issue #2 april 2016 - Downtown Kitchener

DOWNT
KITCHEN
APRIL 2016
ISSUE #2
Jodi Stone
Co-Owner
DNA Screening Inc.
FOOD
Jodi works closely with promotional agencies on solving problems
Restaurant Renaissance................................ 1
for clients, negotiating costs with garment distributors and uses her
...................................
6 the
Downtown
Gets Fresh.
screenprinting
experience
to help
community organizers get
8
Fuel
Up...........................................................
most out of their marketing.
On working in a male-dominated industry:
.......................... 6
When I first started working in this industry the tension was
palpable. I was much sicker more often; it was because of the stress.
There was an aggression back then that I was unaccustomed to. But
woig in a strictly male environment hardened me. The sales reps
The Bartesian
................................................
16 had
had been
part of an old
boys club for years. While print shops
accepted
valueApollo
of women
screen.............................
printers, it took some18
time for
Live the
at the
Cinema
the reps
to comeSync
around.
Kitchener
- DIY TV ................................ 22
AGENTS OF CHANGE
SUPER AWESOME
FUN STUFF
Change is happening! It can be overwhelming
and challenging or it can be an opportunity and
a chance to shape the future. Positive change
doesn’t just happen, it happens because people
make it happen. They don’t wait for the downtown
to change around them. Instead, they OWN IT. Collectively, they are shaping the landscape, the vibe,
the culture and the spirit that makes Downtown
Kitchener so awesome.
Don’t just wait for change, be the change.
Any words
of wisdom
for women
Choose
Your Tap:
of theAnext
generation?
Modern
Pub Crawl ..................................... 24
Hold your own, control what you can control, follow your instincts
Hitting Record ............................................... 28
and focus on being fair. There is no shame in asking for help but
if you feel confident about your business decisions don’t question
yourself, because you are probably always right (wink). Maintain a
senseExploring
of humour.What Makes DTK
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE:
..................................
30
a Great
Home
for life
Tech
What’s
been your
biggest
lesson
so far?
I made a close female friend in this industry, she worked with me
...........................................
as a screen printer then opened
her own shop. We shared 34
resources
and updates on inks, suppliers, names of clients that don’t pay
their bills - vital information for small business owners. She died
Don’t
forNot
Croissants”.
.....................
last year
of Plan
breastJust
cancer.
only do I miss
her as a dear38
friend,
I miss
that
female
confidante
in
this
industry.
From
this
I
have
The Big-Hearted Emma Dines........................ 40
learned
that
no
matter
how
strong
and
determined
you
are,
More Than a Store......................................... 42your
health
will ultimately
control
story. I’ve learned that44
there are
..................................
Helping
at Street
Level.your
no replacements, so enjoy it while you have it. The clichés hold true
here: enjoy life to its full potential (don’t spend it all working!) and
if you are fortunate to have good health, nurture it.
#DTKSTYLE
COMMUNITY
ART & ARCHITECTURE
OWN IT is made possible by the generous contributions and
efforts of the Downtown Kitchener BIA, the businesses of
Downtown, all the people who let us tell their stories and the
creative talent who helped tell them. Touch base with the BIA
at downtownkitchener.ca
Building Context ............................................
Open Sesame ................................................
Carving the Next Chapter ..............................
Sneek Peak ...................................................
48
50
52
56
DTK INSIDER’S GUIDE ........................ 57
RESTAURANT
RENAISSANCE
PROFILES:
Aaron Clyne is executive chef at the Cambridge Hotel’s Bruce Restaurant
and B @ THEMUSEUM. He’s been in the business for over ten years and
attended Toronto’s George Brown College for his culinary training.
Jeff Ward attended the Stratford Chefs School. He is executive chef
at The Walper Hotel and TWH Social. (He says
he’s stopped counting the years he’s been in
the business.)
Jonathan Gushue is the chef and co-proprietor
of The Berlin, which recently opened.
Gushue attended Georgian College
for his hospitality and culinary
training and has been in the
industry for about 25 years.
On a snowy day in January,
food writer Andrew Coppolino
sat down with three of local
chefs for a cup of coffee and
some good conversation about
life in Downtown Kitchener,
in the kitchen, and some
of their favourite things.
Why do you do this? Why cook?
Why restaurants and the crazy long hours?
Aaron Clyne: It’s been a dream of mine
since I was eight years old. Not a lot of
people are blessed in the sense that they
know what they want to do. It called me.
And I was dumb enough to stay in it
ever since.
Jeff Ward: I didn’t really have this longing
to be a chef. I was in high school in my
final years, and I wanted some money for
Christmas. Friends of the family owned a
restaurant in Cambridge – Graystones – and
I started washing dishes. I was
exposed to the real behind-the-scenes
of the restaurant industry. It became a
passion at that point. Then a cook went on
maternity leave and I was asked to take the
open spot. I just fell in love with the whole
idea of cooking – and cooking for people.
Jonathan Gushue: I’d always worked in
hotels. Much like Jeff, I started in the dish
area and worked my way around the hotel.
I got into hotel management and was going
to Georgian College where we were being
pushed by our instructors to get into The
Four Seasons (Toronto), and the only job
I could get was as a cook’s assistant.
After a few months, I really enjoyed it.
I didn’t know you could enjoy work.
That was like a revelation. I caught
the bug, I guess.
So how does the food at your restaurants
evolve from or generate out of that passion?
Jeff: To me, just the name of the Walper,
“TWH Social” said to me: friends and
family gathering, talking and having fun.
As for flavours, it’s about satisfying tastes.
There are no boundaries for us when
it comes to cultures or demographics.
It’s whatever is fun and playful and full
of good flavours.
Aaron: We took a local approach. We have a
lot of exceptional producers and farmers that
are quite local and we just enjoy their product.
There’s no real direction to our menu – except
whatever we feel like playing with at the time.
We might have African influences one day,
Thai another. We take ingredients and play
with them and have fun.
All three of these restaurants are relatively
new, but The Berlin is the newest kid on
the block. How does the food and menu
manifest your passion for cooking and
good ingredients?
Jonathan: I would describe what we do as
modern European. Simple food done well. I
pull some influences from my time in Japan.
From a flavour stand point, what I love
about Japan is the very simple flavours, the
crisp flavours. I spent time in England too
where I really started to understand product.
There’s great product and then there’s really
great product.
What’s always in your fridge at home?
Jonathan: Kimchi or sriracha. Some sort of
salsa. It was interesting that we mentioned
Africa because there’s a piri piri type sauce –
I don’t know enough about the origin –
in one of Marcus Samuelsson’s books with
jalapeno, cilantro, basil, parsley, chives,
capers, lemon. It almost becomes a salsa
verde. I love making those kinds of chili
sauces and things. I like making yogurt too.
But now that I think about it – one thing
I always have is rye starter. That causes me
trouble: it takes up room in the fridge or it
bubbles over.
Aaron: A good collection of beer!
Definitely condiments. Sriracha. Chiligarlic sauces. I’m in the same boat with too
many condiments floating around in there.
Usually some left-over curry.
Jeff: I always have a bottle of sambal
oelek. Similar to sriracha but the chunkier
version of it. Less of that roasted flavour
and more fermented. My wife is half
Trinidadian and family members send
us pepper sauces in old orange Fanta pop
bottles. That’s definitely a staple.
Those are my favourite go-tos. Oh, and
there’s always different types of cheese –
blues, soft, firmer, washed rinds. For both
my wife and I, that’s our guilty pleasure.
What impresses you about Downtown
Kitchener? What are you liking?
Jonathan: I really like that it’s an area in
transition. It’s fun to be part of it from the
beginning. I’ve always seen things like this
from the outside. If there’s one thing that
strikes me about Kitchener, period, is that
people from Kitchener are very proud to be
from Kitchener. And they really know the
history. Naming it The Berlin, we wanted
to be a Kitchener restaurant though and be
a part of the community and have a sense
of place. I’m just happy to be able
to jump on board. Everyone has been very
welcoming.
Jeff, you have the most experience with a
downtown business. Are you seeing a change
of attitude or demeanour?
Jeff: Now, it’s been very apparent on the
changes that have been made and that are
forthcoming. The ball’s rolling and has
picked up a lot of steam with transit, with
more people coming downtown to open
restaurants and businesses. There was a
time period when you were seeing people
leave and now you are seeing people come
down. It’s nice to see.
Other than Kitchener, of course,
and Berlin, what is your favourite city
(or town or hamlet)?
Aaron: Florence, Italy. From every aspect.
But go down any obscure alley or corridor
and you can find an amazing 10-seat
restaurant. Nonna making stuff by hand in
the kitchen.
Aaron: I certainly see an upward trend.
Small businesses are showing up every
day. As Jeff touched on, there are bakeries,
produce places, the market is just around
the corner, just about everything is here. It
was easy for us to locate here. It’s so central.
Jonathan: That’s a hard question. London
pops up because I’ve lived there. But places
that stand out for me are Strasbourg and
Paris. I can’t imagine a world without Paris.
Jeff: In North America, I’d say Chicago.
I’ve been to Manhattan several times and
I went to Chicago once: hands-down it’s
Chicago. Outside North America: London.
WRITTEN BY ANDREW COPPOLINO
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEAN LANDRY
DOWNTOWN
GETS FRESH
A stray vine curling through
the doorframe of a King Street
storefront. A hint of rosemary meet-
ing your nose and fleeting just as quickly
as you walk down the strip. Leafy greens
bouncing from the top of a brown bag held
by an after-work customer.
There is something growing in Downtown
Kitchener and it’s all thanks to Legacy
Greens owner Jordan Dolson, who saw a
community need that matched her personal
passion.
Legacy Greens, Downtown Kitchener’s
green grocer has renewed its lease for
another year of sales in the core and the
neighbourhood couldn’t be happier.
The unique shop is echoed by the space
itself. Seemingly non-descript from the
exterior, Legacy Greens is jam-packed with
fresh, local produce and products overflowing from wooden crates and woven baskets.
Some of which, Jordan is growing herself.
Much of the kale, chard, and herbs – the
namesake for the store – comes from Jordan’s crop.
“Jordan is a grower herself. This means
she’s got a unique understanding of what
the farmer she’s dealing with needs – their
minimum orders, when they need to get
paid, what’s in season,” says Leah Martin,
employee at Legacy Greens.
The ability to vend veggies all week long is
a major selling point for downtown dwellers without a regular grocery store in sight;
Legacy Greens has diversified its stock.
Lunch break customers can find a fast,
affordable grab-n-go lunch in the cooler
of fresh veggies and hummus. Shoppers
seeking something special can find locallysourced gift baskets tailored to the season.
Products by BRFC Designs, Buck Naked
Soap and Hugo & Nate Confections to
name a few, are amongst the foliage at
Legacy Greens.
In coming months, Legacy Greens plans to
round out their offerings to host eggs and
Eby Manor milk.
