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Peggy Hallett (owner/manager/head chef) of the Sydenham Country Café, is a ball of energy, especially when she is talking about the café.

The café has been open for less than a month and it already has an established clientele and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and grab and go options. It is establishing itself as a bake shop, and does catering as well.

A take out window has just been set up at the side of the building for those who need that major coffee-shop option.

When I visited last week, mid morning, the breakfast crowd had come and gone, but the café was still half full, with mid-morning coffee drinkers, and some of the lunch sandwiches were just being prepared for the display case.

Peggy worked in restaurants as a teenager and trained in kitchens. She went to teacher’s college with a view towards teaching cooking, but one thing led to another and she ended up spending 25 years in education, most of it running her own private school in Kingston.

Recently she has been making and selling baked goods, doing some catering and painting, from her home base north of Sydenham. She has seen an opportunity for a café in Sydenham ever since Hillside, which was located in the same location as the Sydenham Country Café on Rutledge Road just east of the village.

“I even looked at properties in the village, trying to see what is available. Then my husband told me that this property had been sold, so I came up and the new owner was here, looking around. I asked him what he was planning to do with this unit and he said he was hoping to lease it to a food business. I had already drawn up what I wanted so we looked at my drawings, and we basically made a deal right then and there,” she said.

That was in the early fall, and it took a few months to prepare the space, get everything up and running and get all the equipment in place.

“I had hoped to be open earlier but we opened when we could and the response Sydenham Country Cafe - casual comfort food with a twist has been very positive so far.”

The menu at the Sydenham Country Café can be described as casual comfort food with a twist. The twist comes from some of the flavour enhancements that Peggy has developed over the years, such as her bacon marmalade that is carefully used on some of the sandwiches that are available at the café.

The cooks at the café prepare a daily soup and entrée special, and Peggy likes to make sure that some favourites are always available.

“We try to make sure that our Lasagne and Chicken Pot Pie are always available, for eat-in or takeout. They are always in demand” she said.

In addition to these classic comfort foods, the café also serves the contemporary equivalent, in the form of the Santa Fe and Asian Protein Bowls, available with chicken, or beans for vegetarians.

Among the specialty sandwiches, there is Montreal smoked meat, Turkey and Swiss, and 4 cheese gourmet grilled cheese (available with bacon or pulled pork)

The coffee at the Café comes from North Roast Coffee in Kingston. Their popular Confederation blend and the darker Sumatran are ready to serve.

And they have a breakfast sandwich? The Sydenham Country Café version is served on an English muffin or multi-grain round, with real cheddar and a hint of what Peggy calls her ‘zippy cheese sauce’. Their toasted western is another breakfast sandwich option.

From 7am – 9am the breakfast window is open, serving sandwiches, coffee, and muffins.

Their menu is available online at www.countrycafe.ca.

“We have gotten off to a really good start,” Peggy said, “and I think we will only have more available for people as we get into the spring and summer season.

The café is open on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 7am – 3pm, Wednesday to Friday from 7am – 7pm, and Saturdays from 9am -3pm. The hours will be extended for the spring and summer seasons.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Ontario shifts gears on alcohol sales, but not supply

There has been talk about ‘beer in the corner store’ in Ontario for many years, and change has come incrementally, over time.

Last summer, the province announced a Request for Proposal (RFP) process in 200 communities across the province for ‘convenience store’ outlets. The process got underway in late September, and it was a quick one in government terms.

By early January, two new outlets were opened on Road 38, Gilmour’s Meats in Harrowsmith and the Godfrey General Store, and one on Perth Road, Glenburnie Grocery.

For Jordan and Nick Gilmour of Gilmour’s Meats, the whole process has been a blur. Not only were they interested in expanding their range of products to include beer, wine, and spirits, but they also realised they needed more space.

“We didn’t want to get into it without making sure we had enough space and product to make it worthwhile for people to shop here,” said Jordan Gilmour.

In order to accommodate added retail space, and a large walk-in cooler for beer, Gilmour’s has had to expand. The walk-in cooler is not in place yet, but the space is now ready for it.

“Our landlord, who has been great to work with, took care of the exterior and we are doing the finishing,” he said.

By adding on, the butcher shop, take out kitchen, and grocery sections of the store have not been affected.

“It has added some business already, helping our winter sales, but we will need to be ready when summer comes,” he said. “All of our staff have had to be trained for this. It is a lot to get everyone up to speed. It’s a good thing it happened in January instead of the end of May.”

