Returning chefs launch Vagabond pop-up Chefs Christine Sandford and Roger Letourneau have returned to Edmonton from Europe to share a taste of their travels through their pop-up venture, Vagabond. Vagabond will take over Take Care Café at 9621 82 Avenue NW in Ritchie from Fridays to Sundays, starting July 21 and running until the end of September. It will offer 40 indoor and outdoor seats. “It is a pretty small space, like a backyard barbecue,” Sandford said. “That’s our vibe.” Sandford and Letourneau, who are also life partners, initially met in Edmonton 13 years ago through a chef-driven pop ..read more

Openings Little Bon Bon, Chinatown’s first-ever ice cream parlour, is now open! I wrote about the story behind the business in May. Spilt Bar, Edmonton’s first zero-proof bar, opened last week. Edmonton’s newest café, Common Ground Coffee, is now open at 2727 182 Street SW. Congratulations to Coffee Bureau, who opened their second location in the Mercury Block at 12316 102 Avenue. Panini’s Italian Cucina opened their third location in Edmonton’s west end last week, at 14981 Stony Plain Road. Steve’s Famous Sandwich Co. has replaced Hanan’s Kitchen at #101, 10625 99 Avenue. Chain restaurant Ba ..read more

Openings PlayWright, a restaurant from MilkCrate’s Steve Brochu, is now open in the Citadel Theatre! I wrote about the story behind the restaurant back in March. Chai Lounge is now open in the former Tres Carnales space at 10119 Rice Howard Way. Culinary Unicorn is latest restaurant taking over a revolving door in the Matrix Hotel, at 10009 107 Street. Upcoming Events Meuwly’s is hosting a Summer Kitchen Party on June 27, in support of In the Weeds YEG. Tickets are $99 and include food stations and three drink tickets. Save the date for YEG Burger Fest, involving over a dozen Downtown resta ..read more

Openings Thanks to Tracy for the heads up that Edmonton is getting its first omakase-focused restaurant called MS-SM (they have two other locations in Toronto). It will be located at 10111 104 Avenue, the former Cacao 70 space in Ice District. Twice Cream has opened their second location in Sherwood Park, at #120, 75 Salisbury Way. The Whole Scoop has opened a pop-up (its fourth location) in St. Albert at 165 Liberton Drive in the Salvation Army parking lot. I had missed the March opening of Strom Coffee, located at 7255 104 Street. It is a “little piece of Sweden”, offering a “wonderful blen ..read more

Openings Happy Beer Street distillery Shiddy’s has opened up an eatery called the Rumpus Room. They serve Flatboy Burgers (who relocated here from the Granite Curling Club). It is located at 9908 78 Avenue. Slap Shot is now open at 10184 104 Street (replacing Northern Chicken). Backstairs Burger is readying the launch of Backstairs Pizza at their Holland Plaza location (11998 109A Avenue). La Morenita is a new Mexican restaurant to open later in June in Alberta Avenue, located at 8501 118 Avenue. Local News Taproot wrote a follow-up to a story I wrote last year about Padmanadi and Seoul Fri ..read more

Openings The Pampa space Downtown has been vacant for some years, so its nice to see some life back into it. Sang, is a new Korean restaurant from the owners of Dorinku/DOSC/Japonais, offering hanjeongsik for the first time in Edmonton, a “Korean-style full-course meal characterized by the colourful array of side dishes”. Aloha Poke and Grill opened its second location in Garneau on June 1. Find it at 8716 109 Street. Brew and Bloom will be opening their second location on the south side on June 7, at 1019 Parsons Road SW. Machi Machi is the latest Taiwanese bubble tea chain to open in Edmont ..read more

Little Bon Bon set to sweeten Chinatown with deep family history The creators of Yelo’d are opening an ice cream parlour and café called Little Bon Bon in the historic Hull Block, at 9660 106 Avenue NW, in June. Co-owners Ailynn and Jason Wong hope Little Bon Bon will add to their family’s long history of Canadian hospitality, and bring positive energy to Chinatown. Jason Wong said the aim is also to become a destination. “We want people to say, ‘After the soccer game, or after dinner, let’s go for ice cream at Little Bon Bon,'” he said. Wong also said the opportunity to open a new Chinatown s ..read more

Openings Scott Iserhoff and Svitlana Kravchuk’s new restaurant, Bernadette’s, is now open. Canadian franchise Stacked Pancake has its first Edmonton location in Mill Woods (in the former Pizza Hut). It is located at 6504 28 Avenue. US-based chain Firehouse Subs has opened in Edmonton at 16815 127 Street. Daniel Costa has announced the name of the first of his three concepts at Citizen on Jasper, called VA!, to serve focaccia panini, pizza al taglio, and salads. Thanks Su for the heads up that Labo Coffee will be moving into the space vacated by Sorellina Coffee in Old Strathcona at 10546 82 A ..read more

Openings Taco Shop, a new venture from 1st RND’s Mo Blayways, is now open in West Edmonton Mall. We’ve loved Cupcake Mama since they opened up in the YMCA downtown before the pandemic. And though we will miss them in our neighbourhood, it’s great to see they’ve moved into their own separate brick and mortar space in Wolf Willow. Odd Burger, a vegan fast food chain, has opened a location in Edmonton at 336A Mayfield Common. Eleven Eleven Bar, located in the (much revamped) space formerly occupied by Rigoletto’s at 10305 100 Avenue, is opening soon. Upcoming Events Bartender James Grant, chef ..read more

Openings Corpuz Bakeshop has opened up a brick and mortar storefront on Alberta Avenue, at 11812 86 Street. It has actually been their commissary kitchen for the last year. Corpuz will also continue with their Bountiful Market booth. Little Bear Gelato will be opening a summer location in Gameau in May, inside Eleanor and Laurent. At present, Little Bear is stocked all over the city, but fresh scoops are available at their booths at the Old Strathcona and Bountiful Farmers’ Markets. Also in Garneau, Aloha Poke and Grill has announced its second location to be located in that neighbourhood. U ..read more