“We’re meeting a need that wasn’t fulfilled
downtown as one of the only places to
buy groceries during the week,” says Leah.
“When we can have produce on the streets,
people are so surprised to see us here, to see
fresh fruit downtown.”
A secret garden of sorts, Legacy Greens
is growing far more than kale and selling
something much bigger than a gift basket.
Push aside the vine tendrils and blow away
a bit of the soil dusting the tiny shop in the
core; a more holistic downtown might be
budding.
WRITTEN BY ALLISON LEONARD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SYLVIA POND
OWNITDTK
FUEL UP
DTK’S GOT FOOD FOR ALL
Darlise Café GUILT FREE BENEDICT 33 Queen St. S.
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 slices brie cheese
1 tomato
2 slices gluten free
¼ tsp Greek spice bread
Pistou sauce
¼ cup veg. oil
¼ cup parsley
1¼ cup kosher salt
½ tsp ground
black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups basil
1 large garlic clove
(puree)
½ tsp lemon juice
Directions
To make the pistou sauce, combine
all the ingredients in a food processor
and blend to a puree and set aside. The
leftover sauce can be kept refrigerated or
frozen until needed again. Poach two
eggs to your liking. Melt two slices of
brie cheese on the bread. Sprinkle Greek
seasoning on your tomatoes and sautee
to warm. Place the tomatoes on top of
the brie and toast, add the poached eggs
to the tomatoes. Add 2 tbsp. pistou sauce
and serve. Serve with fresh fruit salad.
Yeti Café HAPPY BURGER 14 Eby St. N.
Ingredients
2 cups 1 cup besam flour
cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked
1 tbsp veg oil
chick peas
¼ cup pumpkin
1 tsp ground Cumin
seeds
1 large beet (peeled 1 tsp ground coriander
and grated)
1 clove garlic
2 kale leaves (chopped ½ onion,
diced pretty fine)
Salt & pepper
¼ cup Apple cider
vinegar
Directions
Mix all ingredients together well.
Mash up with potato masher. Form into
patties (Add more besam flour if they are
not holding together well). Then, Bake
or fry at medium temp for 20 minutes.
Makes 4-6 burgers We use Kaiser buns
from Nova Era. The happy burger is
all about the pickles! Slice up a kosher
dill and layer it on top. Mix up some
hellman’s mayo with a bit of sriracha
for sauce. Greens, slaw & tomatoes
on top are the finishing touch.
SPRING2016
Bread Heads THE BREADHEADIGAN 16 Duke St. E.
Ingredients
Directions
1 pizza dough ball from Bread Heads
1 jar of storebought or homemade
pesto sauce
cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
1 package of goat cheese
parmesan cheese (grated)
balsamic vinegar
Stretch your room temperature dough
ball into 12” circle (ish). Top with,
your favourite pesto. Add fresh cherry
tomatoes, goat cheese. Bake in your
home oven at 550 (or as hot as your
oven will go) on a pre heated pizza
stone. Bake until edges are golden.
Remove from oven and top with
fresh grated parmesan and a drizzle
of balsamic reduction.
Ellison’s Bistro JERK CHICKEN SALAD 14 Chales St. W.
Ingredients
Directions
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce (chopped)
8 lg red leaf lettuce
8 leaf radicchio
8 slices of cucumber
1 roma tomato
2 x 4 oz chicken breast
1 medium avocado
1/2 tsp of Ellison’s Jerk Seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp Ellison’s Lime Dressing
Toss the chicken with jerk seasoning, cover and marinate 2 to 4 hours
in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook chicken in baking dish for about
20 minutes then broil for 3 minutes. Let
chicken cool and slice. Wash, chop, and
plate.
* Dressing and seasoning available at
Ellison’s Bistro
AGENTS
OF
CHANGE
It’s unfortunately rare to dedicate
6 pages in print solely to woman.
And that lack of lady-dominated
space in popular media is even
more unfortunately reflected in
the employment sector and in
roles of leadership. But, Kitchener
is bursting with wonderfully
strong women that simply
can’t go unnoticed.
Woman working in the Kitchener
economy play host to a load of
shared experiences – an incredible
drive for mindfulness, a growing
focus on health and wellbeing and
struggle in largely male-dominated fields. But the discussion with
the woman interviewed breached
that of solely gender identity;
intersectionality is at the heart
of employment experience in
Kitchener as culture, skin colour,
sexuality, background, lifestyle,
health and income meet woman
at work.
WRITTEN BY HILARY ABEL
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY
BY BRIAN LIMOYO
INDIVIDUALS PHOTOGRAPHY
BY CHRISTINE REID
this to our children from a young age.
You live on a horsefarm!
I grew up on a farm and competing in
show jumping and have passed my hobby
onto my children who both ride horses and
compete now. We keep our horses at home
on the farm along with our chickens and
other animals. It takes up all of my free
time but I love it. It keeps me active and
outside and keeps my kids out of the malls
because they have so much responsibility
to help out. The best part is being with the
horses – no matter how stressful your day
is, they ground you and always keep you
present when you are with them.
Shaena Morris
Divisional Commander,
Central Patrol Division,
Waterloo Regional Police
Divisional Commander of the Central
Patrol Division in Kitchener, Inspector
Morris is responsible for 150 uniformed
patrol officers and civilians at this division.
Her job is to make sure they have all the
tools they need to do the best job they
can. She handles staffing and HR issues
regularly and works with the Chief and her
peers to make strategic decisions for the
organization.
“I also work with all of the community
partners, mostly downtown, to share
information and work together to make
sure Kitchener is the safest and strongest
neighbourhood it can be,” says Shaena.
What aspect of your job interests you most?
My biggest passion in my job is protecting
children. They are the most vulnerable
members of our society and I would do
anything to make sure they are kept
safe and free from harm, physical and
emotional.
Policing is a very male-dominated sector,
can you tell me a bit about being a woman
in your role?
Right now I am the only female uniformed
officer in our senior management team, but
I share this with other civilian females in
the role. This is only temporary because we
have some really talented women poised to
join me very soon, which I am very excited
about. Women think very differently than
men, which is important in balancing
out decisions being made on behalf of all
of our members. That was challenging
for me personally at first and rocked my
confidence but experience over time has
changed that. I work with an extremely
supportive male peer group who make me
forget that there is even a gender difference.
I always feel part of the team.
What else are you passionate about?
Gardening, chickens, yoga – all of these are
about mindfulness and keeping me present.
I really think the world needs to work
harder at this, especially in light of all the
mental health issues our society faces now.
Mindfulness is a great tool for reducing
stress and for keeping us from being so
judgemental.
Your biggest life lesson so far?
Sometimes you win, and sometimes you
learn. There are no mistakes and as women,
we need to stop beating ourselves up when
we feel we have made a mistake and teach.
Sameera Banduk
Marketing Director
Thalmic Labs
Sameera is the Marketing Director at
Thalmic Labs, a fast-growing startup in
Downtown Kitchener that invented the
Myo gesture control armband. Her job
involves doing everything and anything
that drives awareness and growth of the
business.
On being a woman in hardware tech:
To me, one of the most important parts
of being a woman in a male-dominated
sector is to not spend time thinking about
being a woman in a male-dominated sector.
Instead, focus on how you can challenge
yourself and grow your skill set to become
the best at what you do.
What else interests you?
I’ve become a bit of a health and fitness
nut over the past few years. I love using
technology to track data on calories,
nutrition, daily steps and nightly sleep!
Your biggest life lesson so far?
Hands down, my biggest life lesson so far
has been to have confidence in myself. If
you don’t believe in yourself, you don’t
give others a reason to believe in you. This
is an area that I’ve consciously worked on
over the years and is something that I’m
constantly striving to improve.
Jodi Stone
Co-Owner
Jodi Stone
DNA Screening Inc.
Co-Owner
DNA Screening
Inc. promotional agencies on solving problems
Jodi works
closely with
for clients, negotiating costs with garment distributors and uses her
Jodi works closely with promotional agencies on solving
screenprinting experience to help community organizers get the
problems for clients, negotiating costs with garment
most out of their marketing.
distributors and uses her screenprinting experience
On working
a male-dominated
industry:
to helpincommunity
organizers
get the most out of
Whentheir
I first
started
working
in
this
industry the tension was
marketing.
palpable. I was much sicker more often; it was because of the stress.
On working in a male-dominated industry:
There was an aggression back then that I was unaccustomed to. But
When I first started working in this industry the tension
working in a strictly male environment hardened me. The sales reps
was palpable. I was much sicker more often; it was because
had been part of an old boys club for years. While print shops had
of the stress. There was an aggression back then that
accepted the value of women screen printers, it took some time for
I was unaccustomed to. But working in a strictly male
the reps to come around.
environment hardened me. The sales reps had been part
Any words
for women
of an of
oldwisdom
boys club
for years. While print shops had
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the value of women screen printers, it took
Holdsome
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control
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control, follow your instincts
the reps
toyou
come
and focus on being fair. There is no shame in asking for help but
Any words of wisdom for women of the next generation?
if you feel confident about your business decisions don’t question
Hold your own, control what you can control, follow
yourself, because you are probably always right (wink). Maintain a
your instincts and focus on being fair. There is no shame
sense of humour.
in asking for help but if you feel confident about your
What’s
been your
biggestdon’t
life lesson
so far?
business
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question
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I made
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probably always right (wink). Maintain
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as a screen printer then opened her own shop. We shared resources
What’s been your biggest life lesson so far?
and updates on inks, suppliers, names of clients that don’t pay
I made a close female friend in this industry, she worked
their bills - vital information for small business owners. She died
with me as a screen printer then opened her own shop.
last year of breast cancer. Not only do I miss her as a dear friend,
We shared resources and updates on inks, suppliers, names
I miss that female confidante in this industry. From this I have
of clients that don’t pay their bills - vital information for
learned that no matter how strong and determined you are, your
small business owners. She died last year of breast cancer.
health will ultimately control your story. I’ve learned that there are
Not only do I miss her as a dear friend, I miss that female
no replacements, so enjoy it while you have it. The clichés hold true
confidante in this industry. From this I have learned that
here: enjoy life to its full potential (don’t spend it all working!) and
no matter how strong and determined you are, your health
if you are fortunate to have good health, nurture it.
will ultimately control your story. I’ve learned that there
are no replacements, so enjoy it while you have it.
The clichés hold true here: enjoy life to its full
potential (don’t spend it all working!) and if you
are fortunate to have good health, nurture it.
Challenging any dominant position is a
hard road. However, if someone doesn’t
do it, the world will not get better.
Miroki Tong
What’s been your biggest life lesson so far?
Recognizing the value of rest. I often
feel compelled to work so hard that I feel
crushing guilt when I sleep eight hours or
take a rest day. Especially when stakes are
high or deadlines loom near. Getting a
concussion taught me two things. I deserve
to rest; no one else’s opinion matters in
the face of healing and keeping my health
optimal. As someone once said, successful
people see rest as lost time; really successful
people see sleep as an opportunity to
achieve peak performance and improve our
abilities to think and create.