Laurie Love of the Godfrey General Store feels the same way. She was informed about the RFP in late September and it has been a lot of work putting the application together. As well, she had to determine how to integrate the post office, gas bar, and grocery and convenience stores operation with the alcohol sales.

“I am not complaining, however, since it is an opportunity,” she said.

The Godfrey General Store will also be installing a beer fridge at the back of the store later this spring and will be preparing for the increased traffic in the store during the already busy summer season.

The two privately owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets in Frontenac County Northway Home Hardware on Perth Road in Inverary, and Reid’s Foodland in Verona, are facing an adjustment as the new stores come on stream. (there are also three LCBO corporate owned stores in Frontenac County – Sydenham, Sharbot Lake and Plevna)

Clint Reid said that while he, like any other retailer, does not relish the prospect of decreased sales, he wishes the new businesses well. He did say that he was troubled with the process that was used, since it was handled by a consulting firm that looked primarily at maps to determine which communities were underserved, rather than visiting the communities to see what was really there.

The Verona Foodland opened its agency store in 2004, when the business was owned by Graham Brooks. Clint and Andrea Reid took over the store almost exactly 10 years ago. The liquor store has been an important part of their business, not only in terms of offering the breadth of products that their customers expect, but also as a community trust.

“We live in this community, so we make sure that our staff are trained to the highest degree possible, when it comes to selling alcohol. We don’t control what happens once the product leaves the store, but we take our responsibility very seriously,” he said.

While the availability of alcohol in Ontario was opened up incrementally by the Liberal governments of the past 15 years, and more quickly by the current Conservative government, it is still a closed market when it comes to the supply chain. with the LCBO maintaining control over product selection and pricing.

While LCBO corporate stores in Frontenac County continue to open at 10am, the agency stores can open as early as 9am and stay open until as late as 11pm.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 05 February 2020 13:31

Breakfast sandwiches of Frontenac - The Cookery

Pam Raby of Lavalee's Cookery in Inverary with the artisanal baguette breakfast sandwich that greets travelers along Perth Road every morning of the week.

One of the secrets to this sandwich is the bagel, which is fashioned out of light, crispy French bread. Inside the sandwich has peameal bacon, egg, crispy lettuce and tomato, Canadian cheddar, and a thin layer of spicy mayo. Served with hot coffee in front of a tempting pastry display that includes cream filled eclairs. The Cookery is open from 6:30am to 7:30 weekdays, and features store-made grab and go options, made with seasonal local ingredients, all served in a bright, sunny atmosphere.

At lunch time, the burger board offers every burger option going, from Canadian burgers with bacon to a black bean burger, all serve with home-made potato chips.

There are perennial favourites for dinner, including mac and cheese and meatloaf, and a special dinner menu every night. The soups are rich and the salads are fresh, It is takeout without compromise at Lavalee's Cookery

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 29 January 2020 12:34

Breakfast Sandwiches of Frontenac

Early in the morning, every day of the week, people are on the move in Frontenac County, driving, often in the dark, to work. On their way, many stop for a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. Depending on their route, people have their own favourites. We went looking for the best sandwich in Frontenac, and we found quite a few.

Starting at 6am, a steady stream of hungry people are greeted with a hearty “Hello, my friend” from the far left corner as they enter Verona Convenience Store, on Main Street across from Local Family Farms. Anil Velji is there, making two kinds of sandwiches, a BLT and what he calls a full breakfast, which has a fried egg as well.

The sandwiches are wrapped and stacked on the counter, but they don’t last long. The key elements to Anil’s sandwiches are a thin layer of mayonnaise, a generous amount of bacon, crispy lettuce and tomato, and just enough pepper. The full breakfast is the one to try.

Those elements, in addition to hot, fresh coffee and a genuine, warm greeting, make Verona Convenience Store one of the premier stops in any sandwich lovers tour of Frontenac County.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 29 January 2020 12:33

Local woman recognized by coworkers

Angie Young celebrated her 40th birthday recently by reflecting on her accomplishments.

The proud mother of two girls, Angie says with a chuckle about her career, “I went to school for hairdressing, worked in retail and ended-up in food services.”

A Dietary Aide for more than six years at Carveth Care Centre in Gananoque, Angie was just selected by her coworkers as the Staff Spotlight for February.

“I love it, I really do,” says the Perth Road Village woman about her job preparing and serving food to 104 residents in long-term care.

“I love the residents,” she explains. “It’s fascinating to hear what they’ve been through. They all have a story to tell.”

