From design to decor and the menu, there is so much to consider when opening up a new restaurant or café.
Tracy Gilbert, a naturopath and the owner of Ezentials Spa and the Green Leaf Café, had 7,000 square feet of space to map out on Barrydowne Road in New Sudbury. And it appears she has done it well.
The retreat space opened in 2019 — pre-pandemic and it offers spa time, treatments, yoga.
Then in August 2021, the café opened with carefully selected, well thought out healthy meals and drinks.
Gilbert said the small-based menu was in the works for a very long time with taste tests, tweaks and lots of re-envisioning.
“We spent a lot of time creating this menu. We hired someone to create dishes. We believe in quality of taste and consistency. We believe in doing things right with a limited menu,” she said.
Gilbert said they use whole foods, make from scratch and use organic when humanly possible. The majority of the menu is plant-based, but they will be adding meat and cheese goods to appeal to a wider clientele in the coming months.
Gilbert’s favourite dish is the cashew caesar salad. Second to that is the tomato basil sandwich with its balsamic glaze, homemade creamy pesto spread, tomatoes, basil, avocado and arugula.
Gilbert said her café manager Tiff Shewchuk makes the magic happen. Shewchuk has her own favourite dishes, like the caesar wrap and the homemade soup of the day.
Shewchuk said customers also have their favourite dishes such as th buffalo chickpea wrap with crunchy celery, onion and plant based mayonnaise.
“A customer recently commented that the dishes have a lot of love that goes in them. And with that love comes the best ingredients without cutting corners. It’s not the cheapest way to go, but it would just not taste the same,” she said.
And that is not just in the food. The drinks also taste sinful and yet are healthy.
There is the kombucha on tap from a London-based company with its mastered flavours available for refill.
As well, the smoothies, coffees, teas and lattes are also worthy of a stop.
“We use oat milks for all lattes and dairy sensitivities. The smoothies are plant-based and we only use real fruit and vegetables instead of additives. The tastes are very unique,” said Shewchuk.
The Golden Rejuvenation with its bananas, peaches, ginger and pure maple syrup is one example.
And the hot tea called Winter Palace Marzipan with a rooibos tea bag from Morocco tastes almost like an amaretto based apres ski drink.
The goal is to expand the menu in the future to include daily specials such as plant power bowls and Korean lettuce wraps.
The café and spa are trying to be very eco conscious, too. It offers a refillery for products and take out containers are compostable and recyclable right down to straws and cutlery.
In the meantime, they are hoping people come for the food but stay for the day.
“The atmosphere is amazing. We repeatedly hear that that is an experience that many people would go out of town for and now they don’t have to anymore,” Gilbert said.
And this summer, the plan is to open a patio and the application for a liquor licence has begun.
Ezentials and the Green Leaf Café can also be found on Facebook and on Instagram. You can call the spa and café at (705) 222-0043.
Current hours of operation are Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hours will be extended when patio season arrives and the weather is more pleasant.
Anastasia Rioux is a freelance writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat is made possible by our community leaders program.
