It’s 31 degrees Celsius on this July night and the Bacon posse is flushed from an afternoon wine tasting. Lilge stirs a bowl of that salsa verde Mimande bought from Paraiso Tropical and slaps a wet towel around her neck to stay cool. Mimande dons a frilly Betty Crocker apron of blue roses over a black T-shirt and starts chopping green onions, extolling the virtues of a sharp knife and the necessity of keeping it thus through regular maintenance. She’s wearing a pair of blue flip-flops. I point out the prevalence of sharp knives in the kitchen, not to mention hot grease. “I know, I know,” she says sheepishly. “I haven’t had time to change my shoes.” She’s a tough one. The burns and scars on her forearms prove it. Fifteen-year-old hostess Desha Meciak takes a break from turnip slicing to make Mimande an iced coffee. “She’s only 15 and she makes great coffee,” Mimande says, incredulous.
The special tonight is a mixed green salad tossed with grapes, toasted pecans, red onion, tomato and goat cheese in an avocado basil vinaigrette for $12. The phone rings in the first order for the night at 5:15 p.m.: bison burger, perogies and borscht for take-out. The perogies are popular; she sells between 800 and 900 per week. No wonder: they’re handmade by the Ukrainian babas at St. Michael’s Long Term Care Centre 20 blocks north of here. The ladies use the proceeds to pay for extra-curricular programs. This is a smart menu. It’s got the meat some crave – bison, lamb and chicken, all raised locally and naturally – but also plenty of tofu and salads. Most of the veggies come from Greens, Eggs and Ham, a small, family-run niche farm southeast of Leduc which hand delivers to more than a dozen area restaurants on a weekly basis. They specialize in odd and unusual products such as purple carrots and duck eggs to help nudge the creative flair of chefs like Lilge and Ostapek. Who wouldn’t tire of tossing chicken Caesar salads year after painfully uninspired year?
It’s slow to fill tonight, unusual for a Friday. “I’m almost grateful,” says Mimande. “I think if it was full, people would be uncomfortable.” It’s not uncommon to tally $1,700 in sales for a Friday or Saturday night but she’d choose to sell less if it meant enjoying the night. Profit is not the only motivator here. Chill and good times rank up there, too. Otherwise Bacon would be just another ball and chain.
“I’m going to run out of hummus soon,” Mimande calls to Lilge in the back. “And I just emptied my greens.” It’s after 8 p.m. and the pace quickens. Servers Jillian Pasieka and Don Eglinski sashay about the room with dewy bottles of beer and white wine. A pair of ants takes advantage of the open door. What can you do when you don’t have air conditioning? Mimande rolls her shoulders a few times and banks her head side to side to relieve tension. You can tell she’s getting busy: she’s quiet. Two more paellas. She portions out two orders making sure to give each an equal number of sausages. She pauses a moment to survey the room. “Oh-oh, I didn’t put any grapes on that last salad.” She places a handful in a bowl and brings them out to the table herself with a humble apology. Moments later, back at the stove, she discovers a glass of something alluring nearby and downs it in one gulp. “What is this magical red juice here?” A muffled answer bubbles from the back kitchen. “Ah, Gatorade. Thanks.” Noticing a nearby table of four has finished their hummus, she engages in a little product research.
“What do you think of the hummus?”
“It’s fabulous,” says a woman. “We all loved it.”
“We’re just tweaking the recipe right now. What would you think about adding some goat cheese?”
“I wouldn’t change it,” the woman says. “We’re coming back tomorrow for more.”
“Well,” says Mimande to herself, straightening her apron, “that’s a pretty positive review.”
This chatting with customers, the warm, smiley, “Hi, how’s it going?” when you walk in the door – this is why Bacon has already garnered a reputation among foodies. People like working here and it shows in the way they treat their customers and each other. Furmanek has seen many fine Edmonton restaurants rise and fall and it’s rarely because the food is lacking. It’s the vibe. Some places have it and some don’t. You can feel it here. It’s genuine. There are fresh flowers on the tables and a stack of Mexican blankets at the back door if anyone gets chilly on the patio. Someone’s taking care of you and it feels like your mother, that is if your mother happens to be a young hipster.
“You put a little pigweed in the salad,” says regular Joseph Provenzano, heading toward the door.
“Yeah? Pigweed?” Mimande says.
“That’s what we call it. It’s the small, light green leaves.”
Mimande pinches a leaf in her tongs and holds it up. “Really? This one?”
“Yeah, that’s pigweed. We grow it at home in the garden,” he says.
That bonny smile she wears so often returns to full effect. “That’s funny for a restaurant called Bacon, eh?” They both laugh.
“The next time I come, I’ll bring you some seeds,” he says, stepping out the door.
That’s what customers do when they like what you’re giving them. They give back. U
Bacon Bits
How to open a restaurant and make it work when everyone tells you it’s bound to fail
The evolution will not be televised
A business, like life, is a work in progress. Don’t kill yourself trying to make everything perfect at the outset. For example, Julianna Mimande wants to serve organic, locally grown food but limes and sugarcane don’t grow here. So she buys some items from local stores. Make change when you can. Live with what you can’t and maybe change it another day. Evolution is the key.
In your neighbourhood
Bacon, first and foremost, serves Highlands. Sure, customers come from across the city and she’s happy to serve them, but without local regulars, Bacon would shrivel. Notice them, treat them well, offer a variety of specials so they don’t get bored with the menu. Remember who pays your bills. It’s not your twice-per-year patrons from the burbs. It’s the people down the street.
Get a life
Bacon is open Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Sometimes Mimande actually takes those days off. Sometimes she goes away for the weekend – to Toronto, to Vancouver, to Jasper. New businesses require owners to be present most of the time in order to work the kinks out. But there’s no point being your own boss if you don’t get to enjoy the freedom. Mimande opened Bacon partly to have control over her life. Once you have that control, use it.
Here for a good time
Not necessarily for a long time. Bacon is exactly what Mimande wants to be doing now but it may not be what she wants to do in five years. Enjoy the adventure, learn what you can and when it’s no longer inspiring, find something else to do. Starting a business can be intimidating, especially if you think it requires a lifetime commitment. It doesn’t.
Ask and listen
When a fellow restaurateur told Mimande she ought to invest in a $1,000 commercial food processor, she thought she knew better and bought a regular department store model instead. She’s gone through two in four months. Spend money on quality items. In the restaurant business, that means knives, pots, pans, bakeware, refrigeration systems and freezers. Don’t scrimp on items you use every day.
Pay someone else to do it
If you can afford it, hire qualified experts. Money best spent at Bacon went to designer Trevor Furmanek. As an artist who specializes in space and materials, he was invaluable in helping to create Bacon’s signature environment. If she ever opens another place, Mimande says she’ll budget even more for design and pay someone for the labour instead of doing most of it herself. The renos were exhausting.
Join a gang
Being part of the Highlands Business Association has allowed Mimande to share ideas and cross-promote with her neighbourhood colleagues. Highlands businesses buy group advertisements and organize events. This year’s summer sidewalk sale was a huge success. There was ice cream and music; craftspeople, street vendors and local shops hawked their wares and an estimated 1,000 people attended. There is strength in numbers.
Category: Work
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Aw bacon, was one of my favourite restaurants, I was so sad to see it close. On the up side now I can get the cookbook!