When Angie is not at work, she can be found at home with her family.

“I hang-out with my kids. I do mom stuff like soccer, skating, tobogganing, and schoolwork,” she says with a smile.

In addition to her job at the accredited nursing home and work as a mother, Angie is nearly finished a Food Services Nutrition Management course which she has been studying for the past three years.

Asked to describe herself, Angie uses words such as bubbly, friendly and chatty. She loves to bake and her philosophy in life is to treat people the way you want to be treated.

Lauren Roth, a Registered Practical Nurse in the Carveth Retirement Lodge, notes, “Angie is a joy to work with. There are days in health care that can try your patience, but when Angie walks in to serve a meal to the residents, she always has a smile and laugh that are contagious. Working in the kitchen, your time is limited with the residents. However, Angie knows them by name and their preferences. She goes above and beyond to meet their needs.”

Lauren continues, “Angie always has a story about her two beautiful daughters, and you can tell she is as passionate about her home family as she is about her work family. I am proud to have her as part of the Carveth team.”

Questions for Angie

If you could rule the world, what would you do on day one?

“I’d get rid of Donald Trump as President of the United States.”

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

“I’d make people be kind to each other.”

If you weren’t at your current job, what would you be doing?

“I’d still be doing something with seniors because I enjoy it so much. Or, relaxing on a beach somewhere with my lottery winnings.”

Carveth Care Centre is grateful for the good nature of Angie Young. To learn more about living or working in our home, please visit www.gibsonfamilyhealthcare.com

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 22 January 2020 13:02

Handywoman opens up shop in Ferleigh

Tammy Watson and her wife Mary, a personal support worker, moved in to their new home just south of Fernleigh in North Frontenac Township in July. One of the ‘features’ of their new property was an old metal drop which contained several licence plates.

“The first one I picked up said ‘March, ’70,’” she said. “That’s when I was born so I knew I was home.”

Watson had been a civil servant in Durham Region, in law enforcement, for 28 years. But before that, she said she’d been torn between two worlds.

“My family is from Deseronto but I went to high school in North York,” she said. “So I grew up between the two worlds of Jane and Finch and Deseronto.

“I like the country better.”

So, after vacationing in Bon Echo Park (their dog is even named Echo), they started looking around for a place in the area.

But, still needing a way to make ends meet, Watson looked back to her days in North York and a love of shop class.

“I was the first girl in North York to win the Industrial Arts Award,” she said.

And so Trillium and Maple Woods Handywoman Services was born.

“I’m by no means a licensed tradesperson,” she said. “But I have lots of tools and I know how to use them.

“And I’m pretty good with a paint brush.”

She started off in the area doing work for Fernleigh Lodge and has some gigs with other lodges as well as private homeowners, she said.

“If you don’t need a general contractor but don’t have the time, tools, or expertise, I’m the one to do it,” she said. “I’ve had a couple of callbacks, so . . .”

The back of her business card reads: “furniture assembly, minor repairs, painting, shelving installation, general maintenance, organization, seasonal property checks, yard and garden care.”

“All of the jobs I’ve ever had have been helping people fix their problems,” she said.

She said that so far, all of the local businesses have been “very supportive, it’s a great environment here.”

To contact Watson, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613-479-0425 or 905-404-5056.

By the way, she’s also a certified crochet instructor who runs workshops.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

