors. “Beyond the mining connotation, Good Prospects also reflects the positive vibe that we have felt from the local community and that we hope to contribute to.”

Mackay was first introduced to the craft beer world on a surfing trip to Tofino, B.C. Having only tasted beers from the major companies, he was blown away by how much more enjoyable a craft brew was. He startedmaking his own beer while still in university, by first trying to emulate his favourite local brews before moving onto his own creations. It was a lucky strike that, while mining for those literal golden riches, he’d discover two other guys that also had a love of craft beer – and the experience to brew up a new business.

Duncan Studd, Mackay says, has a knack for creating novel recipes, while Jeff Moore, in addition to having brewing knowledge, happens to be an excellent carpenter and all-around handyman. Once Good Prospects is in full swing, customers will be able to check out Jeff’s work: the cherrywood bar and tables he has built to kit out the tasting room. 


“We had originally planned to open in Spring 2020. That all changed with the first wave of the pandemic and the uncertainty at that time. Our construction was stalled for a couple months while we sorted out what could be done, but we kept pushing ahead,” explains Mackay. The trio is looking ahead to an opening later this year. 


Good Prospects has been a business three years in the making, so what are a few more months to ensure things roll out right? For now, the team is happy with how the community poured out to collect their initial batches, made available for curbside pick-up.  

“Brewing the first batch for the public and filling our bigger fermenters was exciting! I had brewed the Canary in a Kolsch Mine recipe many times before, but it was a special feeling to be putting labels on the bottles knowing the next person who picked up this beer would be one of our first customers,” says Mackay.

Along with the aforementioned brew, when taking a swig of a Good Prospects beer like Gold Strike Grisette or Rough Gem IPA, you can bet it’s been thoroughly mined beforehand for the perfect taste. Mackay would have it no other way. He still makes beers inspired by favourites he’s dug up over the years. When he finds one he really likes, he researches its style – flipping through texts from as far back as the 1800s or travelling the worldto find the right mix. 

“What sets us apart from other craft breweries is our focus on more traditional European styles of beer. Our two mains right now are a Kolsch-style ale and a grisette: a Belgian ale). We are working on a Dunkel recipe and will have a couple of our saison recipes going into the fermenters soon, too.”

Though still a work in progress, the brewery website goodprospects.ca is the place to secure some bottles of Good Prospects. But get your orders in early: new brews are popular and tend to sell out quickly.

“Selling out of beer in the first two weeks was a welcome surprise,” says Mackay. “We have had to really push to up our production, but knowing the support from the community is there has really motivated us to work as hard as we can. We are very grateful to our new friends and neighbours for cheering us on!”

Good Prospects Brewing is located at 411 St. Laurent Blvd. (near Full Cycle). Visit them online at goodprospects.ca –ARG

‘Burgh BFFs launch PR firm

An idea that sprouted while pounding the pavement on Crichton Street over many years has now blossomed into a reality for two longtime friends and New Edinburgh residents. Meet Liz Gray-Smith and Sally Douglasand their new public relations firm: GSD and Co. The name is both a reference to their last names (Gray-Smith Douglas) and the phrase “Get S@#t Done” – which is essentially what they like to do and how they’ve modelled their business. 

“We do the things our clients don’t have time to do but need doing,” says Liz. GSD specializes in project management and external and internal communications, and also partners with other specialists in graphic design, social media, and web design, among other services. “We are well connected with ‘giggers’,” explains Sally, referring to people who work in the gig economy, characterized by short contracts and freelance jobs. Liz and Sally bring in a combined experience in journalism, project management, and media and government relations. 

It’s still early days, but GSD is already cultivating a roster of small- and medium-sized businesses and associations as their clients, and Liz and Sally have been pleasantly surprised by how many gigs they already have on the go. No small feat during a world pandemic, but according to Sally, there was no better time to start a business like theirs. 

“I can’t think of a single organization that isn’t going through some sort of change right now, from working remotely to how they’re engaging with clients,” she says. “It’s all about change management and they need communications solutions to support that internally and externally.”

Like most business weathering the pandemic, their interactions are virtual, but they’re eager to meet face-to-face with their clients in the near future, which both feel is key to sparking the kind of creativity that gets the job done in their line of business. And when that happens, they intend to hold meetings right here in the neighbourhood and take advantage of the many coffee shops and restaurants here, as a way to support the other entrepreneurs in their own backyard. 

