Food Roundup

Openings

• Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is bringing his Hell's Kitchen chain to the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch Cree Nation, with a promise to blend his well-known dishes with Indigenous-inspired flavours that celebrate local culture and Alberta ingredients. The restaurant, expected to open in July, will offer employment opportunities to NAIT culinary students, River Cree CEO Vik Mahajan told Raven Radio.
• Square 1 Coffee has opened its sixth location in the Edmonton region, at 7319 29 Avenue NW (inside the Community Health Centre in Mill Woods).
• Mayte, a Spanish restaurant in Manchester Square at 12026 107 Avenue NW, will hold a grand opening on Feb. 14.
• JACEK Chocolate Couture has opened a location in St. Albert, the luxury chocolate brand's third location in the Edmonton region, alongside stores in Edmonton and Sherwood Park. Founder and CEO Jacqueline Jacek said she always wanted to open a shop in St. Albert, citing customers who were already making the trek from the city to her other stores.
• Walmart plans to open a 140,000-square-foot location in Desrochers Village in 2027 as part of a $6.5-billion investment.
• Daily Hive rounded up eight new or forthcoming restaurants, including COSW, Happy Lamb Hot Pot, Cheese Louise YEG, Heavenly Desserts, and BonChon, which will serve handcrafted Korean fried chicken.

Closings

• Smoke BBQ Bar announced its closure last week, and will be rebranded to The Whiskey Barn, a country bar. It will open on Feb. 13.

Headlines

• A bakery and baking school in Bonnie Doon could be one of the first commercial establishments to open under Edmonton's renewed zoning bylaw in a mature residential neighbourhood, more than two years after the overhaul made such developments easier. The proposed development would convert a single-family home beside The Colombian in the French Quarter.
• Luke Butterworth, co-founder of the closed EPIC Market, is developing Better Venu, a software platform to streamline event venue bookings with instant quotes, while EPIC explores a potential return to downtown Edmonton with an unnamed partner.
• Explore Edmonton published a guide to Black-owned businesses and cultural experiences in the city, including Feed the Soul, Café Caribbean, Sauce Modern Caribbean Cuisine, and Kilimanjaro VIP, curated by Rochelle Ignacio as part of Black History Month.
• Feed the Soul YEG, an initiative to celebrate and amplify businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and racialized people in Edmonton, is among the recipients of a grant from the City of Edmonton Black History Month Initiative Fund. The recipients were honoured at city hall on Feb. 2. Feed the Soul is also featuring community picks for Black-owned food businesses on Instagram, including NDP MLA Rhiannon Hoyle's pick, Jamaican Delight.
• Lylah Janvier, a 12-year-old entrepreneur, has created an online candy store called Candy Craze that has gained a following on TikTok.
• Edify offered suggestions for putting together a last-minute Valentine's Day dinner, including products from the Italian Centre Shop, The Butchery, and COSW.
• Coliseum Steak & Pizza is celebrating 50 years in business, outlasting its namesake, Northlands Coliseum, which was home to the Edmonton Oilers before it was slated for demolition. "We love the Oilers, they've been good to us," said second generation owner Dimitra Scordas, "but good customer service, good food, and reasonable prices … that's what our motto has always been."
• Felice Cafe has launched CafeQuest, a curated coffee map featuring 20 local establishments that turns Edmonton's coffee shop scene into an adventure for caffeine enthusiasts. For $39.20, customers who buy the map get free items, curated routes to travel, and other perks.
• Cloud Café is running a tiramisu pop-up at Boa and Hare inside Pacific Mall on Feb. 14 and 15 from 10am to 4pm. Tiramisu flavours include vanilla chai, strawberry, matcha, and mango cream.
• Sea Change Brewing is planning an art project inspired by Valentine's Day, in which guests are invited write down their feelings, to be incorporated into a mysterious final product. The brewery also has a new Valentine-inspired IPA, and a sticker to give to a "sad boi."
• HOM Street Food announced a pop-up Thai dinner at Bibo Strathcona on Feb. 21. The six-course menu, priced at $70 per person, includes dishes such as prawn ceviche and a beef peanut red curry. Sake and wine pairings curated by Bibo are available.
• Three Vikings will host a tap takeover called For the Love of Beer in collaboration with Happy Beer Street breweries from Feb. 12 to 15. The restaurant plans to offer appetizer pairings for each of the nine beers on offer during the takeover.
• Edmonton city council's executive committee is scheduled on Feb. 11 to review a bylaw that would establish an entertainment district on part of Happy Beer Street. The bylaw would close the street to vehicle traffic during certain periods and allow patrons to consume food and alcohol purchased from adjacent restaurants as they walk along the street.
• GRETA Bar, The Rec Room, and Beercade were cited by the Globe and Mail as evidence that barcades and activity bars are proliferating across Canada.
• Lauren Kyle McDavid, the proprietor of Bar Trove and Trove Living, shared her recipe for orange chicken and cashew lettuce wraps with Edify. The recipe is excerpted from her cookbook, The Atelier Table, which came out on Jan. 30.
• Chef Kaelin Whittaker of Awn Kitchen shared a recipe for slow-cooked green lentils with The Tomato.
• Bakers attended an open casting call for The Great Canadian Baking Show. CBC's Edmonton AM spoke to prospective contestants and the show's line producer. One made an apple-maple mousse with rye crumble, topped with sponge toffee, for the audition.
• OTTO Food & Drink and Tulip Sandwich Shoppe staff are participating in the Push-up Challenge fundraiser for the Canadian Mental Health Association - Edmonton Region. The sister restaurants at 11405 95 Street NW will donate $1 for every schnitzel or lager sold between now and Feb. 27.
• Cheese Louise YEG, a new grilled cheese shop located in a sea can at Station Park, has been winning fans over since opening on Jan. 14. Owner Shel Byer told CBC's Radio Active that the shop focuses on classic comfort foods rather than gourmet offerings, and mentioned the shop's feed-it-forward program for hungry people.
• Brad Smoliak, co-founder of the defunct Hardware Grill, is hosting a perogy fundraiser at Little Don'ya on Jasper Avenue for the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute's ventricular assist device program, which saved his life. He's cooking for a fundraising lunch on Feb. 10.
• HIV Edmonton is seeking partner restaurants for the local chapter of the A Day for Life food fundraiser. The event takes place on April 15.
• Chinatown Dining Week has helped increase foot traffic, but construction and safety concerns still hurt the area, CityNews reported.
• Everyday Payments, an Edmonton-based fintech company that manages tips and staff wages, faces allegations that it has withheld or removed money from clients' digital wallets.
• An Alberta judge ruled that Sunterra Market engaged in cheque kiting on what the court described as an "astonishing scale," finding the company liable to U.S. agricultural lender Compeer Financial for approximately $35 million. Sunterra filed for bankruptcy protection in March.

