Archives: News

As we approach the finish line and can see the light appearing at the end of the tunnel, we enter an even busier phase of our move to the new location at 410 Gladstone. If you have driven by, you will notice that work on the exterior has started. We have painted the outside a beautiful green, and we are starting to build a beautiful fence that will contain our parking area, and working to lay down the ground cover.

In typical Red Apron fashion, we have a very ‘earth friendly’ solution planned four our exterior space and look forward to sharing details with you on that ‘first in Ottawa’ solution!

On the inside, we have been painting walls, finishing plumbing and electrical, and receiving new furniture and equipment. It’s not just a new space we are getting, we launched a new website last week, we are receiving a new point of sale system this week, and there is a number of new, exciting and expensive pieces of equipment that are being installed and tested this coming week.

Finishing touches are being installed which include decorative light fixtures, hand railings, and counters for the cash and bakery area, and tile in the customer bathrooms.

We are so thrilled with the colours and finishes and are extremely grateful to our designer Shannan Callaghan at Design Wise in Ottawa, a boutique design team that specializes in Kitchens and Bathrooms, but agreed to work with us on this project. With an extremely limited budget Shannon managed to make our space beauty through the careful use of colour and small accents like tile.

As we approach the end of March and get a glimpse of spring weather, we are making great progress in our new location. This last week we have been framing up walls, applying drywall, finishing up the rough in of plumbing, electrical and HVAC, and planning the exterior.

Avery has put together a video that will help you locate the new location in the context of the neighbourhood, as well as highlight the beautiful windows that will be providing tonnes of daylight to brighten the interior of our retail space and production kitchen. Production kitchens are often windowless spaces tucked into the back of building with little access to daylight. Our team will be working in a bright airy space with high ceilings and beautiful windows letting southern light flood the space.

One of the biggest questions we have been getting from our customers is ‘will there be parking?’. Well the answer is yes….loads of parking for customers. We are fortunate to be able to offer metered street parking, and 10 customer parking spots on site.

We have not finalized an official Move Date yet, but it will be in June.

It’s been a busy few weeks at the Construction Site of the New Red Apron and things are moving along nicely. The most exciting part of the progress has been the addition of new windows and doors, which are transforming the look of the space and showing us how bright and full of natural light our new workplace will be!

The plumbing and electrical services have already been roughed in and this week the Construction Team at from Tikkun Construction will be starting to close in the walls and drop in the ceilings. By the middle of next week it will start to look like a finished space.

On the design side, we are turning our attention to the exterior of the space for choosing colours, signage, fencing, landscaping and parking materials. We have some exciting and beautiful things planned, and here’s a taste of what the new Red Apron might look like!

Read about the beginnings of the Red Apron and our own Jennifer Heagle.

Welcome to the New Red Apron! We are excited to share with you our journey from 564 Gladstone to 410 Gladstone. We secured a lease on this space over a year ago and we chose it for a number of reasons. First, we wanted to stay as close to our current location as possible. Second, we wanted more parking for our customers. Mostly, we needed more space, and 410 Gladstone is double the amount of space we currently occupy.

We knew this would be a long journey but we certainly were not factoring in a worldwide Pandemic when we started. To say it’s added layers of complexity, cost and delay, would be putting it lightly.

We took possession of the space in January and started the demolition and reconstruction process. The photo below shows you how bright and airy the new Cafe space will be, with windows facing right onto Gladstone, you will be able to sip coffee and enjoy a baked treat while watching the neighbourhood go by.

From our mezzanine office above, we will be able to look down into the Retail Cafe and Gourmet Shop while we answer the phones and enter orders. Our tiny little 8 x 10 office will be replaced by this spacious 600 square foot office and meeting room.

Throughout the process of design and construction we are looking to recycle and implement greener solutions. The Construction Team has been repurposing 2×4 lumber, which has more than doubled in price since the start of the Pandemic.

As we move through the weeks we will continue to provide you with updates. Thank you for your interest, support, well wishes and good vibes you have been sending our way!

Jennifer & the Red Apron Team!

Because of the overwhelming support from our community our business long ago outgrew our current location. After years of looking we believe we have found the perfect spot – which is just a few blocks away from our existing location.

Ottawa culinary fundraisers persist and pivot, despite COVID-19 challenges faced by charities and restaurants. Read more

https://ottawamagazine.com/eating-and-drinking/its-been-a-real-privilege-to-do-this-pandemic-sees-chefs-restaurateurs-donate-thousands-of-meals/

You may not have noticed that we are now carrying a small and carefully curated selection of Ontario Wines. The newest addition to our Retail Team – Sheri – comes from the Restaurant Industry and does she know her wines! Sheri has an exceptional palate and knows how to pick winners. Armed with only the following instructions; choose Ontario wines from small producers and only select wines that are not available in the LCBO – Sheri has created an exciting selection to offer in store to our clients.

