Bernadette’s Aims to Raise Profile of Indigenous Cuisine in Edmonton The owners of the forthcoming restaurant Bernadette’s say their previous success with Pei Pei Chei Ow has allowed them to pursue their larger goal of increasing Indigenous representation within Edmonton’s food scene — and to do it right in the core. “It is revolutionary to have an Indigenous restaurant in downtown Edmonton,” Svitlana Kravchuk said about Bernadette’s, to be located at 10114 104 Street NW. “It does a lot for representation and reclaiming space.” The restaurant, set to open in early May, will seat 23 inside, wit ..read more

Openings Lobster Mobsters, a seafood purveyor, has opened their Edmonton location at 17011 100 Avenue. The business also has locations in Nisku and Brooks. Yemeni café Mokha Coffee House is now open in Griesbach at 5344 Admiral Girouard Street. Tupi Bowls opened their new location in Sherwood Park on the weekend, located at the Savona Centre, 200 Festival Lane. JMT Korean Cuisine closed their downtown location earlier this month, and are working on opening up their new, larger Whyte Avenue digs soon. Closures Apparently Restaurant Yarrow has abruptly closed, and will allegedly not honour or ..read more

Openings Edmonton has its first location of BeaverTails, a chain serving up deep fried dough served with a variety of sweet or savoury toppings. Find BeaverTails at 10534 82 Avenue. Boba InfiniTEA is now open at 8115 Gateway Blvd, Unit 106, and offers “traditional Taiwanese bubble tea infused with Filipino and Japanese tastes”. The folks behind Mockups Mocktails and Token Bitters are teaming up to open Edmonton’s first fully zero-proof cocktail bar called Split. In addition to the bar, Split will also offer mocktail classes and curated retail offerings including mocktail kits. Jinya Ramen Bar ..read more

Openings Dining Car Cafe, opened by the team behind Old Strathcona’s Waffle Bird, is now open in the ground floor of the CN Tower (10004 104 Avenue). Their menu includes coffee, sandwiches, soups, and baked goods. Also from the Waffle Bird team, they’ve announced that they are collaborating with Table Top Cafe to open Diced, the new board game eatery located in the former Northern Chicken spot on 124 Street: “Craft cocktails, local brews, banging food, and competitive cardboard are sure to make this snazzy new spot a date night staple!” Good Goods has opened downtown at 10250 106 Street. KB ..read more

Steve Brochu is reinvigorating the Citadel with a restaurant that aims to challenge The chef who owns and operates MilkCrate, a café in EPCOR Tower, and GhostLight, a coffee kiosk in the Citadel Theatre, is set to open PlayWright in the space in the Citadel that formerly housed the second Normand’s location. Steve Brochu said he’s aiming for a late April launch for the 128-seat space. “I was just driving by in March 2023 and saw the vacancy,” Brochu said. “The Citadel presented a great opportunity. Our company, the people I have, have been with me for over a year. And if I didn’t grow or throw ..read more

Openings Nabi, serving Korean-inspired small plates and cocktails opened on March 8. Find Nabi at 10145 104 Street. Congratulations to Backstairs Burger who opened up a third location at 11998 109A Avenue. Upcoming Events Polyrhythm Brewing has organized a Sip and Sign event on March 27; attendees can learn about sign language and beer. Tickets start at $5. Local News CBC Radioactive interviewed Roderick Almonte about his Filipino restaurant, Karinderya. Edify checked out the brunch at Socrates Restaurant in St. Albert. Also from Edify, they interviewed the filmmaker behind Brewing Under ..read more

Openings Rob’s Famous Fried Chicken is now open at 8540 Jasper Avenue, brought to you by the folks behind Panini’s. It shouldn’t be confused with Ralph’s Fried Chicken, opened by the family who operated Ralph’s Handi Mart for 35 years in Strathearn. Bernadette’s is a forthcoming restaurant on 104 Street from Scott Iserhoff (who announced the closure of Pei Pei Chei Ow back in January). Also to open on 104 Street, watch for Nabi’s, a cocktail bar offering “new-Korean eats”. Diced, which bills itself as a “board game restaurant” is coming soon to 10704 124 Street (which formerly housed Northern ..read more

Bar Henry Continues Daniel Costa’s Vision in Downtown Edmonton Chef and restaurateur Daniel Costa’s latest business venture cements his commitment to downtown, while also furthering his vision to execute innovative concepts in Edmonton. Bar Henry, located inside Henry Singer’s new flagship location in Ice District at 10220 103 Avenue NW, opened in early February. It is the fourth restaurant Costa has chosen to open downtown. “It is definitely a conscious decision to stay downtown,” said Costa. “We’ve been offered deals in the suburbs. But we want to keep the city vibe going. That was the origi ..read more

Openings Sharon mentioned that Tropika has opened a second location in the Jagare Ridge area at 14132 28 Avenue SW. New vegan restaurant Benaras is now open at 10532 82 Avenue. Congratulations to Fuzion Donuts, who have opened a second location at 12866 97 Street. Africano Cafe is now open in the former Mama Asha Cafe space, located at 11745 95 Street. A new cafe called Liberta Coffee Lab is opening soon at 6547 99 Street. Brew and Bloom is opening a second location this spring. Local News The Downtown Business Association announced that they will be bringing a farmers’ market back to 104 S ..read more

Amy Quon closing Chicken for Lunch After 32 Years Edmonton culinary institution Chicken for Lunch is closing after 32 years of business. The kiosk, located in the food court in Rice Howard Place (formerly Scotia Place), is known for its long line-ups and Amy Quon, its gregarious proprietor. Its last day of business will be Feb. 29. Quon, whose family also owns and operates The Lingnan (which just celebrated its 75th anniversary in November), decided not to renew the lease ahead of the food court’s planned six-month closure for renovations. Quon also shared that she turned 65 this year and chal ..read more