Performer
Artistic Producer
Altekrea | festival of alternative creation
MBA Student
Like many actors, Miroki’s ambitions after
graduation were to “pursue her acting
dreams.” Altekrea was a passion project on
the side, given her lifelong love for Japanese
animation and comics.
Running a startup can be really stressful/
challenging! What most interests you
within your work?
My favourite aspect of working on a
consumer app is understanding user
behaviour to create new features that not
only delights the end user but also changes
their appreciation of the real world.
You are a woman in a very male dominated
sector, and some might say you and your
business partner almost have a traditional
role reversal thing going on. Can you tell us a
bit about that? Any words of wisdom for other
women in similar situations?
The “role reversal” has definitely been
noticed as people automatically direct
technical questions to Riley… but it is fun
to see their faces when they realize they
need to be directing their questions to me.
My advice to other women in a similar
situation is to not let stereotypes hold
you back! Follow your passion, without
worrying about where other people think
you should be. Also, connect with mentors
that can see past the stereotypes and give
you honest feedback.
“It’s what I grew up with while others
watched American cartoons,” she says.
Due to overwhelming audience response,
what she thought would be a one-year
thing became a multi-year event with her
next festival in June 2016
The alternative arts world and comicon
environments are very male oriented. Do you
have any words of wisdom for other women
in similar situations looking to make their way
into the scene?
Be strong, and never compromise for
one minute the type of person that you
are. As an Asian woman, and someone
straddling multiple disciplines, there are
many prevailing stereotypes I face from
the arts, geek culture and business world
that unfortunately get reinforced by
many external factors. The days of open
discrimination are over, but unconscious
bias and micro-aggression prevails.
where she managed the entire software
development of the iOS application. After
a year and a half, Pout was acquired by San
Francisco’s Everalbum in February 2016.
Laura is now on their iOS team working
out of their new Kitchener office at the
Tannery.
Laura Smith
Previously Co-founder of Pout
Currently iOS engineer at Everalbum
Laura and her co-founder Riley Donelson
created Pout (a fashion and beauty app for
millennials, with a vision of democratizing
fashion and beauty for young women),
What else are you passionate about?
Knitting? Woodworking? It can be anything!
Tell me why?
I’m very passionate about being part of
and growing the startup community in
Kitchener, and Canada in general. Part of
that growth is connecting KW and Toronto
via better rail service, which I’m excited
to see evolve. I also enjoy exploring my
personal fashion and health food recipes
in my spare time.
region, together we were able to influence
change in Kitchener, Waterloo and now
Guelph. Based on that momentum, it was
important to me to keeping the group and
stakeholders connected because it will allow
us to continue bringing amazing street
food to this region! www.kwfoodtrucks.ca
and social media tags were also created to
strengthen food truck awareness.
Nadia Dragusanu
New Business Coordinator at Equitable Life
Creative Director at Café du Monde Crêperie
I am an insurance new business coordinator
during the day and a food truck owner by
night. These are two vastly different roles.
In insurance, I get to interact a lot with my
computer while owning a food truck I get
to wear many hats, a Crêpe maker, trainer,
recruiter, I get to experiment with different
flavours, meet really interesting people and
attend amazing events!
Food trucking is a mostly male dominated
field - can you tell us a bit about that? Any
words of wisdom for other women in similar
situations?
Yes, it appears to be male dominated
because the guys are typically behind the
wheel, however, behind the scenes, women
are involved in some aspect of the business.
Words of wisdom for other women: you can
do it, you are strong, brave, confident, you
can haul that food trailer or drive that 20
foot long food truck.
You’ve taken a leading role in making food
trucks visible. Can you describe that?
In 2013-2014, food truck owners in
this region were very active in trying
to get food truck bylaws changed. We
worked together to address the lack of
opportunity to operate food trucks in this
What else are you passionate about? Knitting?
Woodworking? It can be anything!
I love travelling, learning. How people
live, how they celebrate and enjoy life can
be experienced best through travel. Rock
climbing is something I am also passionate
about and want to do more of it in the
future. Rock climbing is so rewarding, you
work had to get to the top, and when you
do you stop for a moment, look around,
feel invincible, then you plan the next
challenge! That’s how I live my life, always
looking for the next challenge!
Robin Andrade
Professional Practice Laboratory Coordinator/
Instructor
University Of Waterloo, School Of Pharmacy
I teach within professional practice, one
of the largest courses at the School of
Pharmacy. It’s a series of courses and labs,
teaching students about the applied practice
of pharmacy. I teach 120 students every
term in the lab, and my area is dispensing
and community pharmacy. Dispensing
involves learning how to read prescriptions,
pharmaceutical calculations, processing
prescriptions, and prescription verification.
What keeps you passionate about your work?
What most interests you?
When I was little, I remember asking my
mom how medicine knew where to go in
my body. I don’t remember her answer, but
from that point on I was very intrigued,
and I wanted to know more. Little did
I know back then that pharmacy is a
profession that is always changing. From
new medications, new conditions they
treat, and even non-pharmacy methods,
I’m always learning something different.
Keeping up to date with new information
and finding ways to incorporate them into
my lab is always enjoyable.
What else are you passionate about? Knitting?
Woodworking? It can be anything!
My passions run deep in photography and
music. Pharmacy is a science program,
and I spend a lot of my day with my head
wrapped around drugs and dosages, so it’s
necessary to flex the other side of my brain.
I don’t play an instrument, but there isn’t a
day where I don’t play music in my office,
or on headphones when completing lab
work. Photography has always been with
me. My Nikon sits on my dresser in my
bedroom, just waiting to be picked up. If I
see an image I need to capture, I can’t stop
thinking about it. It’s like my camera is
constantly poking me until I do it. My kids
are a big part of my photography these days,
and documenting their lives is paramount
for me. I print their photos and make them
albums, hoping they’ll appreciate
the images I’ve created for them.
Visit downtownkitchener.ca
for the full interview
THE
BARTESIAN
SPRING2016
Kitchener’s own cocktail bot
is on a mission to be a great
bartender
You’re in a hotel room, slightly crumpled
after a day of adventure-seeking or
conference-hopping. A fresh cocktail
would beautifully toast the escape from
your shoes. You pop a plastic pod into a
sleek, pre-spiked appliance and it neatly
and discreetly fixes you a drink. Before
your feet stop sighing, you’re sipping a
margarita.
An upstart startup in the Velocity Garage
is making this suitcase fantasy a reality.
The idea was indeed hatched when a
friend of the co-founders was faced with
nothing but a Keurig in her hotel room. Its
Kickstarter-fueled ascent has excited the
likes of Hyatt, Four Seasons and Holiday
Inn.
A series of capsule-fed prototypes made by
locally trained engineer and co-founder
Bryan Fedorak guided the Bartesian
through uWaterloo’s Velocity and
Laurier’s LaunchPad programs. Hardware
accelerator HAX sent them to Shenzhen,
China, to build a manufacturing base.
And last summer’s crowdfund gave them
a boost of US$115,846 (from 355 folks
who’ve presumably given up on their
inner mixologists) and a deluge of media
attention from Fox Business, CNN
Money, TechVibes and The Wall Street
Journal – which named Bartesian one of
the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show’s
best new devices.
The machine works by drawing spirits
from four reservoirs – gin, vodka, rum
or tequila – based on barcoded recipes.
Each capsule’s liquid mix ingredients –
real fruit juices, non-alcoholic liqueurs,
premium bitters, even muddled herbs – are
reconstituted by a water reservoir and
carefully dispensed. The Bartesian owner’s
only tending is to set their wallop between
virgin cocktail and triple-shot.
Designing capsules well has also been an
elaborate and vital process.
“Really we’re a capsule and cocktail
company,” says co-owner Ryan Close.
“The machine is sleek and innovative with
amazing features, but if the drinks don’t
taste good, then who cares?”
To keep their cocktails tasting fresh
and seemingly human-made, Bartesian
partnered with mixology author Dee Brun
and University of Guelph’s Food Institute
to nail down good recipes for Bartesian’s
recyclable plastic capsules. Their solution
hinged on using only natural ingredients
and extracts, no
artificial colours
or flavours.
The process was
not without
months of
tweaking, more
than ample
sampling and
“a lot of happy
people in that
office whenever I
came in because
they knew it was
cocktail time,”
says Dee. “We
were like mad
scientists, but with
booze.”
“I create cocktails all the time, but I’m
using pre-existing ingredients. We had
to start from scratch to make everything
taste how we wanted it to. I really look at
flavours and appreciate the work that goes
into making them a lot more now.”
Dee is also excited to tackle new drinks as
the Bartesian machine evolves, whether
capturing Clamato’s thickness in a Caesar
or playing with carbonation.
In the meantime, the startup is busy
meeting with Pernod Ricard’s people and
Nobu’s head bartenders, while mining
the supply chains of coffee-pod retailers.
A capsule-making
operation that will
crank out dozens
more signature
cocktails and
packages for holidays
and themed parties is
plotted for the near
future.
“One of our greatest
selling points
when we talk to
large companies
is that they know
we’re backed
by such strong
mentorship,” Ryan
says of Bartesian’s
partnerships and
incubator home
base. “It gives them
confidence to invest
in our product or
decide to put it on their shelves, because
we’re not just a couple of guys in some
garage with a wacky idea.”
“WE WERE LIKE
MAD SCIENTISTS,
BUT WITH BOOZE.”
Getting the right
balance of orange,
pineapple and
pungent rum
flavours in Bartesian’s sex on the beach was
challenging, for example. A pinhead drop
of one ingredient or another could create
huge flavour changes. Adding alcohol
often changed things further.
“There are certain things you don’t put
with gin or tequila, you know?”
Dee was also amazed by the widely
different tastes of various brands of the
same food extracts, like coconut or mint.
Bartesians will begin shipping this fall,
with a round of six cocktails to get the
party started.
bartesian.com | cocktaildeeva.com
WRITTEN BY ERIC RUMBLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SYLVIA POND
LIVE AT THE
APOLLO CINEMA
“We might be a small,
indie-rep cinema but we
can easily compete with
the multiplexes,” says
Matt MacKinnon, co-owner
of Apollo Cinema. “In fact,
we even do one better:
we serve beer.”
A fact not lost on customers who happily
sip on the local craft libations the flowing
community spirit in Downtown Kitchener’s newest theatre-meets-eatery space
– Apollo Cinema.
Specializing as a space to see first-run,
cult, indie, and classic films, Apollo is
also a dynamic venue where owners Matt
MacKinnon, Andy Willick,
and Daniel Demois, are keen
to develop community in the heart of
Downtown Kitchener.