Agriculture, food security, and groceries

• Air Canada and the Culinary Tourism Alliance have extended the application deadline for the Youth Taste of Place Entrepreneur Showcase to Feb. 15. Canadian food and agritourism entrepreneurs ages 19 to 30 are invited to present their businesses at the Taste of Place Summit in Edmonton on June 15 and 16. Two winners will receive round-trip Air Canada flights, accommodations, and full summit access.
• Freson Bros. is hosting the Alberta Food Fair in Stony Plain on April 15, partnering with the Alberta Food Processors Association to provide opportunities for Alberta producers to connect directly with decision-makers interested in pioneering new and innovative local products in stores across the province. The AFPA recently launched an app for its Made in Alberta program to promote food and beverage products made in the province.
• Odd Bunch, which sells imperfect produce at lower costs to reduce farm-level food waste, has established its first Edmonton warehouse after a successful soft launch, sourcing Alberta produce from south of Calgary, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge when possible.
• The Kirk Centre, a nonprofit serving Dovercourt and the surrounding area, offers free programming that allows people to explore other cultures and foods without needing to travel, executive director Sally-Anne Woolnough told CBC Edmonton's Radio Active. She shared how neighbouring faith groups have helped inspire cooking classes and other activities.
• The Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar is among the restaurants thanked by Edmonton's Food Bank on Instagram for its fundraising efforts. The restaurant has partnered by the Can Man Dan Foundation for a cheeseburger-inspired pizza that diverts $2 from each sale to the food bank.
• A University of Alberta study found that consumers often buy both plant-based and dairy milk, seeing them as two different products rather than replacements for each other.
• Research co-authored by Chenghuai Li at the University of Alberta's Alberta School of Business shows blockchain and internet-of-things sensors could increase Walmart's strawberry profits by $60 million annually while eliminating 23 million pounds of food waste by providing real-time freshness data.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• Feb. 10: Brad's Heart Month Fundraiser Lunch starting at 12pm at DON'YA Ukraine's Kitchen (Jasper Avenue)
• Feb. 11: Valentine's Day: Recipes To Win Their Heart starting at 6pm at L'OCA Quality Market
• Feb. 11: CHCP & EPL + The Kitchen: Beef and Vegetable Macaroni starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Feb. 11: Color De Vino Varietal Series Tasting starting at 6pm at Color de Vino
• Feb. 13: Friday Local Love Valentine's Day starting at 5:30pm at Chartier
• Feb. 13: Cocktail Class - Louisiana Cocktails starting at 7pm at Cocktail Culture
• Feb. 14: Valentine's Day Chef's Table at L'OCA Quality Market
• Feb. 14: Vikings Feast starting at 6pm at Festival Place
• Feb. 15: Bridgerton High Tea starting at 1pm at Lady Bea's English Tea House
• Feb. 16: Labo Spelling Bee starting at 5pm at Labo Coffee YEG

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Feb. 20: Lunar New Year Celebration: Chef-Hosted Long Table Dinner at Fairmont Hotel Macdonald
• Feb. 21: Tales and Taste at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Feb. 25: Lunar New Year Wontons at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

Beyond Edmonton

• Olds College has suspended its craft beverage and brewery operations program, the only program of its kind in Alberta. The college will also close its brewery.

Correction: This file has been updated to clarify Brad Smoliak's role at the Hardware Grill.