“From the very first time we visited the Cafe years ago we knew it had great potential. Personally, I knew we would be able to take it all to another level with our skills and our creativity. I’ve always told my kids that by the time they were old enough they each would be running their own Cafe Latte Cino’s.”
“Anthony and I have been at it for 21 years. (October 27th 1997) we’ve been fortunate to have fantastic family support starting from our wives. Over the years, several family member worked with us also, today my son is with us, and two cousins. I’m sure there will be more to come. "
“Our favorite part of this industry and Elgin st is the fun and unique people we meet, who come in every day and make us smile, and become part of our family. “
“We roast and blend our own spice blends and for years people would ask mom and dad for a little bag so they recreate some of our flavours at home. For years it went on like this, but then about 12 years ago, we made some packaging for the spices and started selling them in the restaurants. The response was great and then Nitin approached Farm Boy about carrying the whole line. “
“Can you imagine a better location? The windows, the neighbourhood, we have a great landlord, and sooooo much space. Scrim's is a landmark used by folks when they are giving directions. I love sweeping the front stoop and chatting with folks as they walk by. “
"Ask for help when you need it. Your friends and family will be the glue that holds you and your business together in the beginning. I also learnt that even if you don’t have a background in accounting, graphic design or marketing that you will eventually gain one through self teaching haha. That’s a real learning curve to owning your own business, it really requires you to be the Swiss Army knife of all trades."
“I have always loved to read and watch stories. I recently found a box of old sketchbooks full of stories and comics I made in my childhood. So the need to imagine and bring stories to life has always been an underlying drive of mine! Nature and the natural world is a big inspiration to my artwork, I find natural organic forms fascinating to draw.”
“An urban sociologist, Ray Oldenburg, coined the term “the third”. The First place being your home, the Second place being your job and the Third place being a gathering spot for all.”
“The main challenge for me was sorting out how to make consistent, beautiful, good quality bread on a large scale. Before opening Nat's Bread Co I had only made maybe 10 loaves at a time in commercial kitchens. As soon as we opened the bakery, I was doing bread for all 3 of Stephen Beckta's restaurants, which put us at 60-80 loaves per night. It was a big adjustment with a lot of failed loaves!”
“Ottawa as a city has been incredibly supportive, from messages on social media just letting me know how much people love to see what I’m building to loyal clients and customers, the city has really come forward and made it clear that they want to support small businesses!”
“It's everything. Seeing people grow and become obsessed with what I'm obsessed with is why I did this in the first place. Its an incredible community full of amazing people and I love each and every one who walks through those doors.”
“It continues to astound me to see so many amazing people come together and business relationships develop since before we've opened. We've received donations from local partners who have helped our café come to life, such as the hand-crafted cat tree, furnishings and other supplies. We source our menu items locally as much as possible, from the coffee roasters to the baked goods. “
“ From the day we opened our doors we could not keep up with demand. In order to work the hours required we created a Fun environment that persists today. If it is not fun we don’t do it. We have fun making our beer; fun selling it and we hope that people have fun drinking it.”
“The best part is how receptive the city has been! We love to see all the friendly faces that come through our door and the online sales throughout North America.“
“Cheerful is my natural state - it just makes sense that my little store is the same! ”
“My dad is an entrepreneur. My grandfathers where entrepreneurs. I always thought I would be an artist like my mom, but in University I started to realize that I had the entrepreneurs blood running through me. Lucky for me, I ended up being an entrepreneur in the creative world. So the way I see it, I got best of both worlds!”
“I've always had a love of sweet treats since I can remember. It's hard to pinpoint when I actually started baking... My passion for food in general really started when I became vegetarian about 15 years ago. It forced me to start thinking about food in a different way. A few years later I became vegan and suddenly found that I couldn't eat pretty much any baked good! I had a choice….”
“From the moment I designed that first card in 2016, I wasn’t creating something to give to friends and family for fun, I already had this idea of selling them on Etsy, at the very least. I was accepted in my very first craft market that same summer and I was scared out of my mind. Working really hard on something is one thing – but working really hard on something and then getting people to pay actual money for it, that’s another ball game. My goal was to sell enough to pay for my vendor fees and I DID”
“I would LOVE to embroider an album cover for Portugal. the Man. They have been my favourite band since about Grade 11 so I think that would be really cool. I enjoy how each album has a different vibe/sound so you can always find something for whatever mood you are in and they were one of the best artists I've seen play live ever (and I've seen a loooot of concerts!).”
“We don’t really believe in traditional mission statements, etc. Our mantra is: Believe in a different story. For our caregivers, clients, friends and family we want people to challenge the status quo. To not let our diagnoses, social or economic status or any mental/physical barriers get in the way of us realizing our dreams and believing that we have so much to offer the world.”