Apollo has been screening movies for the
last year, and has quickly developed a loyal
following. The owners aren’t without their
badges in the film scene; Matt was a film
programmer at the Toronto International
Film Festival (TIFF) and Andy and ran
Toronto’s Fox Cinema.
“We offer interesting films with a great
viewing experience, and it’s amazing to
see people excited about what we are
trying to do,” says Andy.
Beyond movies, Apollo has a community-
minded approach, offering the space for
different events. “We rent the space, but are
also open to interesting collaborations, such as
local craft brewery events and neighbourhood
socials, such as the Funtario Christmas party,”
says Matt.
Drawn by the sense that things were really
happening in Downtown Kitchener, the trio
opened Apollo looking to bond with the community and revive the long-standing history
of a cinema – and more importantly, a social
hub in downtown. They knew good partnerships with other businesses and organizations
would be key to their success.
“We’ve intentionally cultivated relationships
and there is a real feeling that we are all in this
together, that everyone’s success impacts us
all,” says Andy.
APOLLO MEETS THE MERCURY
The Apollo partners have had a pretty big year.
Between the three of them, they opened the
cinema, celebrated two weddings, the birth of
a child, and entered the restaurant business.
Last fall, they bought the 86-seat restaurant,
Mercury Café, with a treed patio, adjacent
to Apollo. Mercury will operate as a quality,
daytime dining and catering option for
downtown workers and neighbours with a
menu that will focus on locally-sourced food.
Bonus points: it will also prepare dinner for
movie-goers, who want to dine in the theatre.
Building on the momentum of their first year,
they have big plans Apollo in 2016. They’ll
offer dinner service in the cinema (prepared
in their newly acquired restaurant, Mercury
Cafe), more audience participation events, a
VHS movie series for great films that never
made it to digital, film festivals and of course
more partnerships, including local filmmaker
showings.
“People often ask us how we are doing; they
seem really invested in our success,” says Matt.
“A good theatre is a good social space and
we want to create opportunities to showcase
what’s important to our audience.”
WRITTEN BY JUDE DOBLE
PHOTOGRPHY BT DEAN LANDRY
KITCHENER SYNC – DIY TV
“It’s very difficult to crack the
tech sector with the creative
sector. Thinking about the legitimacy of
what they do and what we do and how the
both can marry each other,” says filmmaker
Duncan Finnigan of a long-form project
initially brainstormed in the Communitech
Hub with co-conspirator Lyndon Horsfall.
The duo, who started working together under
the name 12 Angry Filmmakers, wanted
to do something bigger. Enter Kitchener
Sync: an ambitious 10-episode TV show
that centers on game software development
invented and is set, shot and shown solely in
Kitchener.
Even without a background in tech, the
series hones in on the culture, products and
challenges of the industry – but not without
research.
“I know a lot of people in tech, so whenever
something like that comes up in the script,
I’ll call someone and ask ‘hey, does this make
sense?’” Lyndon says, noting the need to
strike a balance as narrative fiction. “A lot of
the people watching [the film] aren’t in tech
so you don’t want to do it too ‘inside’ where
they’re not going to understand it.”
They started to find their characters and the
partners in the community – a mid-interview
run-in with Russell and Tessa Jennison who
act in and provide the score for the series,
highlights the hyper-local nature of the
project. Explaining their process, Duncan and
Lyndon begin to muse about their character
development method.
“Who would we have? Well, maybe that old
man over there,” says Lyndon. “He was always
sitting in the corner. So he’s a millionaire.
He’s doing this and that. He could be a
character. Why is he here?”
Star-studded with your neighbor, your
barista, your best friend’s younger brother, the
series is only available on the Apollo Cinema
screen. According to Lyndon, theatre-only
viewing dates drive episode delivery – and
hopefully the audience – “come hell or high
water.”
Wrapping up 2015 with three episodes under
their belt, Lyndon describes what keeps the
project going: “When you decide you’re going
to do something, you’ve just got to do it… to
prove yourself. Once you make the decision,
you don’t stop.”
And with such an admirable fusion of art
and technology in mind, hopefully they
don’t stop. An on-screen intersection of these
communities might just act as a catalyst in
their synchronization.
STORY & PHOTOS BY DARIN WHITE
WHAT KEEPS
DARIN TUNED IN TO
KITCHENER SYNC!
I’m a huge fan of this project.
It was the novelty of a local
setting combined with a funspirited poking at the tech
industry that drew me in.
• The moxie of doing this with
only pizza money and a whole
lot of determination
• The in-person experience at
Apollo feels like a party every
time
• The mix of comedy and drama
–belly laughs while tackling
serious social issues
• The fact that it keeps
getting better
Stay tuned @KitchenerSync and
find them on Facebook.
A MODERN
PUB CRAWL
The last Downtown Kitchener pub-crawl
I went on happened a good number of
years ago. Neither the bars nor the beers
were anything that could have been
described as special. But times have
changed, and as an Ontario craft beer
enthusiast, when it came time to visit a
few spots, the hardest part was deciding
where not to go. The three that made the
cut: The Grand Trunk Sa loon, TWH Social,
and The Adventurer’s Guild.
The primary focus of the bar at The Grand
Trunk Saloon is cocktails, and the rows of
unique bottles behind the bar make that
pretty clear. With only three rotating taps,
you might call their beer selection small,
but it carries its weight and the focus is on
carrying local/Ontario beers. The night we
were in, they had offerings from Beau’s,
Black Swan, and Block 3, all of which are
solid. When asked what’s selling best on
their taps, co-owner Manish Patel said
“everything’s selling!” So, it looks like
their focus is paying off. Look for offerings
from Elora Brewing Co., Ramblin’ Road,
Kitchener’s Descendants Beer & Beverage
Co., and TWB Brewing Co-op to hit
their taps in the future.
The first thing that the bartender at TWH
Social asked me was not what beer I
wanted, but rather what flavour profile of
beer I was looking for. With two
rotating taps, and 18 more that are heavy
on Ontario craft beer, TWH knows it’s
important to educate their staff about
what’s on tap, so they can help educate
their patrons. Every Ontario craft beer
has a back story, and this makes TWH
storytellers who connect you with your
perfect match.
Moving away from major brands and
toward a more personalized, the Ontario
beer scene is a hit; rotating beers are
leading sales. Even if your regular macro
brew isn’t available, and
it probably isn’t, they’ll
definitely have something you
can appreciate, just sit back
and let them help you find it.
old favourite, and enjoy some quality
beers that you might not find anywhere
else. Not a bad way to spend an hour,
or four. And yes, the more the beer looks
like it came from MiddleEarth, the better it sells.
THE HARDEST
PART WAS
DECIDING
WHERE NOT
TO GO.
Going to The Adventurer’s
Guild Board Game Cafe &
Tavern is like hanging out in
your basement, only there’s a
better stock of board games,
and of beer. Once you pay
the $5 cover, you have access
to their huge amount of board and vintage
video games, as well as food, and a nice
selection of Ontario craft beers. With a
wider variety of Maclean’s Ales than I’ve
seen in one place before, and a number of
great offerings from Block 3 and Grand
River Brewing, this is a great place to relax
with some friends, play a new game or an
LOOKING FOR MORE OPTIONS?
We’ve got’em.
McCabe’s Irish Pub, 352 King St. W.
Bobby O’Brien’s, 125 King St. W.
The modern Downtown
Kitchener pub crawl can
be much different from
the crawl of the past,
if you want it to be.
With new locations
serving up unique beers,
it’s safe to say that the
Ontario craft beer
enthusiast can have
a great time going all over downtown.
Crabby Joe’s, 70 King St. E.
WRITTEN BY JON JOHNSON
Marina’s, 323 King St. E. (across from
the Kitchener Market) Best kept secret in
DTK? They have an incredible patio out
their back door all summer long. The wings
aren’t half bad either.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORY BLUHM
Rhapsody Barrel Bar - 179 King St W
Abe Erb (coming soon) - 151 Charles St W
Firkin at the Tannery, 121 Charles St. W.
Frankie’s Pub, 273 King St. W. (between
Water and Gaukel) These guys even boast
a few arcade games in the front.
Caper’s Sports Bar ,1 Queen St. N.
(between King and Duke) Check out their
karaoke nights!
HITTING
RECORD
SPRING2016
Christen Latham (ZOOK)
was born with a song in her
heart, and that’s precisely
where the music continues
to churn.
A Kitchener-based musician with an
ear for melody, and the versatility to
nestle inside various genres, Christen has
honed her craft as songwriter. She’s got
two albums to her credit, and manages
to continually carve her mark among her
peers; loaning her powerhouse vocals and
writing talents to projects ranging from
independent to celebrity-status.
While promoting and gigging her most
recent body of work,
Change
Is Coming (co-written
and produced by
renowned Canadian
musician, Rob Szabo),
Christen was also
pursuing new musical
opportunities – and
one landed her on the
international stage.
Christen had become part of an online
music open-collaborative project,
hitRECord, directed by Gordon-Levitt.
Debuting in 2010, his community now
boasts more than “100,000 artists of
all disciplines” and its first episode,
hitRecord On TV (featuring Christen)
went on to snag the Interactive Media
Emmy for Social TV Experience.
“My voice clips have been used on two
other 30-second commercials they are
doing for other projects,” Christen says
of continuing with Gordon-Levitt’s
project. “I actually received a certificate
in the mail from them congratulating
me on part of the Emmy win. I
recommend anyone and everyone to join
[hitRECord] and give it a shot.”
I ACTUALLY
RECEIVED A
CERTIFICATE...
FROM THEM
CONGRATULATING
ME ON PART OF
THE EMMY WIN
“There was a tweet
from Joseph GordonLevitt (3rd Rock From
the Sun, 500 Days of
Summer) requesting
vocalists,” Christen explains. “(The
song) was in my key, and I related to the
message so well.”
With the deadline looming, Christen
says she recorded the track and sent it in
for submission that very evening. More
than half a year later, she discovered
she’d made the cut.
And as for here at
home, Christen is
doing what she does
best – singing, writing,
promoting and booking
(including bringing UK
singer/songwriter Jon
Gomm back to
the region).
CURIOUS ABOUT OTHER
KDUBBERS WHO HAVE BEEN
NOMINATED OR WON BIG?
Here’s a few:
Chris Williams, director: Winner of the
2015 Academy Award for Best Animated
Feature Film of the Year for
Big Hero 6.
Natalie MacNeil and Vincent Marcone,
media production: Winners of the 2011
Emmy Award for Outstanding Digital
Program for Out my Window
Danny Michel with The Garifuna Collective: Winner of the 2013 Juno Award for
World Music Album of the Year for Black
Birds are Dancing Over Me.
Lois Maxwell, actress: Winner of a 1948
Golden Globe for Best New Star of the
Year for The Hagen Girl. Lois was also
“Miss Moneypenny” in James Bond’s
Goldfinger (1964).
Craig Cardiff, singer songwriter: Winner
of the 2012 Juno Award for Roots and
Traditional Album of the Year for Floods
and Fires.