“It’s all about supporting the community who has supported us all these years,” says Liz, adding that GSD looks forward to helping promote some of the businesses in New Edinburgh in the near future as well. 

Learn more about GSD and Co. at gsdandco.ca. –MMR

Your body’s one-stop-shop

Last fall, when Craig Adams closed Studio One personal training following a roller-coaster of pandemic lockdowns, local chiropractor Dr. Pierre Brunet stepped in to take over the lease for the second floor at 1 Springfield Rd. (above the soon-to-open Mr. Luko coffee shop). 

Dr. Brunet had been serving clients at Studio One for several years, and with Craig’s departure, he took the plunge to set up the Rockcliffe Chiropractic Centre (drbrunet.com), a full-service clinic offering chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, active release therapy (a manual technique for releasing painful soft tissue restrictions), customized exercise programs, massage therapy, and personal fitness training. 

In recent months, the former Studio One space has been reconfigured to create two new chiropractic treatment offices, a massage treatment room, and a large open-concept rehabilitation area. Work is also underway to create a physiotherapy office, as plans are in the works to offer physiotherapy services, in keeping with Dr. Brunet’s objective of building a multi-disciplinary clinic, or “one-stop shop” for aches, pains and injuries.

The current roster at Rockcliffe Chiropractic includes two chiropractors, Dr. Brunet and colleague Dr. Greg Stolz, a specialist in shoulder injuries; Registered Massage Therapist Keaton Basso, who offers fascial stretch therapy and kinesiology, in addition to therapeutic massage; and Lidia Szucs, a local personal trainer who previously practiced at the former Studio One. Lidia has been providing in-person services since Feb. 16 when COVID restrictions were slightly relaxed. 

Strict COVID protocols are in place at the clinic to protect all concerned. Precautions include screening questionnaires for clients, mask-wearing for all participants, frequent hand washing, and physical distancing during appointments. Dr. Brunet wears both a mask and gloves, and sanitizes equipment before and after each patient. The clinic’s square footage allows for a maximum of 14 clients and staff within the space. 

Despite continuing concern over community spread of the virus, Dr. Brunet has found that almost all his regular clients have chosen to continue in-person treatments, as opposed to opting for virtual consultations. Massage therapist Keaton has had a similar experience, treating a large influx of patients since the start of the new year. However, once clients have received much-needed pain relief from the initial hands-on treatments, follow-up appointments can often be carried out virtually. Via video calls, Dr. Brunet and his team can check up on prescribed exercises, evaluate range of motion, and offer advice on pain management, ergonomics for home offices, or more effective performance of exercises. 

Like many others in his industry, Dr. Brunet has noticed a marked escalation in cases of low-back and neck pain since the onset of the pandemic last March. He notes: “My patients have become a lot more sedentary as a result of gym closures and changes in their daily habits like walking to work, or using the stairs at work.” Compounding the problem are the makeshift home-office set ups that have taken the place of more ergonomically-correct workplace settings, and taken a toll on posture and overall musculoskeletal health. In these cases, Dr. Brunet and his colleagues prescribe a corrective exercise routine to resolve pandemic pains. 

Rockcliffe Chiropractic Clinic’s hours of operation are Mondays and Fridays, 8 a.m.–5p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12–8 p.m.; and Wednesdays, 8a.m.–6p.m. For details, visit drbrunet.com or call 613-979-7461. –JH

Peace of mind for property rentals
Faithful NEN advertiser Greentree & Co. Rentals celebrates 32 years in business in 2021. This family-run New Edinburgh-based business was created in 1989 by the late Mary Ellen Boomgaardt. She was inspired to start a property management company for foreign service members after hearing a tale of woe from one of her husband Ray’s colleagues. “He had rented his house in Ottawa to a tenant. The tenant’s cheques bounced, and after several months he left the property, having never paid any rent and leaving the property in shambles,” explains Mary Ellen’s daughter Aisling Boomgaardt, who now runs Greentree & Co. along with her brother Bram Boomgaardt.