Our current line up includes:

Rosewood Pure Imagination Orange Wine – Rosewood’s inaugural skin contact white – a blend of Gerwurtztraminer and Pinot Gris with loads of floral notes, grapefruit and white nectarine. This wine is super interesting and bone dry. Bottled without fining or filtration this wine would pair well with our Indian & Middle Eastern dishes. Along with the beautiful labelling, Rosewood have added a fun and whimsical contest to keep the theme of the wine alive! 10

Rosewood Follow the White Rabbit Chardonnay -Most chardonnays can be rich and oaky, this chardonnay is much leaner and less oak dominated. With the addition of 10% Pinot gris the wine has lots of tropical, floral, and citrus notes. This would be great with our lobster roll, any fish dish, or lighter seasoned chicken or pork dishes. Serve well chilled.

Rosewood Night Moves Gamay – Living and Yum! This Gamay dances on your tongue, lighter bodied with loads of cherry and raspberry, this wine is smooth with a slight bitter finish. Pair with pretty much anything, can be enjoyed slightly chilled. Try it alongside charcuterie or some tasty appetizers.

Lightall The Fence Sparkling Rosé – We are thrilled to welcome Lighthall’s  2019 “The Fence” Sparkling Rosé to our roster of Ontario wines.
They are a small family owned and operated winery producing low intervention wines located in beautiful Prince Edward County. This Sparkling is made from Pinot Noir, then re-fermented using the Charmat Method. The nose features bright notes of strawberry, cherry, and raspberry. Wonderfully crisp and fruity while still refreshingly dry, this wine matches exceptionally with spicy red sauce and sweet red bell peppers.

Rosewood No Bad Days Sangria – This is just pure fun am I right?! This Sangria is a collaboration with WIllibald Distillery using their pink gin, this sangria has loads of blueberry juice, niagara peaches and the Rosewoods honey wine. Packaged in eco-friendly and recyclable wine pouches. They are freezer proof and an ideal drinking partner for the porch, backyard, park, beach or golf course. Store and serve well chilled over ice. Add your favourite fruit or sparkling water to jazz it up a few notches. Pair with anything. 

Like everything we do, as we move through the seasons our selection will change, and the wines have been specifically chosen to pair well with food.

This coming Sunday May 11 is Mother’s Day and like everything else in the world these days, it’s hard to know how to celebrate any occasion during a pandemic. Normally I would plan to have my Mom come over for lunch but since I work with the public, and she is a higher risk senior citizen, we won’t be doing that.

So how can we ‘Treat Mom’ during a pandemic. Here are some ideas I thought I would share:

The Garden Centres are now allowed to open and even the ones that are not fully open to the public yet are offering pre-order and curbside pick-up like Green Thumb Garden Centre in Nepean. You can pick up a hanging plant or some seedlings for Mom and leave it on her porch.

Many other small food businesses are creating Mother’s Day assortments that you can order for pick up or delivery. The Foodgressing blog has a good list of those that are offering a Mother’s Day Brunch for pick up or delivery. The Love Local Delivery site has a full list of locally owned restaurants offering food for delivery, and some of those restaurants are offering options for Mother’s Day.

Flowers are always nice, and as a Mom who LOVES flowers I can assure you that flowers are never a bad idea. Our good friends at Bloomfields are open for pick up or delivery and their bouquets are always beautiful.

A gift card to Mom’s favourite store as a great idea. You accomplish two things at once – support a small business that’s been impacted by the pandemic, and give Mom something to look forward to. Some of these shops, like Delilah’s are offering order by phone, curbside pick up and in some cases delivery. In her display window, Eva has given each item on display a number to make it easier for you to look and order. If any of my children are reading this, I really like these shoes 🙂

Lastly, since we all have so much more time on our hands, you could bake Mom a treat. These delicious scones make a great base for jam, clotted cream, or cheese!

Lemon Lavender Scones

4

cups all purpose flour

1.5

teaspoons baking powder

2

teaspoons salt

¾

pounds butter, chilled & cubed

4

eggs

¾

cups cream (35%)

½

cup maple syrup

juice from 1 lemon

zest from 1 lemon

2

teaspoons of organic lavender buds

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients until combined. Cut the butter into small pieces and work into the flour by hand until the mixture resembles small peas. Tip: we often do this step in a food processor on the pulse setting but be careful not to over mix.

Whisk the eggs with the cream and maple syrup & lemon juice. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the liquid. Add the zest & lavender. Fold gently until combined. Do no over-mix.

Scoop out the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using a ½ cup scoop. You can also roll out the dough and cut with a knife or round cutter. The shape is really up to you. At this point the scones can be frozen and stored to be baked off fresh at a later date. The baking time might vary by a few minutes.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Test centre for doneness using a toothpick. All ovens cook differently so baking time can vary significantly.