“Jason Walsh and
myself are writing
an album of songs
together, so we’re going
to come out with that,”
Christen reveals. “Also
the songs I wrote with
Ian Smith (Spirits, The Miniatures),
that will come out eventually as well.”
Courage My Love, band: Nominee for
Best Breakthrough Group of the Year in
the 2014 JUNO Awards.
WRITTEN BY CARE FINCH
Peter Huang, director: Nominatee for
Video of the Year in this year’s JUNO
Awards for SonReal’s For the Town.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEAN LANDRY
Alysha Brilla, singer-songwriter: Nominee
for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year
in the 2015 JUNO Awards for Womyn,
nominee for Adult Contemporary Album
of the Year in the 2014 JUNO Awards for
In My Head.
LIGHTNING IN
A BOTTLE
We hear it and we hear it often. Attracting
talent to the Waterloo Region is a challenge.
And as most recruiters will tell you, the
challenge isn’t Downtown vs. the UW
Tech Park, or even Kitchener vs. Waterloo
- the challenge is KW vs Toronto/Brooklyn/
Boston/ Silicon Valley/ Melbourne. You get the
idea…..
You can imagine the conversation between
recruiter and recruitee: “If I can work
anywhere in the world, why would I choose
Kitchener-Waterloo? It’s cold, you have no
ocean, no mega skyline. What does your
city have to offer me?”
We could, of course, rhyme off umpteen
reasons we think we’re an awesome place
to live (and we do, on page 57’s Insider’s
Guide to DTK!), but we thought it would
be better for you to hear it from those
who know firsthand. So we invited seven
relatively new KW residents together for
a chat. These super-talented minds, all of
whom currently work in the Downtown
tech scene, told us “here’s why.”
Meet Gavin, Marine, Divam, Terrence,
Laura, Vance and Umar:
You have all come to KW from other parts of
the world. How were the first few months of
your experience?
Marine - Canadians are notorious for
being super nice and it’s true. My first year,
I had seven different invitations to go to
people’s homes for Thanksgiving dinner.
Terrance - I was nervous at first, but after
about 6 months, things started to click.
Working at Vidyard, I found people in the
same situation as me. They aren’t originally
from KW either and were looking to build
long lasting friendships.
Laura - When I took my job I only
expected to stay a few months, but I’ve
quickly grown to love this community.
Divam - I grew up in New Delhi
and eventually moved to Toronto. In
comparison, Toronto already felt slow to
me. So coming to KW was no big deal. It
may be smaller, but everything is still so
accessible.
How did you find integrating into the downtown tech scene? Easy? Challenging?
Gavin - There is so much support for tech
in this community. You can develop an
idea and someone here will want to help
you build it.
Marine - Working for a start up, you never
feel alone. Everyone around you is also
working for a company where everything is
moving so fast. We’re all doing 17 different
jobs at once.
Laura – It’s so easy to talk to other people
in tech - and quickly - and they instantly
understand what you’re working on.
Vance - There are a lot of resources
available. The University of Waterloo has
expertise in different areas. We can talk to
professors anytime we run into a problem.
Other tech companies are always willing
to help out.
Now that you’ve all been here a while, what
do you love about this community?
Umar - I love the commute, you can get
anywhere you want in 15 minutes. In
Toronto, you can lose 15 minutes of your
day with one subway delay.
Gavin - I love how well connected the tech
community is. Every month, 200 people
will attend a meet up. You find that this
person knows this person, who knows this
SPRING2016
Exploring
what makes
DTK a great
home for tech.
person. Everyone is connected to someone.
Laura - It’s almost like you can be a big fish
in a small pond. Your company actually
gets to grow with the community.
Vance - Coming from a small island, I
appreciate the size of KW. You can live in a
neighbourhood outside downtown but still
be really close to the core. It’s not Torontobig and it’s not tiny. Yet the cost of living
here is so much more affordable.
KW is growing and urbanizing, Downtown
Kitchener is evolving into an international tech
hub. What excites you about building your
career here?
Terrance - Whether it’s at your company
or in the community, there’s a tonne of
opportunities to contribute to something
meaningful.
Umar - This is the right time to come here
because we’re in that growing phase. Five
years from now, we’re going to look back
and say “we just lived through a pretty
special time”.
Divam - When you think of San Francisco
there is an image you get in your head.
Kitchener is still evolving. We are
establishing an identity and we get to be
part of that process. It’s like lightning in
a bottle. You’re going to see how Silicon
Valley came to be. KW’s not perfect,
but you can watch it grow and you can
help shape it. You’re not going to get this
anywhere else in the world today.
We asked all seven about their fav places
and what they would like to see... just turn
the page.
WRITTEN BY LINDA JUTZI
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN LIMOYO
OWNITDTK
Gavin Kendall Developer at Igloo Software Originally from Australia
How did you end up in Kitchener from Oz??
My journey is very simple. I met a Canadian girl
on the internet, fell in love and came over here.
Ever since then I have been watching hockey and
snowboarding and becoming a natural Canadian.
Favourite part of KW? I love that there’s a ski hill
in town...it’s right there! [sorry Vance!]
Best way to get connected? Lots of groups and
meet ups to share ideas with. There is so much
cross pollination of knowledge.
Biggest misnomer about Kitchener’s tech scene?
The notion that we’re insular is a complete fallacy.
Everyone is trying to get out. Everyone is trying
to get connected.
Laura Brodie Director, Marketing & Communications at Bridgit, Originally from Ottawa
What has surprised you about living in KW?
For the first little while I spent a lot of time going
back to Toronto. I soon came to realize that this
community has a lot to offer and started having
friends come to visit ME for the weekend.
From a marketing perspective, what’s one benefit
of having a company in KW? Marketing exposure.
You can get a lot more recognition as a company
here than if you were in a big city. You can be
praised as the best in Canada and use that as a
spring board for success internationally.
What surprised you about this community?
The first time I walked into KWARTZLAB, people
I already knew were hanging out there. I love
the quick access to the countryside for hiking, or
kayaking or cycling.
Divam Jain Software Engineer at Google, Originally from New Delhi
You moved here from one of the busiest cities in the
world. That must have been a bit of an adjustment?
It’s all perspective. I came to UW for grad school
and I was amazed at how different life was here.
What I love is that you can actually get most of the
same things as a bigger city…maybe not as many
choices but everything is here.
What do you look for in a great city?
It’s the community. That’s pretty much the bottom
line. You can have nice restaurants, but if you don’t
have a good community of people, it doesn’t matter.
What do you love best about KW?
One of the most under-appreciated places is The
Working Centre - Queen Street Commons.
Favourite place in Downtown Kitchener?
Pupuseria Latinos
Terrance Kwok Sales Development Manager at Vidyard, Originally from Brampton
What would you tell someone considering moving
here? After finishing my schooling at UW, I moved
to Downtown Toronto. I really did not plan on
coming back to KW. I was nervous about what it
would be like without being part of the University
support system. For the first little while, I would go
back to Toronto on weekends. But then something
really clicked and I realized everything I need is
right here.
Best advice you could pass along? Initially it was
hard to find the really good ethnic restaurants but
they’re here. BTW - The Easy Earthern Restaurant
has the best Szechwan in town.
One thing you’d like to see more of?
Independently owned retailers and restaurants.
Favourite Part of Downtown Kitchener?
I love the vibe of the old brick buildings.
SPRING2016
Marine Dumontier Web Marketing Manager at Igloo Software, Originally from Paris, France
What would you tell someone who’s considering
taking a job in KW? I chose Kitchener after working
in Montreal first. This is a community that you’ll
be welcomed into. People truly embraced me as a
foreigner. I have never had that experience before.
time. I also love that the downtown restaurants
are putting a lot of effort into serving local food and
involving all the area vendors and farmers.
Favourite parts of KW? I love that the City transformed an old garbage dump into an awesome
usable place with a skate park, dog park, BMX bike
park and a toboggan hill. I go running there all the
Favourite place in Downtown Kitchener?
One thing you’d love to see improved?
Public Transit
The Kitchener Market is my happy place :)
Vance Morrison Research Scientist - Advanced R&D at Thalmic Labs, Originally from PEI
What do you appreciate the most about KW?
You get all the benefits of living in a community that
appreciates tech, without the down sides of living
in a big city. I enjoyed living in Montreal for school
but I wanted a smaller sized place. Kitchener is the
perfect in-between.
One thing you’d love to see improved?
I wish we had a bigger ski hill.
Favourite place in Downtown Kitchener?
Victoria Park
Umar Tanwir Product Management Director at NetSuite/TribeHR, Originally from Montreal
What would you tell someone who’s considering
taking a job in KW? It the right to time to come here
while it’s still growing. The changes that have taken
place in the past two years are really awesome.
What do you love best about KW? The affordability
relative to the scale of the opportunities to work in
tech. It’s half of what it would cost if I were living
in Toronto or San Fransisco. I’m not sure you can
find that anywhere else in the world.
How would you make the community better?
What people want in a city will never change. A
good quality of life, low cost of living, safety, great
things to do, and a cool city image. These wants are
as true today as they will be 10 years from now.
CONNECT WITH PLUGIN!
Plugin, a bi-monthly mixer created by downtown tech companies, strives
to create charitable, fun, and memorable events that unite the area’s
professionals. Meet people, have fun, help the community!
www.pluginkw.com
VIENNA
Fur Collar Shall:
Green Door
Tank: White Tiger
Jeans: StylFrugal
Shoes: Petsche’s Shoes
Ring: BG Diamonds
& Gold
Bracelets: More
Than Half &
StylFrugal
JOJO
Shirt: White Tiger
Skirt: White Tiger
Shoes: Petsche’s Shoes
Ring: BG Diamonds
and Gold
Necklace: More
Than Half
Bracelets:
StylFrugal
MANDIPPAL
Jacket: White Tiger
T-Shirt: White Tiger
Pants: More Than Half
Shoes: White Tiger
AT WAX NIGHT CLUB
#DTKSTYLE
LOCAL SINGER - SONGWRITERS SHOW OFF THEIR DTK FASHION
JOJO
Vest: White Tiger
Dress: StylFrugal
Shoes: Petsche’s Shoes
Necklace: StylFrugal
Bracelets : StylFrugal
VIENNA
T-shirt: StylFrugal
Jeans: StylFrugal
Shoes: Petsche’s Shoes
Bracelet: More Than Half
Necklace: StylFrugal
#DTKSTYLE
MANDIPPAL
Jacket: White Tiger Vintage
T-shirt: More Than Half
Pants: More Than Half
Shoes: Petsche’s
Leading the conversation
on Gentrification.
When most people hear the word
gentrification, they think of ‘that thing
happening in Brooklyn’ or ‘what happened
on Queen West in Toronto.’ Over the
last 18 months, the conversation about
gentrification has become local – focusing on
what is happening right here in Downtown
Kitchener. Most of the conversations to
date have been polarized, pitting different
groups against each other – developers vs.
small business, tech vs. artists, affluent vs.
working poor. And while these conversations
are meaningful and necessary, we wondered
how we might continue the conversation in a
different place.