You might think that a company that builds docks and boathouses, and does shoreline restoration up and down the St.Lawerence seaway and Lake Ontario (and grows hops in the summer as well) would be taking it easy in early January. But late last Friday afternoon, as the ice was forming on the bay and a cold snap was setting in, company owner Jason Lacelle was at headquarters and fabrication shop for Wolfe Island Marine. He was supervising work on some of the products that his crew builds in the winter time, for installation in the warmer weather. “We work 5 days per week year around. In the first few years it slowed down a bit for us in the winters, but we have developed a good mix of clientele and there is always something happening for use. We like to utilize the shop as much as possible in the winter,” he said. A couple of years ago, Wolfe Island Marine purchased a large barge and that has opened up opportunities for the company. “Not only can we transport equipment, section of docks and other structures to properties on the seaway and Lake Ontario so much more easily, it really helps with our shoreline restoration business. We can get in close to shore and do the jobs from the water. We can bring in equipment, materials, and aggregate, whatever we need, and not have to get to the shoreline over land. No matter how gentle you try to be, there is always damage to clean up when you cross over land with heavy equipment.” The shoreline restoration part of the business has been very strong, partly as the result of the flood seasons in 2017 and 2019 along the lakes and rivers. “We’ve been really busy helping customers to repair their shorelines, and to protect against flooding in the future. There has been a lot of damage everywhere in recent years.” Wolfe Island Marine is an offshoot of its parent company, Lacelle’s Corporate Group, which was the name that Jason Lacelle gave to the welding and fabricating business that he started in Marysville back in 2011. He opened the shop when the only commercial welder on Wolfe Island was retiring. The company grew exponentially after Jason and his wife Christie bought a farm property on the island and Jason began to hire more people and acquire larger pieces of equipment. Establishing Wolfe Island Marine in 2018 was a natural progression in order to reflect the company’s expansion into shoreline development, boat house construction and restoration, dock fabrication, and dock repair. Aside from a loan from the Frontenac CFDC several years ago, Wolfe Island Marine has been able to absorb the cost of equipment purchases by waiting for the right piece to come on the market at the right price, and to leverage their expanding business at the same time. “The CFDC is always helping us with information about grants that are available, and with other kinds of business information. I was just speaking to them last week with regards to training because we are having employees trained for AZ/DZ licensing so we can be more versatile by moving our own heavy equipment, and they helped us with information on that. It’s nice to have someone to call who understands what we are trying to do. Looking forward, Wolfe Island Marine Services’ next purchase might be of interest to waterfront property owners in mainland Frontenac County. They are looking to acquire some sectional barges that can be lifted up and trucked to job site locations. They plan to use them for projects on in-land lakes, to bring their services to waterfront residents throughout the region, even on remote lakes and water access properties. The range of services offered by the company can be found at their website, wolfeislandmarine.com

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

Next month, Leonard Chan and the team at Inverary Pharmasave will be celebrating their second anniversary. It has been an eventful two years for Leonard, who has started a family during that time and seen his business progress steadily.

“The business has grown faster than projected, which is good,” said Leonard, in an interview just before Christmas, “and we are doing some innovative things as the community around us continues to grown and the role of pharmacists in the medical system develops.”

One of those innovations is in the relatively new field of DNA profiling. The Pharmasave is working with a company called MyDna, a genetic interpretation company, to help patients make more informed decisions about which medications may work best.

“The thing about DNA is that it does not change, even as people age and other health factors come into play.”

Particularly for mental health medication, where it can take a lot of time through trial and error to find the right medication, a test like this can be very helpful,” said Leonard.

MyDna also lists pain, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal as conditions that can benefit from testing. There are other health related applications for the testing that are non-medical, such as nutrition and fitness.

“There is a cost related to the testing. It is $199 for the most complete test, which makes it not for everyone, but it can be valuable for some patients, and it is a one-time test,” said Chan.

The Pharmasave is also offering on-line screening clinics for medicinal cannabis from the company Hq3.ca.

“There is a lot of interest in cannabis for chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia. Patients can meet, through a video link, with a nurse practitioner who can prescribe medical cannabis. The prescriptions are filled by a licensed producer, not our store, but again it is a service for our clients.”

Over the past two years, Inverary Pharmasave has contributed to community life in various ways, supporting Ken Garrett Park, Socks Kingston, and other initiatives, and has become a core business in the revived retail atmosphere in a growing area.

Offering new services, as pharmacies take on an expanded role as the healthcare system is reformed in Ontario, is one of Leonard’s goals for the business.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 27 November 2019 11:07

Doors open at Harrowsmith Pharmasave

It seemed like it was a pretty quick transition when a Pharmasave sign went up in the former location of a convenience and a bakery in Harrowsmith about a month ago. Two weeks later, the Harrowsmith Pharmasave, owned and managed by Bhavin Patel, opened its doors.

It wasn’t that quick for Patel himself, however.

“I had the property in the summer and hoped to have the store open in September, but there were construction delays and we ended up opening at the beginning of November. I am happy with the way the store looks. Everything is clean and we have all of the space we need to serve the public,” he said.

The wait for Bhavin Patel to open his own pharmacy has been quite a bit longer than a month or two. He emigrated to Canada, from India. After receiving bachelors and masters degrees in the field, he had to re-do his qualifications in Canada. He has worked in Winnipeg, Regina and other locations in the Prairies as well as Scarborough, always hoping to get an opportunity to open his own pharmacy and take control of his own business.

He lives in Kingston now with his wife, a trained engineer, and two children (one of whom is less than two months old) and he was looking for a good location for a pharmacy. Harrowsmith is a good choice because the local community has no pharmacy and the location he found is right on Road 38 near the stop light in town.

