Chef Alli Said of Mikey's On 12th with his salsa that he supplies at Cold Garden Brewery in Calgary.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
This summer I have enjoyed many afternoons perched at the bar inside Ol’ Beautiful Brewing Co. in Calgary’s Inglewood neighbourhood. The brewery boasts a warm atmosphere thanks to plenty of natural light, an open-air feel (weather permitting), accents of tropical plants and rust-coloured bar seats. Ever a fun place to drink, what it didn’t have until recently was anything to eat aside from cheese buns.
With a penchant for brewing and rarely for food, it’s no surprise that most newer breweries don’t try to operate their own kitchens. Instead, they leave it to local restaurateurs who, admittedly, can do it much better.
Two weeks ago A1 Burrito – owned by Thank You Hospitality (A1 Bodega, Native Tongues, Calcutta Cricket Club) – changed all that by opening up inside a big red shipping container inside the brewery itself. Burritos, quesadillas and freshly made cinnamon sugar doughnuts: sustenance can now be found.
The neighbouring brewery, Cold Garden Beverage Company, was also in a similar boat until several months ago when it partnered with chef Alli Said of Mikey’s on 12th to create from-scratch salsas and chips for people to snack on while at the brewery.
Mr. Said was born and raised in Mexico City, but found his way to Calgary nine years ago and eventually took a chef’s job at the live music institution Mikey’s Juke Joint in Sunalta (now closed). Three years ago, Mikey’s moved to its new location with a slight name change to Mikey’s on 12th and Mr. Said became a part-owner.
Now, the chef cooks a wide variety of traditional Mexican food in a venue that is unassuming, for this type of cuisine, anyway. He says the ability to provide his salsas to help bolster a brewery’s food program has been helpful to his business, especially during the pandemic.
“Starting this during the pandemic, we didn’t know what to expect, but people kept buying more and more and more,” Mr. Said says. “Because of this, I’ve been able to give more hours of work to my cooks to keep up with the demand.”
The popularity of the salsas at Cold Garden has surpassed his expectations. He has tripled his production since starting the collaboration two months ago, creating more awareness for his own venue. The chef hopes this will open the door to having him operate some sort of pop-up taco shop within or adjacent to the brewery.
Last year, Annex Ale Project expanded its space in Calgary’s Barley Belt to make room for a kitchen window run by popular local deli/butcher shop concept Empire Provisions. Known for its feature burgers at the deli, this minikitchen concept allowed Empire co-owners Dave Sturies and Karen Kho to create something that was burger-centric.
Thus, Lil’ Empire was born and people have been lined up since.
“Restaurants are an all-consuming business on their own and a completely different operation than running a brewery,” Ms. Kho explains. “If they don’t have the previous experience in this field, why run the risk of compromising their existing business?”
Though Lil’ Empire was closed for an extended period during the height of the pandemic, the popularity of Lil’ Empire inside Annex wound up leading to the creation of smash burger kits for people to use at home. The kits proved wildly popular.
“Partnerships like this allow both operators to focus on what they do best: put out quality food and drink [in tandem],” she says.
In Edmonton, Kara and Nevin Fenske operate the most well-known food truck in the provincial capital, Drift. The two have done a variety of collaborations over the years, including working on the food program of Sea Change Brewing Co. since its 2018 opening.
Ms. Fenske says they made the effort to diversify their company’s revenue stream years ago, but having the ability to work with Sea Change again, after the reopening of breweries in the late spring, was a relief.
“Once the restrictions eased up and Sea Change was able to resume their operations again, we were able to have our staff return. … Having their account back has definitely made the summer more secure for us,” Ms. Fenske says.
As with Ms. Kho, Drift’s co-owner agrees that the benefit of a brewery working with a local food business makes perfect sense as it allows each to shine.
“The benefits of cross promotion and creating a strong community in the hospitality industry in Edmonton, also starts with ideas like these,” Ms. Fenske says. “We love being partners with [Sea Change] and hope to have more opportunities to expand our brand with other local businesses as well.”
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