A new lunch spot aimed at convenience and supporting small business is coming to downtown Guelph next month.
10C Shared Space is launching the Nourish Cafe on the ground floor of 42 Carden St. in August in an effort to bring more lunch options downtown and make Nourish Kitchen members’ offerings more accessible.
“There are a few good lunch options, but there aren’t many (downtown),” said Nathan Lawr, 10C operations lead and kitchen manager. “And a lot of them require going in and waiting around or sitting down and eating there. So the idea with this is that you can just drop in and pick it up.”
Located on the fourth floor of the building, the Nourish Kitchen is a shared commercial kitchen with more than 15 small businesses using the space.
“The whole idea of Nourish Kitchen is to help small food businesses get started,” Lawr said. “And oftentimes, the retail component is really challenging at a really small scale, because a lot of the bigger retailers with more reach and visibility need a lot of product or they take a really high commission.”
Current members include Tempeh Goodness, Pi-vate Chef, Munch Eats, Ona’s Bakery, Clay Pot Catering and more. Some offer pre-made meals that can be ordered through them directly, while others rely on services like Uber Eats.
Products range from pre-made meals to tempeh. As small businesses, it can be challenging to sell their products in stores, he said, so they “wanted to be able to have a retail opportunity for them that is low risk and easy for them to access.”
Every day will be a different offering, with Chef Pi in every Tuesday and Thursday. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will rotate through the different members of Nourish Kitchen. A schedule will be made available for customers to see what’s being offered that week.
The pre-made meals and sandwiches will be stored in a fridge on the ground floor of 10C, and can be purchased from the host in the reception area near the front door, priced around $14 each. Beverages like coffee and lemonade will also be available.
Operating hours aren’t set in stone yet, but will likely be between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The hope is that the cafe will expand even more over time.
“Right now we don’t have the infrastructure for any food to be prepared (on the ground level),” he said.
That will likely change into the fall, “so that we can have more robust offerings, like different kinds of pop ups and more immediately-made food that you can eat hot.”
A soft opening is being held on Aug. 3 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in celebration of Food Day Canada.
Tempeh Goodness, Pi-vate Chef, Munch Eats, Ona’s Bakery and Clay Pot Catering will be featured during the event with dishes created to celebrate local food. During the event, tours will be offered of Nourish Kitchen, where guests can meet the chefs.