What if we brought together four people with
unique perspectives on gentrification – people
who don’t see themselves on either side of the
argument, but rather are in search of the
right way forward? What would they talk
about? Would they take the conversation in
a new direction? Would they land on new
solutions? Would they open our minds to a
broader view of gentrification?
What do you think?
Karen Taylor-Harrison has lived in Cedar
Hill for 29 years. She didn’t flee in the
90s when drugs and gangs threatened
her neighbourhood. Instead, Karen and
her fellow neighbours chose to stay, and
witnessed their community rebound.
Karen eventually became the
Executive Director of the HighlandStirling Community Group and helped
foster important local programs like
The John School. “I guess as the old
lady of the group,” says Karen, “I can
give a perspective of Kitchener before
gentrification.”
Joseph Fung juxtaposes Karen perfectly
as a new agent of change downtown. As
Vice President at NetSuite, Fung needed
affordable office space in the core to get his
startup off the ground. His company has
now grown to afford and require prized
real estate at 55 King. He galvanized the
local gentrification dialogue last fall by
authoring a blog post focused largely on
wanting other tech leaders to not simply
turn a blind eye to gentrification, but to be
active participants in addressing it.
Brad Watson, pastor at Nexus Church, was
drawn to the core by a desire to actively
participate in a diverse, multi-use, multigenerational downtown, and hoped the
faith-based ministry he founded could
play some role in the core’s ongoing
revitalization efforts. He’s also the most
internally conflicted of the group. “I want
change, but I don’t want change. I want
to see new stores and restaurants, but I
don’t want current businesses to close. I
want to see more people living downtown,
but I don’t want to see people pushed out
because of it.”
To round out the discussion, Markus
Moos, associate director at the University
of Waterloo’s School of Planning, has
extensively researched the social and
generational change of cities. “Often
gentrification is viewed as purely a
displacement of one kind of social class
or socio-economic group by a group with
higher means,” says Markus. “But if we
only focus on people getting displaced, we
forget that the side effects of revitalization
can be much broader.”
Markus notes an example: if a food
store closes and is replaced with a more
expensive food store, the original customers
may have to travel greater distances to
access food they can afford. Such subtle
changes can dramatically impact a
community’s social structure.
Joseph confesses that while tech industry
workers are well intentioned, many are
generally unaware of the side effects of
downtown revitalization. “As we were
renovating the former ATM spaces at 55
King into our new offices, a friend pointed
out that sometimes people take shelter in
that space,” recalls Joseph. “Even though
this isn’t an official shelter, it’s still a shelter
we were inadvertently eliminating. It was
a very small but real example that if you’re
not paying attention, change can have
negative side effects. ”
It’s important to consider that it’s not just
the disadvantaged who feel the impact
of change downtown. “Many in our
neighbourhood are reaching retirement
age and some are feeling a growing sense of
alienation,” explains Karen. “We assumed
“DON’T PLAN JUST FOR
”
CROISSANTS
says Planner Urban Geographer Markus Moos
they’d stay in the downtown, but now we’re
not so sure. We adopted an attitude of only
supporting downtown businesses. But as
stores like Budds close, we’ve lost those
long-standing relationships.”
The group agrees that a commitment to
inclusivity needs to guide change in any
community. “There are so many people
with a sense of belonging to the downtown,
and we need to figure out how everyone can
maintain those relationships,” says Markus.
Nexus has tried to do just that. “We’re
trying to create a passion for the
Downtown,” says Brad, “reminding people
that progress shouldn’t be at the expense of
others.”
Cedar Hill, as Karen explains, has become
a vibrant mixture of social, economic and
cultural backgrounds because community
members have made inclusivity a priority.
“We tried to look at all sides of the coin,
because we didn’t agree that the solution
was to move people around,” says Karen.
“What we wanted was a community that
was safe and secure for everyone. We didn’t
make judgments about who should live or
shouldn’t live in the neighbourhood.”
For Joseph, the insular nature of a tech
company shouldn’t be an excuse for not
integrating its employees into the downtown
community. Recently one of his team
members, volunteering at a community
centre, learned that some people struggling
to pay their rent often overspend in
restaurants because they lack the cooking
skills to eat at home. In response, NetSuite
purchased crockpots and partnered with
local agencies to find families struggling
with this challenge who could benefit from
cooking classes.
This type of engagement can also help
to overcome another common pitfall of
cultural transformation. “The last thing
you want is people feeling guilty about
moving downtown,” explains Markus.
“What you want to create is a stronger sense
of community.”
So how can change happen in a way
that embraces existing residents and also
welcomes those who want to become part
of the downtown community? A simple but
profound statement captures the group’s
suggested approach:
“Just don’t be an asshole about it.”
When taking over a new space, building
a new building, or starting something
new, there are choices we can make about
how we carry out change. Intentionally
or not, those choices and their results can
negatively impact someone’s sense of self
and community. We can be assholes and
ignore that, or be sensitive to it and search
out ways to mitigate the impacts.
“We’re all skewed in some way by our own
socio-economic status,” says Markus. “I
really like croissants, but does that mean
everyone else wants to be sitting in a square,
eating croissants and sipping a latte too? No,
it doesn’t.”
Karen says it was as simple as opening up
the showers at the Mill-Courtland
Community Centre to anyone who
needed them, even if they weren’t
attending a program. “The simple fact
that gentrification is being talked about is
important. Out of conflict comes discussion
and out of discussion come solutions.”
And in order to cultivate new possibilities in
a changing community, people have to be
willing to get beyond their comfort zones
and engage in whatever shape the conflict
takes.
“It’s easy for us to sit back in our
neighbourhoods and have no idea what is
going on around us,” says Brad. “I’d like
to think what’s happening downtown is
revitalization. I would say gentrification is
the displacement of those in lower income
brackets. They don’t, in my mind, have to
be the same thing.”
“We’re not so far down the road on
gentrification that we can’t do anything
about it,” says Markus. “We could be an
example to the rest of North America. We’re
the type of community that can aim for
inclusiveness and we’ll follow through on
it.”
Want to continue the conversation? This is just
one of many discussions that need to happen.
And they need to include all perspectives
and all types of people. If you’ d like to share
your thoughts, start by contacting Hilary.
[email protected] to participate in a future
conversation.
THE BIG-HEARTED
EMMA DINES
“Sometimes the people
who seem grumpy and
unreceptive, have been the
most enthusiastic when
I’ve given them a heart,”
Says Emma Dines, local yoga instructor,
blogger and founder of the heartfelt
revolution. “Having hearts in my pocket
ready to share, reminds me to pay attention
to people and notice how they’re doing.”
Inspired by the principles of gifting,
often seen at temporary community
events like Burning Man, where items are
intentionally exchanged without money,
Emma and some friends wanted to explore
that sense of community in their everyday
lives. They came up with the idea of
making and giving out felt hearts with
safety pins. Last summer, Emma took this
idea to the streets of Kitchener with the
intention of surprising someone with a
heart, as a symbolic gesture of kindness.
“I hope the colourful hearts can interrupt
the everyday, connect people, and bring
an element of playfulness to the world,”
says Emma. She is optimistic that it might
inspire people to shake up the normal ways
they engage with each other, and surprise
one another in kind ways.
Most people tend to graciously accept
the heart she gives them, often delighted
with the gesture, even if they tuck it in
their pocket instead of pinning it to their
coat. Others seem a bit hesitant or even
suspicious about what it might mean. But
Emma prevails.
At the core of this project is community
engagement and Emma would like the
heartfelt revolution to be something
others get involved in.
Emma has some potential plans for the
future of the project. She plots everything
from a ‘heart station’ at the Kitchener
Market, where people can take swaths of
hearts to share with others to creating a
‘heart recharging station,’ encouraging
people to do mindful exercises to recharge
their hearts, such as standing inside a heart
chalked on the sidewalk and thinking
about someone they love for 60 seconds.
You can contact Emma if you are
interested in the project or you can share
your heart experiences on social media
using #heartfeltkw.
“This project has enriched my life and
I would love others to share in this kind
experience, wherever they live,” she says.
WRITTEN BY JUDE DOBLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SYLVIA POND
MORE THAN
A STORE
Note to Readers: In case you missed it,
the Budd family has decided to retire,
closing their landmark stores after 90 years
in business. I initially sat down with
Howie, expecting to hear golden tidbits
of advice that could be passed on to future
generations of downtown business owners.
What I found was so much more...
Left the right meet the Budds, Lynda, Howie, Jeff, Stan, Esther Budd
Getting to know The Budds.
It was well after midnight in the mid
1930s. Nat, Jack, Mort and Lou Budd the
founders of Budds were still hard at work
prepping their King Street store for the
next day. A man, fresh off his shift at a local factory, was feverishly banging on their
door. Thinking the man was in some sort
of medical need, they opened the door.
“It’s my 8-year old son’s birthday and I
forgot to get him a present,” he told them,
“he’ll be devastated. Are you still open?”
Howie’s father didn’t even have to think
twice. He grabbed a Maple Leafs jersey,
wrapped it in a gift box, and gave it to the
desperate father. When the father offered to
pay them for the jersey, they refused. It was
symbolic of how the Budd family ran their
business for 90 years – treat people with the
same level of respect and compassion that
you would hope they’d show you.
“If you’re going to be successful in retail,”
Howie explains. “You have to have a passion
for your business and customers. You have
to be on the floor and get to know them.
You need to build personal connections
with them. It’s the only way to find out
what products hey want and what price
they’re willing to pay. This is how you
provide people with value and trust.”
With constantly evolving retail trends and
no shortage of competition, Howie, his
brother Stan and son Jeff have lived through
it all. the Budds never waivered from what
would prove to be their core competitive
advantage.
“We make people feel like they are family,”
Howie says. “We always looked out for the
forgotten ones, who need special sizes or a
particular style that they can’t find at chain
stores.”
Howie is quick to point out that there is a
real science to succeeding in retail, beyond
great customer service. Know your bestselling items, and treat them as the basic
foundation of your store. Know intimately
what sells and what doesn’t. Liquidate what
isn’t selling and reinvest those sales into
product that will sell. Price competitively.
And most importantly, fall in love with
your customers, not your inventory.
“We treated our suppliers like partners,”
Howie says. “We would give them real-time
input and suggestions based on what our
customers were telling us. In turn, they
would advance us new clothing lines weeks
before they would release it to Eaton’s,
The Bay or Sears and we would have the
new items sold well before the national
chains were ready to sell.”
When asked what he foresees the future of
Downtown Kitchener being, Howie shares
nothing but optimism.