Mary Ellen and Ray were familiar with what foreign service members and diplomats had to go through managing their properties while overseas, having been on posting themselves. Ray served as legal affairs counsellor at the  Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. “We believe there is a continuing market for the services we provide: Protecting one of the most important assets people own, freeing our clients of worries about their home, and giving good reliable service to their tenants,” Aisling notes in an email to the New Edinburgh News.

Greentree’s day-to-day focus is renting the properties and managing the homes under their care. Over the years they have assembled a team of independent contractors to do care and maintenance. 

“The enjoyment comes from solving problems of import, working with others, and the satisfaction of a job well done,” she says.

Aisling notes that the name Greentree is a combination of her mother’s maiden name, Greene, and the English definition of Boomgaardt, which means “tree garden” in Dutch. The Greentree logo – a tree inside a house – was developed by a New Edinburgh resident whom Mary Ellen met at a community fitness class run at the former Crichton Street Public School. These green-and-cream signs are ubiquitous in the Burgh during the warmer months when “posting season” starts for foreign service members.

The pandemic has affected the property management industry, explains Aisling. Some tenants have requested a temporary forbearance in their rents, which Greentree has been able to accommodate with landlords. “One curious effect of the pandemic was that a number of tenants decided to purchase homes, so that also has created additional work for Greentree,” Aisling says. “However, the rental market in central Ottawa has remained quite strong.”

In the three decades since her mother founded Greentree, Aisling says many things have changed, from the increased ease of communicating with our clients internationally, to the creation of their website which is a business key driver. Yet some things remain the same: “From day one we used a PC and an HP printer. Mary Ellen actually bought the HP printer while on vacation in New Hampshire, because it was not yet available in Canada. That original printer lasted for nearly 20 years!” says Aisling.

Although Mary Ellen passed away in May 2020, her Greentree legacy continues with Aisling and Bram at the helm. NEN thanks the Greentree team for their many years of support and wishes them all the best! –CL

BUSINESS NOTES:

St. Charles Market (SCM)’s André Cloutier reports that residential occupancy of the new building is moving ahead swiftly, and by April, six of the eight stories will be occupied. Levels seven and eight are well underway, and will soon house four spacious, highly customized penthouse units. This spring, work will ramp up on the remaining portion of the exterior terra cotta cladding, temporarily postponed to prioritize interior finishing of the condos. 

Design work is underway for the commercial space adjacent to the SCM forecourt at the corner of Barrette and St. Charles Streets. It’s hoped that the new occupant will very soon be able to announce their arrival! Timelines remain uncertain for the spaces in the former St. Charles church, where progress has been disrupted by the pandemic. –JH

LCBO here at last

By the time you read this, the long-awaited LCBO outlet in Minto Beechwood should be up and running. Minto’s Kevin Harper was exultant to finally reveal a definitive launch date of Mar. 29, when the new, 8,000 square-foot outlet will open its doors to the community after many months (years!) of anticipation. The NEN looks forward to reporting on all the details soon. Kevin is hopeful that a side benefit of the opening will be to attract other prospective occupants to fill the remaining commercial space (about 2,000 square feet). –JH

Minto Beechwood II: While the pandemic has resulted in some delays in the City of Ottawa building approvals process, on the whole, steady progress has continued on plans for Minto II, Minto’s new mixed residential/commercial development with frontages on Beechwood and Barrette Streets. The project application is expected to reach Planning Committee in May. 

According to Minto’s Kevin Harper, design work is ongoing, and the company is currently awaiting the first round of comments on its Site Plan presentation, anticipating that these will focus on the height of the brick elements on the Beechwood front, as well as on the linkage between the Beechwood and Barrette buildings. He remains reasonably confident that once the approvals process wraps up later this year, work on the site will be able to launch by November or December, kicking off what he estimates will be a 30-month build. 

Minto remains committed to using the Beechwood Village Alliance (BVA)’s “wish list” of amenities as its principal guide to the selection of commercial occupants, and Kevin is well aware that the community preference is essentially “small is beautiful.” The full wish list, which includes a hardware store, a vegan restaurant, a bakery and a gift store, was reported in the October 2020 edition of the NEN. This time, Kevin says, Minto has some skin in the game: the residential units will be rental, as opposed to condominium, so choosing businesses which serve as attractive amenities to building occupants will be a high priority. –JH