“Before the restaurant industry I was in retail which is not a far stretch since it is also a service industry. You name it, I probably worked there. A lot of my customer service and sales skills could attribute to those retail years.”
Shoebox Studio - Samuel
“I always say “the photograph chooses the paper” or the more holistic “let the image tell us what it wants to be on”. This is a way of saying that not every paper/medium is suited for a particular image. As a printer, I want to create a print that communicates an image’s message as effectively as possible. Things like texture, warmth, brightness all come into consideration.”
Gift Studio - Dasha
“As a kid, you’d always find me getting my hands dirty with glitter — crafts were my life. When the time came to choose a career path, I decided to go to uOttawa and study Marketing at the Telfer School of Management.”
Café Latte Cino - Susan & Sam
“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.”
Johnny Farina - Dino & Anthony
“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. "
The Ministry of Coffee - Alex & Fadi
“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. “
East India Company Restaurants - The Mehra 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. “
Scrim's Florist - Susan
“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. “
The Urban Botanist - Emma
"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."
Black Rabbit Studios - Ashley
“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.”
The Third - Ashley
“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.”
Nat's Bread Company - Natali
“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!”
Functional Reclaimed - Phil
“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!”
Spinco Ottawa - Nicole
“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.”
Feline Café - Josée
“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. “
Beyond the Pale Brewing - Shane, Rob & Al
“ 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.”
LD Shoppe - Sacha & Melissa
“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.“
The Village Quire
“Cheerful is my natural state - it just makes sense that my little store is the same! ”
Xactly Design & Advertising - Denis
“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!”
Strawberry Blonde Bakery - Jacqui
“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….”