“We’re on the cusp of great success,” says
Howie.“But we need to stay true to what
differentiates us from every other form
of retail. Whether we’re shopkeepers,
restaurant owners, lawyers or accountants,
we need to continue to care deeply and
personally about each and every customer
and client. It’s hard to find that genuine
level of friendship at the mall or online.”
If anything, Howie hopes downtown will
continue to grow its collective personality
as a warm and caring community. Even if
it means dropping everything and driving
to Listowel – something Howie did one
day for a customer who, four hours before
his wedding, spilled food on his white
pressed shirt and needed a new one. Howie
didn’t see the man as a customer or a sales
transaction, he saw a friend who needed his
help on one of the most important days of
his life and he drove the shirt to Listowel in
time for the wedding.
And that 8-year old, whose father narrowly
avoided disappointing him? Turns out he
never forgot about the kind gesture the elder
Budds’ did for his father. He would become
one of the Budd’s lifelong customers.
“We knew we had loyal customers,” Howie
says. “But we never knew how much of a
personal connection we had with people,
or how important we were to their lives.
We’ve had petitions begging us not to retire.
That makes us feel like we did something
meaningful over our 90 years. It feels pretty
special.”
WRITTEN BY CORY BLUHM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
DAWNE TAYLOR-GILDERS
OWNITDTK
A TOUR OF THE WORKING
CENTRE’S NEWEST ENDEVOUR
Joe Mancini head of The Working
Centre, says “always do ten things
at once.”
My tour of their new space at 256 King Street East
was no exception.
“Francis, get in this picture, too!” Joe urges Francis
Mbewe who has established a micro-loan system
in his native Zambia to support local business.
Joe and Francis swapped stories of helping their
communities get a leg up while
I tagged along.
I still encounter people who don’t know The
Working Centre. That seems impossible given the
multi-headed nature of their work, and a track
record dating back to their 1982 start. Joe and his
wife Stephanie Mancini started the organization
as a response to poverty and unemployment in
Downtown Kitchener. Thirty-four years later,
while still serving that original mission, the group
provides a platform for social innovation.
“Everything you need to know about The Working
Centre is found in the programs we provide,” says
Joe. Those programs connect people with jobs,
operate a busy café, recycle computers and bicycles
to resell, and teach skills in their arts space.
Reconstruction on their most recently acquired
space began back in June 2015. When it’s up and
running it will offer four primary areas of service
in addition to affordable housing for eight people
on the top floor:
• The Commons Studio with multimedia gear
rentals
and film making facilities
• The Digital Media Lab for learning
and creating with software
• The Youth Entrepreneurship Project helping
young people
start businesses
• A coffee bar and commercial kitchen
“We’re not doing anything new here in this
building, just extending it,” Joe explains as we step
around pipe installation work and say hello to busy
painters.
Part of the work on 256 King is being done
by people from TWC’s job exchange offering
temporary work. In addition to engaging certified
tradespeople, one component of the renovation
work paused to connect with Conestoga College
student schedules. They put their studies into
practice installing drywall. This inclusive shift is
emblematic of The Working Centre’s collaborative
approach to self-help.
Find out more at theworkingcentre.org
The Working Centre is far more than a place to
improve your resume or a spot to go if you’re down
on your luck. Similar to the Communitech Hub or
UW’s Velocity Program, it’s a dynamic community
that enables entrepreneurship and providing people
with the tools and resource they need.
STORY & PHOTOS BY DARIN WHITE
HELPING AT
STREET LEVEL
OWNITDTK
THE COMMONS STUDIO –
MARTIN DE GROOT
A long-time supporter of the arts, Martin enables experienced
and aspiring filmmakers alike. With $100/year membership
fee, The Commons Studio offers affordable rentals of cameras,
lenses, lighting and audio gear. Advanced editing software and
computers are available for members, and most importantly the
Studio serves as a connecting point for sharing expertise
and encouragement. Their new space at 256 King will include a
green-screen
room and a recording studio.
Contact:
[email protected]
THE DIGITAL MEDIA LAB – MARTIN EDMONDS
Extending existing programs that teach Microsoft Office
software, Martin noted new classes being added. The Digital
Media for Youth program, has had two sessions already. The
groups of eight learned to create videos, use social media tools,
make mobile apps and develop web pages. 256 King will boost
the collaborative environment. Media captured in the studio
can then be edited, produced, printed, and shown in the
neighbouring media lab. Martin describes it as “a place where
youth who are passionate about technology and digital media can
come and hang out together and learn from each other.”
Contact:
[email protected]
SPRING2016
THE YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT –
JANE SNYDER
THE COFFEE BAR AND KITCHEN –
REBECCA MANCINI
Jane Snyder, heading up the Youth Entrepreneurship Project,
talks to people under 30 about ways they can earn an income.
I caught her mid-meeting with Ellen Bleaney also of TWC.
Helping people always involves a lot of conversation about different
paths to income: getting a job, starting a business, developing
a plan. YEP helped 14 youth last year and is on target to help
another 15 young entrepreneurs this year. Jane urges those
interested “to come with a business idea and be willing to move it
forward.”
“These ideas are still under a lot of development,” Rebecca Mancini
cautions me with a chuckle.
Contact: [email protected]
The intent with the coffee bar is to continue the welcome that the
Queen Street Commons Café offers and bring that to 256 King
with opportunities to experiment and align the two.
The commercial kitchen in back will support expanded catering
work, artisanal cooking and learning opportunities.
“Around here the only constant is that everything changes.
It’s an important thing because it helps us stay responsive.”
“CONTEXTUALIZING A
BUILDING IS ONE OF
THE FUNDAMENTAL
TASKS AN ARCHITECT
TACKLES”
LAIRD A. ROBERTSON.
SPRING2016
BUILDING
CONTEXT
It was the building few people
knew even existed.
Lost between a parking lot and a large
office building, only those that remember
Pinto’s Youth Shop, truly know where the
building is. So when local architect Laird
A. Robertson purchased 243 King Street
East, his challenge was to bring new life to
a narrow piece of our history.
“Contextualizing a building is one of the
fundamental tasks an architect tackles,”
Laird explains. “How do we create a harmonious relationship between the building
and its surroundings?”
In this case, the relationship goes beyond
simply enhancing the unique art deco
facade. A narrow stretch of land along the
east side of the building has been re-landscaped, providing a future location for an
outdoor cafe or seating area.
“Intrinsically, there’s a civic, community
and social nature to every building downtown,” says Laird. “We want to enable
this building to one day play that role for
people.”
Laird was quick to point out that, based
on the structural design of the eastern
wall, the original builder likely envisioned
opening up the sidewall to the outside, it
just never happened.
As a partner at Robertson Simmons
Architects, his firm has played a strategic
role in the re-contextualizing of numerous historic downtown buildings. The
Google headquarters at the Breithaupt
Block and the repurposing of the Regional
Courthouse on Weber Street are two of
their more recent projects. Similarly, Laird
is working on the transformation and
adaptive reuse of New Hamburg’s historic
Imperial Hotel into luxury rental suites.
“As architects, we almost act as interpreters, taking a client’s dream, the building
at hand, the surrounding context, and
imprinting a new vision for the space,” says
Laird.
For the building at 243 King Street East,
this included honouring the wishes of the
Pinto family, who for generations, were
staples of the community. This building
is the last physical representation of their
family’s legacy.
“I actually had to promise them I wouldn’t
tear the building down, or if I ever sell
it - they get first right,” says Laird. “But
as someone who deeply values our built
heritage, it was an easy promise to make.”
WRITTEN BY CORY BLUHM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SYLVIA POND
ARTWORK
BY DAVID
BLATHERWICK
OPEN
SESAME
The Magic Words for Local Arts
The floor-to-ceiling windows at Kitchener’s
newest arts and culture hub, Open Sesame,
provide the perfect lighting for the large-scale
gallery wall. This is one of the few places in the
region that local, emerging, and mid-career
artists, can showcase their work.
Open Sesame owner Lauren Weinberg, a recent
transplant and arts writer from Chicago, opened
the shop-meets-gallery last fall in response to a
gap in the region’s art scene; artists were in need
of a home base.
The thoughtfully designed items for sale are
intended to subsidize the exhibitions, concerts,
and workshops hosted in the space. While a
roster of exciting arts events are in the works, a
key feature of Open Sesame is the gallery space,
and Lauren has enlisted the help of local curator
and artist, Sarah Kernohan, to curate the gallery.
“I met Sarah when she was CAFKA’s artistic
director,” says Lauren. “I was impressed by her
curatorial work, knowledge of contemporary
Canadian art, and connections to local artists.”
Kernonhan, a landscape artist, is passionate about
finding ways to present the work of regional
artists. “There are many talented local artists, but
there aren’t many local platforms to show their
work, outside of Toronto,” says Sarah. “Open
Sesame can help change that.”
The gallery exhibits will run in six to eight week
cycles and they are consciously focusing on
affordable work, hoping to encourage gallery
visitors to become art buyers.
“We want to help people discover local talent,
develop their sense of curiosity, and find
something beautiful to bring home,” says Sarah.
They are optimistic that the workshops, concerts,
and art exhibitions will help entice people to visit
downtown in the evenings and weekends.
“We’ve started to build great momentum and I
can’t wait to see how things unfold,” says Lauren.
WRITTEN BY JUDE DOBLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN LIMOYO
Wondering where to find more
great contemporary art in DTK?
KW|AG, 101 Queen St. N. (with Centre
in the Square) kwag.ca
CAFKA Contemporary Arts Festival
of Kitchener and Area, Waterloo Region
May 28 - June 26, cafka.org
The Art District Gallery
310 King St. E., Unit #201 (at the Kitchener
Market) artdistrictgallery.org
CARVING THE
NEXT CHAPTER
It was sitting right there,
under everyone’s nosesthe stunning back half of the former
Goudies department store. Most people
passed by without noticing it, hidden
behind a wall of grey stucco. Numerous
developers looked at it, but they too didn’t
see the beauty. It wasn’t until brothers
Frank and Steve Voisin walked through
it that 8 Queen found a new purpose.
“The moment we saw the towering
ceilings, wood floors, expansive floor
plates and exposed beams,” explains Steve,
“we knew how great this space could be.”
With a growing start-up scene and a
shrinking supply of A-class, loft office
space, the Voisins saw an opportunity
to write the next chapter in downtown’s
renaissance. One of the more remarkable
design features will be the third floor with
its fusion of old and new. A soaring brick
and beam space at the back of the building
will flow into the new, glass encased
addition. Shipping containers were craned
in and will be used to form the walls of
meeting rooms.
“There are plenty of cities with beautiful,
vacant, old buildings,” Frank says, “but
Kitchener’s startup ecosystem is what
makes a project like this possible. The two
have to coexist together at the same time.”
In this case, the building will become the
new home for Vidyard and its continually
expanding workforce.
