By Drew Simpson
The Mustard Seed Co-operative’s new café is just shy of two weeks old. The café fits in a perfect hub on the left upon entering the grocery store. The warm string lights, wooden details and contrasting black backdrop displaying the café menu set a welcoming tone for the Mustard Seed Co-op.
At one end of the space lays the café, inside the store yet out of the way of potential shopping. At the other end of the store and directly opposite the café counter is a cozy area with tan round wooden tables, earth-toned chairs and an L-shaped wood bench. It feels like the perfect progression: ordering a coffee, walking across the store to take a seat or walking around the aisles to shop for local food.
Although the grocery store is a co-operative, there is no membership needed to shop or to enjoy the café’s fair trade coffee, tea, espressos, lattes and Italian sodas with house-made syrups. However, after seeing the harmony between the café counter and the community space all within this grocery store, one can imagine it would be worthwhile to be a part of the community that birthed and built the Mustard Seed café.
Stacey Allen-Cillis, the operations team lead and a founder of Mustard Seed Co-op already knew the importance of local eating due to her own backyard garden started by her two kids. She started by selling produce from her own backyard and gave all the proceeds to youth at risk.
The people behind the Mustard Seed Co-op are not the only ones interested in urban farming and local eating. Passersby will come across houses selling backyard farm produce on walks through the neighbouring streets and boulevards.
“The Mustard Seed community is all very like-minded. We are all connected…so either you’re growing your own, you go to a community garden, you utilize farmer’s markets, you’re passionate in some way about food, community and beyond. It’s all intertwined,” explained Allen-Cillis.
When the community expressed a need for the café, the co-op board agreed. The fated café became a reality through cooperation between staff, committees and even volunteer ‘worker bees’ that built the space.
It is only natural for the café space, which includes an indoor and outdoor section, to double as a community space. Adding another medium for Mustard Seed Co-op to connect with the community. The intention is also for everyone in the neighbourhood to have access to a space that is their own, especially with a lack of cafés within a kilometre radius. The Co-op will also utilize the space to continually educate its shoppers and members about the importance of local eating.
With the café honouring the five-year anniversary of the business, it also symbolized that the Mustard Seed Co-op is fulfilling its prophecy as ‘the mustard seed is an ancient metaphor for great things coming of small beginnings,’ as mentioned in the membership passport.
Additionally, it is the only Co-op grocery store in Hamilton. Allen-Cillis foresees either opening another location in Hamilton or encouraging the sprouting of another Co-op by sharing the Mustard Seed Co-op’s success. Allen-Cillis always stresses that everything accomplished is through the cooperation of the Co-op’s members, staff and community.
The Mustard Seed Co-op’s members are able to attend general assembly meetings where they can vote and take part in specific committees, like the sourcing committee, which focuses on where local food is coming from, or committees like the one that made the café a reality.
Walking through the grocery aisles, café and community space seems like the perfect intersection between conscious eating and supporting the community. For the health conscious shopper who loves to give back by purchasing locally sourced produce, the Mustard Seed Co-op is a great grocery store and now, a great café with a community space you can call your own.
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Full article is located here: https://www.thesil.ca/dog-joes-rebrand
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The Westdale community and feel remained consistent over most of the decade that My Dog Joe has been around for. A hotspot for students, locals and travelers alike, Westdale, and especially My Dog Joe, has served the people of Hamilton faithfully.
However, times are changing. The area has seen changes to its identity. Best represented by the crowdfunding initiative for revitalizing the local theatre, Westdale has had to adjust and adapt to the changing times.
“I’ve been a new owner here for about a year or so, and we’ve tried changing a couple things and gauging customer feedback and what people are really into and what kinds of things they might want.”
Jeff Groat
Owner-operator of My Dog Joe
My Dog Joe is the next candidate on the list to receive changes while respecting its historical significance. In this case, it is not changing for the sake of survival, but because the opportunity is there.
Jeff Groat, owner-operator of My Dog Joe, explained that the feedback of the community has been a driving factor when it comes to the rebrand.
“I’ve been a new owner here for about a year or so, and we’ve tried changing a couple things and gauging customer feedback and what people are really into and what kinds of things they might want.”