So far, he has found that the local community has been very receptive and he has been quick to respond when customers are looking for products that he doesn’t yet have available.

“We have most of the bases covered as far as over the counter medication, supplements, skin and hair care are concerned, but we have room for more in order to help people get what they need in town to avoid having to drive somewhere. I tell people who come in to tell me if they are looking for something that is not here, and if I can I order it in for them and the next customer,” he said.

He is, of course, also able to handle prescription needs for his customers, but knows it will take time for people to switch from their current pharmacy to a new one, even if they live close by.

“If people want to bring their prescriptions to me that is great, obviously, but it has to be something they are comfortable with. I am here to serve the community.”

As a token, Bhavin hands out a re-usable Pharmasave bag with a few products in it to first time customers.

The Pharmacy is open 7 days a week (9am-6pm Mon-Fri / 10am-3pm Sat / 10-2pm Sun)

A grand opening is planned for Friday, December 13th, starting at 11:30am.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 27 November 2019 11:06

Mrs. Garrett’s Bakery

Is there really a Mr. Christie? Does the sun shine everyday at Pepperidge Farm? You can’t really trust a wholesome brand these days, can you.

Sometimes you can.

There is a real Mrs. Garrett. Her name is Joyce and she still works in the family bakery that she started 30 years ago, in part of the butcher shop that her husband had opened a few years earlier.

She no longer owns the bakery, which is now a stand-alone business. Her daughter Dawn (Lake) has been with her from the start and owns the business now, and it is as much a family business as it ever was.

“My mother, my aunt, my son and my son-in-law all work here, we like to keep it in the family,” said Dawn Lake on a frosty November morning last week, from the bakery, which is off of the Perth Road (between Inverary and the Loughborough Lake boat launch).

It was warm and bright in the bake shop, however. The pie dough, which had been put up early in the morning, was ready. Fay Legrow was forming circles of dough into butter tart trays, the dough for pies was still on the counter. Joyce Garrett was wrapping some goods that had cooled, and Dillon Lake and Christopher Green were consulting about the rest of the day’s baking list.

A lot of people know about Mrs. Garretts mainly because of the butter tarts, which are sold throughout South Frontenac. They are the most popular item the bakery makes, and they make a lot of them, 300 dozen a week on average, more in the summer and in the holiday seasons like pre-Christmas. That comes pretty close to 200,000 butter tarts a year, each made by hand using home-made dough and filling. The recipe, you guessed it, is a closely guarded family secret.

Mrs. Garrett’s has undergone changes over the last few years. Not only are they making a wider variety of items, but the bakery itself has changed.

“When the butcher shop closed a couple of years ago, we thought about closing up the retail store and moving the bakery somewhere else to just do wholesale. But people kept knocking on the door wanting to come in and buy our baking,” said Dawn Lake.

Early last summer (2018) Dawn decided to listen to the customers and rejuvenate the retail business. Instead of moving, she purchased the property and slowly began to open up more and more of a bakery storefront, and add some new oven capacity.

“We are not done yet, but we are getting more and more traffic into the store as time goes on, and every time we let people know about something new that we are baking, they come here from all over,” she said.

There is also a growing corner in the store with sauces and crafts from local producers. All part of Mrs. Garrett’s becoming a destination store for lovers of local baked goods.

Mrs. Garrett’s butter tarts, and some other items, are available at Ormsbees Mercantile, Trousdale’s Foodland, Leonard’s, Northway Home Hardware and locations in Kingston. A larger selection is available at Glenburnie Grocery, but only at the bakery itself are the full range of goods on display.

Holiday seasons are always busy, of course and each of them is different.

“At Thanksgiving it’s pies, apple pie and pumpkin pie, mostly,” said Dawn.

But the volume can be daunting, especially because pies need to be fresh. That was where the strong staff and capacity of the bake shop kitchen comes in. They made about 700 pies this year, fresh for eating, in two days.

“We’ve done that many for a few years, but now we don’t have to work 16-hour days as much because we have the oven space we need,” she said.

With more capacity comes the opportunity to put out more baked goods, and sales have been increasing continuously.

“We do a lot of different things when it comes around to Christmas, including our own Christmas cake and plum pudding. We also do a lot of trays for customers. There is always a lot for Christmas and as we add new products it is only getting busier and busier. It’s exciting.”

And that’s not a bad situation for a business that is over 30 years old.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
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