But what really excites Frank is the new
glass entrance off of Goudie’s Lane, and a
potential restaurant use at the rear. Long
considered “no-go” zones, downtown’s
back alleys are becoming opportunities for
Left to right Steve, Frank Voisin
‘...KITCHENER’S
STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
IS WHAT MAKES
A PROJECT LIKE
THIS POSSIBLE’
FRANK VOISIN
festivals and street parties. EightQueen
will push this boundary even further by
drawing building users to the laneway,
which happens to be surrounded by
unique architectural character rarely
experienced by the general public.
“We wanted to show leadership in
our design thinking,” explains Frank,
“we feel being the first to invigorate a
laneway with day-to-day activity is one
of our contributions to the evolution of
downtown. We hope it motivates other
building owners and architects to rethink
and reframe how they might leverage the
charm of these laneways.”
Even with such a progressive view to the
future, the cultural importance of the
building is not lost on the Voisins.
“So many community members have
shared their personal memories of Goudies
department store with us,” says Steve, “we
know we need to find a progressive way to
showcase these stories.”
The front of the old boiler and former
vault door are just two of the features that
In progress: New third floor addition features floor to ceiling windows.
will be incorporated into the final design
of the space.
Respecting the design intentions of
the previous owners was critical to
maintaining the right ethos inside the
building.
“From what we can decipher,” Steve
explains, “A.R. Goudie took a forward
thinking, out-of-the-box approach to his
original design. We’re confident that the
work we’re doing now will continue this
tradition.”
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1935, Goudies Department Store was
the largest of its kind outside of Toronto
and Ottawa, at 55,000 square feet. It was
famous for its homemade sticky buns.
The building’s previous owner, Bramante
Studio, is a world-leading design studio for
liturgical art, having adorned over 5,000
churches and institutions worldwide.
WRITTEN BY CORY BLUHM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE MARTZ
SNEAK
PEEK
At the start of the year, the first owners of City Centre Condominiums started to move in. We were lucky
enough to snag a tour of a few finished units and we had to show them off. Check out this view:
DTK
­i nsider guide
“Why we should stop
complaining we don’t
live in a big city and
start loving the one we have”
Complete with recommendations
from your fellow Downtownees
DTKMAGAZINE
DTKinsidersguide
We may not have the Guggenheim, but we do have the Parkenheim
Liz Little’s Song Withour Words allowed this hidden oasis to doubled as a contemporary art venue (look for the lime green parking garage).
WE DON’T have a waterfront SO...
er long
we party street-side all Summ
King Street is our Bourbon Street, home to some of the best street
parties. This year, watch for the Night Art Market (June 10), King
Streatery (June 11), Summer Lights (June 18), Canada Day (July 1),
Cruising on King (July 8), Rock n Rumble (July 22-23), and Kitchener
Blues Festival (Aug 4-8).
juice bar town
ne
o
a
t
s
ju
t
o
n
We’re
Goodvibes Juice Co has the biggest juicer we’ve ever seen, pumping
out nutritional greats like the Limelight, Sunkiss and Heartbeet.
Pure Juice Bar + Kitchen serves up an ever evolving array of juice
cleansers, like the Invincible, Full Focus and the Flawless.
O SHARE
CAUSE WE LOVE T
OUR CHINATOWN features
15 different cultures
in just 6 blocks
Hard to deny that DTK isn’t the best place to find truly authentic
international food. And most of ours aren’t Americanized.
They’re the real deal.
Here are some favs:
Sharing is way more fun. Try Gilt’s always changing share plates,
order by the Pupusa at Pupuseria Latinos, or order from the Classic
Sichuan Series at Easy Earthern.
Hand picked by Melissa Bowman, Victoria Park Neighbourhood
Association: the Vegetarian Platter (pictured) from East African Cafe
Rainbow Carribean Café
Handpicked by Andre Chin,
Keller Williams: Curried Goat
OUR BEER STORE HAS A ROOFTOP PATIO
Shinla Garden
Korean Restaurant
Handpicked by Eric Rumble,
Night\Shift: BiBimBap
It’s true. Unproven rumor: if McCabes runs out of beer, there’s a
secret dumbwaiter to transport cases straight from the Beer Store’s
cold storage.
The Guanaquita
(Salvadorian)
Handpicked by Erin Atchison,
FedDev: The Guanaquita Platter
We may not have a chic bagel bar (yet)
these guys are bringing
breakfast back
stic stage
acou
we have the best
in Canada
Other innovative breakie spots – try Pure Juice Bar +
Kitchen, Kava Bean Commons, Yeti Café, the vendors
at the Kitchener Market, the Grand Trunk Saloon,
Firkin at the Tannery and the Downtown Crepe Cafe.
Seriously. No joke. Centre in the Square was designed to be an
acoustically-perfect concert hall, and is internationally revered by
musicians who’ve graced the stage. There’s a feather for the cap.
Gilt try the Lobster &
Dill Eggs Benny…with
bacon…mmmmm.
Handpicked by Cory
Bluhm, City of Kitchener
hole foods, but...
w
a
e
av
h
’t
on
d
e
W
B@THEMUSEUM
try the B.enedict,
and some weekends,
the Banana Bread
French Toast.
Darlise Café: they have a
full assortment of pancakes,
eggs bennie, crepes and
breakfast sandwiches.
Handpicked by
Breanna Crossman,
Downtown Kitchener BIA
You can still get all the ingredients you need for a kickin’ dinner party.
Produce - Legacy Greens and Kitchener Market
Meat - Kitchener Market and New City Supermarket
Organics - Full Circle Foods
Bread - Golden Hearth Bakery
Dry Goods - Shoppers Drugmart
Specialty Items - America Latina and New City Supermarket
Fresh flowers - Living Fresh & Kitchener Market
SPRING2016
DTKinsidersguide
Izakaya rocks
best…playground…ever
!!!”
You know if you have to get there by 5pm or risk waiting in a really
long line, the place is legit. Seriously some of the best sushi, and
definitely the best interior design, in KW.
Handpicked by Kevin Muir, GSP Group
King STREET IS setTing the
Tallest slide in town. BTW pack a towel.... you will not be able to keep
your kid from the splash pad.
Handpicked by the throngs of parents and children
that picnic there all summer long.
bar
The innovative design of King Street opened the flood gates for other cities to build truly people-focused streets. Guelph and Niagara Falls were
the first to follow suit. Buffalo is redesigning their Main Street based on the King Street Model. Watch for Toronto (Yonge Street & John Street),
London (Dundas Street) and Montreal (St. Catharine Street) as they build their own innovative adaptations. I think we started something…
DTKinsidersguide
DTKMAGAZINE
d by
we’re surrounde
gs to do
in
h
t
s
s
a
d
a
b
y
t
some pret
Great Wolf Lodge ain’t
h a bowling alley
it
w
l
e
ot
h
ly
on
e
h
t
Bet you didn’t know there was a 2 lane bowling alley in the basement of the Crowne Plaza Hotel did’ya? They also boast a pretty
sweet arcade and indoor mini-golf course! Perfect for a rainy day
adventure or a private booking for your next birthday party, open to
the public - inquire at the front desk. The Dude abides.
Hand Picked by Hilary Abel, City of Kitchener:
You can still get lunch under $5
There are some great options for a unique date night in DTK.
The Boathouse for live music almost any night of the week,
Grand River Rocks for testing your fear of heights and of course…
BATL axe throwing.
Hand picked and photographed by Chris Plunkett, Communitech.
The Shawarma Poutine (yes, Shawarma and Poutine in the same dish)
is a local fav, as is the Bahn Mi from Deli Bahn Mi Givral and the pita
specials from Taste of Philly Cheesesteak. Other great lunch deals
– Big Fat Pita, Union Burger and Supreme 2 for 1 Pizza & Wings (just
ask anyone from Cameron Heights).
Handpicked by Ryan Close, Bartesian: Shawarma Poutine, Ace Shawarma
E NEXT FOOD BLOCK
H
T
IS
T
S
E
W
G
IN
K
WEST
Sometimes you jus
t
neeD
some comfort food
Here’s our top picks for when you really need to eat your feelings.
Following in the footsteps of the Duke Food Block, restaurants are
stacking up on ‘The Block That Rocks’, Good Vibes is the latest
addition (pictured above). Watch for another new spot opening
this year beside Dallas.
You can actually meet people
without using Tinder
SLICES
All day Breakfast
Pho DNK
Pho or stir-fried noodles
Kava Bean Commons
Traditional Canadian Poutine
We’ve got lots of meet ups happening all the time. And they’re always
looking for new members. Some of our favs: Nerd Nite (pictured), UX
Waterloo, any of the P2P’s offered by Communitech. Or check out
Lone Wolf Wednesdays at Adventurer’s Guild.
McCabe’s
Tuesday’s half price burger
DOWNTOWN
KITCHENER
OWNITDTK
Linda Jutzi
Breanna Crossman
Allison Leonard
Cory Bluhm
Hilary Abel
Timm Vera
Cindy Perri
Darin White
Dean Landry
Sylvia Pond
Creative Advisor
Twitter: @DTKitchener
Designer
Handsomedevildesign.ca
Project Creator/Manager
@bredowntown
Director of Photography
Instagram @Cinnvin
Editor, Writer
Twitter: @AllisonMLeonard
Instagram: @allison_leonard
Writer, Photographer
www.makebright.com
facebook/darin.white.7
Twitter@darinthegreat
instagram/darinwhitewaterloo/
Writer, Photographer
Instagram: @DTKitchener
Photographer
http://www.dvision.ca/
Twitter@dvisionimaging
Facebook/DVisionImaging
Editorial Director
@ Angrycelery
Photographer
www.sylviapond.com
Facebook/sylviapondphotography
Twitter @sylviapondphoto
Instagram @sylviapondphoto
SPRING2016
Brian Limoyo
Christine Reid
Joe Martz
Dawne Taylor-Gilders
Jude Doble
Jon Johnson
Eric Rumble
Care Finch
Photographer
www.brianlimoyo.com
Facebook/BrianLimoyoPhotography
Twitter @LimoyoBrian
Writer
www.redleatherbooth.com
Twitter @8Jude
Lauren Benn
Owner. Stylist
@love.you.salon.spa
Photographer
www.christinereidphotography.com
Twitter @Creidphoto
Facebook/ChristineReidPhoto
Writer
www.bearface.ca
Instagram@brfc
Tatjana Jovanovi
Owner. Aesthetician
@love.you.salon.spa
Photographer
http://www.joemartz.com/
Twitter & Instagram @JoeMartz
Writer
Instagram@ericowenrumble
Alana Weber
Stylist
@love.you.salon.spa
Photographer
Twitter: @snapdKW
Writer
@care_finch
Helena Kwiecinski
Fashion Stylist
www.stylfrugal.com
@stylfrugal
Facebook/StylFrugal
Andrew Coppolino
Writer
www.waterlooregioneats.com
Twitter@WatRegEats
Instagram@Waterlooregioneats
James Schlueter
Illustrator
Twitter@fg4_James
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