This feedback resulted in the idea of doing a complete overhaul. New equipment for the kitchen, adjustments to the interior and exterior and a new menu are all part of the efforts. It may look completely different by the next time you see it.
https://www.facebook.com/TheMcMasterSilhouette/videos/10155551102005987/
With all of these changes, My Dog Joe remains grounded in how important it has been for people. One of the recent promotions done to remind themselves of that was having members of the community write down responses to, “What does My Dog Joe mean to you?” on blank cups, and gaining even more feedback.
Groat’s interpretation of My Dog Joe is centered on the Westdale community.
“I think it’s taking pride in the Westdale community. It’s being a good neighbour.”
His drive forward and the renovations are not only about Westdale feedback, however. When asked about his experience and his personal motivations, he explained his history in British Columbia. His favourite memory working in a restaurant had to do with a truffle the head chef made at home with a friend and brought into the restaurant.
“Normally, I hate chocolate mint, but this truffle tasted fantastic. It was just this beautiful, fresh mint flavour and nice chocolate. Really well made. And I remembered tasting this thing and just being like, ‘Wow, this is so good. How can I do this?’”
What Groat hopes to bring to Westdale are not only adjustments based on feedback from the community and the overhaul to its visual design while respecting its history, but also unforgettable food to pass along that memory.
“I feel like that sort of experience is informing what we want to do here with My Dog Joe. ... Offering baked goods and food and stuff that you can’t get anywhere else. You remember that experience if it’s your first time coming. If it’s not, you come back specifically for that thing because you know it and love it.”
Groat hopes that the renovations will be completed by the end of the Provincial Day long weekend in August.
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By: Sonia Leung
Bound by a passion for coffee and food, close friends Dave and Rocky poured their hearts into Saint James Espresso Bar & Eatery, Hamilton’s newest cafe. Having gleaned much from the community, they decided to give back to the city that contributed so much to their lives. Snuggled in the middle of the art district on James Street North, Saint James has a lot to offer. Be sure to try their state-of-the-art steampunk coffee, only available in three other locations in Ontario.
When I visited the café in mid-November, its doors had only been open for a month. Saint James is already making a name for itself, inviting locals in with their one-of-a-kind coffee vibe. As you enter their cozy establishment, you are greeted by an open kitchen where they bare it all. The seating layout is refreshingly different: there is only one big table where strangers gather and become strangers no more, an optimistic injection of camaraderie between Hamiltonians. The co-founders have witnessed meaningful connections form between customers with their bold floor plan. “We want to be like a living room where people come in and relax and we’ve started to carve that, I think,” muses Rocky. The “Saint” component of their title refers to the fondness and respect the founders have for the downtown hub that James Street North has become. Being a neighbour in the neighbourhood is their motto-as we wandered in conversation over a cup of Steampunk coffee, Dave and Rocky would casually wave to a regular customer or the truck driver cruising by on the road. It’s smiles all around at Saint James, and I want to get in on it.
True to their down-to-earth vibe, Dave and Rocky were eager to share their inspirations and passions.
. . .
How did you get into coffee?
“I was at Detour and one of their guys, Jeff, who’s awesome, pulled an espresso shot [for me]. On my motorcycle ride home, I still tasted it and I thought to myself, ‘this is just not possible.’ I’ve had [multiple] experiences like this with coffee that made me want to learn how to make good coffee.”
What is your favourite menu item on the menu?
“Right now the clear winner is the Drive Thru sandwich. It’s like a sausage muffin with a hashed brown in the sandwich. People love bacon, people love sausage, people love eggs, so we put it all in a sandwich. It’s our overall number one best seller. People even get it for dinner!”
What is steampunk coffee?
“It’s based on a filter, but it uses steam, which extracts a lot more flavour. Then, at the end of the cycle, it uses what’s similar to a siphon, so it uses a vacuum to suck out the flavour. The great thing about steampunk is that as it cools down, the flavour profile changes and you start to notice more notes. [The steampunk machine] does tea really well too, so eventually we’ll dabble with tea.”
“It’s a good time to be a Hamiltonian,” says Rocky fondly. Indeed it is. Just over a decade ago, this street was lifeless. It is now the art district of Hamilton, with the hustle and bustle of independent boutiques, galleries, restaurants and coffee shops. Now, more than ever, is a good time to be in the Steel City. “You don’t have to go to Toronto for good food or coffee anymore,” Rocky enthuses, and he’s right. Come by for the Drive Thru sandwich and a cup of steampunk coffee for a taste of Hamilton.
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Slider image by Joe Hsu / My Sight, as You See on Flickr
