Food Roundup

Openings

• District Café is opening a new location inside Rice Howard Place. It will be District's third location and its second in the downtown core when it opens in September, Nate Box of Black Box Hospitality Group told Taproot.
• Splitsville Entertainment has opened a 31,000-square-foot location at 13543 St. Albert Trail NW featuring 21 10-pin bowling lanes, a large arcade, and food and drink service. A second Edmonton location at South Edmonton Common is planned for 2027.
• DON'YA Ukraine's Kitchen is hosting a grand reopening of its Jasper Avenue location on March 18, celebrating new additions including freeze-dried borshch and a coffee bike planned for Beaver Hills House Park.
• Little Wolf is now open on Sundays and Mondays at 8424 109 Street NW, marking the first time it has operated seven days a week since it took over the former Three Boars space in 2023.
• White Rabbit Ice Cream is the latest business to join The Hub in Old Strathcona, at 10345 Whyte Avenue NW.
• Pho Song Huong, which closed back in December, re-opened on March 1 at 12929 97 Street NW.
• Bubble tea chain Machi Machi has opened a second location in Edmonton, at West Edmonton Mall (Unit M105).

Closings

• L'OCA Quality Market is closing both its Edmonton and Sherwood Park locations on March 12, citing an unsustainable locally focused business model. The company said all employees and suppliers will be paid in full and on schedule. It has also cancelled plans to open a St. Albert location.
• Good Stock Foods will close at the end of May. The plant-based food producer is known for its Prairie Melt cheese alternative.

Headlines

• Barb and Ernie's Old Country Inn celebrated 50 years in business, leading Min Dhariwal of CBC Edmonton's Radio Active to make his first visit. He tried German bacon pancakes and learned how connections between staff and customers are the restaurant's recipe for success.
• Mifi Purvis, the new editor of Edify magazine, discussed her role and what it takes to put out the Best Restaurants edition. "I just love helping writers get out of their own way," she told CBC's Edmonton AM. Purvis succeeds Omar Mouallem, who replaced Stephen Sandor in March 2025.
• We Heart highlighted the interior design of Daniel Costa's Olia and Mimi, the adjoining day-to-night dining concepts at the base of the Citizen on Jasper.
• Vancouver's BOX Interior Design won an Award of Excellence at the IDIBC Shine Awards for its work at JUU-KU. The 3,200-square-foot space features an immersive red-toned design inspired by Asian lacquerware and a wood-carved central sushi bar.
• Johwanna Alleyne of Mojo Jojo Pickles discussed her 15-year-old business's inclusion in Feed the Soul YEG's Black Futures Dining Guide, which launched earlier this month. "I think that we've gotten better at creating things that fill the needs of our customers," Alleyne told CBC's Edmonton AM. "When we create a new product now, it's fire." One product she showcased was kim chi-style pickled Brussels sprouts.
• DASCH Productions has been selected as the city host for Dîner en Blanc Edmonton, an international pop-up dining series with an all-white dress code. DASCH will curate and coordinate the local vendors for the event, which requires registration to access tickets and details. "This event is not only about honouring a global tradition — it is also about celebrating our city's talent and elevating it onto an international stage," DASCH founder and principal strategist Daniel Schieman wrote in the announcement.
• Flat Boy Burgers has collaborated with Beb's Bagels on a burger served on a poppy-seed bagel. It's available at Shiddy's Distilling Rumpus Room only, not the new Flat Boy in Beaumont.
• Sea Change Brewing Company has launched the Affogatoboutit beer in tall cans. It's vegan and flavoured after the Italian dessert made with espresso and ice cream.
• Ryan Jespersen tried Hansen Distillery's Mini Yeggs cream liqueur during an episode of Real Talk. "Oh geez," Jespersen said before erupting in delighted laughter. "Whatever cream liqueur you've tried, this is better in your coffee," he said. Hansen won a Made in Alberta Award for its salted caramel cream liqueur in 2021.
• Juanita Roos of Color de Vino and the Alberta Liquor Store Association said the now-scrapped ad valorem wine tax made consumers think twice about buying premium-priced wines. The tax will be replaced by a standard volume-based markup effective April 1.
• Alberta restaurant and bar revenue rose 5.9% in 2025, outpacing the national average, ATB reports. Edmonton and Calgary restaurants both saw record spending from foreign visitors, due in part to new flights to the cities. However, real per capita sales grew by just 1.9% in Alberta.
• Hungry Zine has issued a call for submissions on the theme of food and politics. The deadline is April 30.
• Rat Creek Press profiled WECAN Food Basket Society, a co-op that has grown from 150 to 1,500 members since its launch in 1993. Members pay $5 annually to access bulk-purchased meat and produce through monthly neighbourhood pickup depots.
• CityNews highlighted the Al Rashid Mosque's efforts to feed people at Boyle Street Community Services during Ramadan.
• Rising food costs in Canada erased the benefit of lower home prices, especially in Edmonton, a Zoocasa analysis found. Here, A $62 drop in monthly mortgage payments was offset by a $128 monthly increase in grocery costs, leaving the average household $66 per month worse off year-over-year.

Happenings

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

• March 10: Naija Pastry Pop-Up starting at 5pm at Lochi Afro Nija
• March 11-22: Downtown Dining Week
• March 12: More than a Meal: Lessons from "Right to Food" Models starting at 12pm online
• March 12: Eat Well, Spend Less starting at 1pm at St. Albert Public Library (Downtown)
• March 12: Bannock Fest starting at 5:30pm at TELUS World of Science - Edmonton
• March 12: Millcreek Healing Park Presentation starting at 6:30pm at Ritchie Community Hall
• March 13-14: Organic Alberta 2026 Conference and Trade Show at Beaumont Community Centre
• March 15: Behind the Apron: Creative Sustenance with Titilope Sonuga starting at 12pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• March 15: Sunday Spirit Club starting at 4pm at Chartier

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 18: Indigenous Taste of the Market at Old Strathcona Farmers' Market
• March 21: Butter Chicken from Scratch at JW Marriott (Edmonton ICE District)
• March 23: Edify's Best Restaurants at Edmonton Convention Centre

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

Beyond Edmonton

• Sunterra Market and related companies are seeking to appeal a court ruling that found them liable for $35 million to a U.S. lender after a judge determined the Alberta firm had engaged in cheque kiting on a large scale. The companies argue that the judge made errors of law and ruled without adequate expert opinion evidence.
• Alberta Views examined how Canada's push for interprovincial free trade could challenge provincial policies that historically supported local craft breweries. The piece uses the Pass Beer Company in Crowsnest Pass as an example of how Alberta's preferential tax rates helped small breweries establish themselves.