Montreal's favourite salad sisters are coming to Toronto
Nearly two decades after customers started snaking outside of a women’s clothing store in Montreal — not to buy sweaters or jeans, but instead, seeking a tiny 200 square foot salad bar set in the back — Mandy’s Salads is coming to Toronto.
“It’s a tried, tested and true recipe and we’re just hoping that Toronto loves it as much as Montreal does,” Mandy Wolfe, co-founder of the salad chain, told CTV News Toronto alongside her sister Rebecca.
A Mandy's signature salad photographed and soon to be sold in Toronto (Supplied). On Mar. 1, the city will get its first taste of Mandy’s signature salads, soon-to-be located in a Notting-Hill-like space with arched windows and a pink French bistro-inspired interior at 52 Ossington Avenue, between Queen and Argyle streets.
To start, Mandy’s is launching pickups and deliveries before welcoming customers into their 1,500-square-foot indoor dining space the following week.
The doors of their first Toronto location haven’t opened just yet, but already, the Wolfe sisters are in lease negotiations for a second space at King Street West and Spadina Avenue, aiming for a summer opening.
While gourmet salads may no longer be considered a culinary novelty in Toronto, the salad sisters are dedicated to a more meaningful mission that ventures beyond the act of chopping kale and carrots.
“Our mission statement is really that the experience while eating the food is just as important as the food itself,” Mandy said. “We hope to convey that in the Toronto experience as well.”
A variety of Mandy's signature salads photographed and soon to be sold in Toronto (Supplied). “We wanted to change the way that people saw salad as not just a side dish….and not just something that you're having when you're on a diet. We want people to be excited about salad,” Rebecca added.
When they first set out on their journey in 2004, Mandy and Rebecca were determined to shift the narrative surrounding salads from a meal that was brushed off as rabbit food to one people craved and genuinely wanted to eat five times a week.
At the time, Rebecca’s partner had a clothing store with spare space. While he had visions of a panini shop, placing an oven in a clothing store was impractical. Instead, “It turned into salads,” Rebecca said.
Between the two sisters, neither one had prior professional business or cooking experience, but Mandy was naturally gifted in the kitchen and Rebecca had a knack for interior design. The partnership was organic.
“As sisters, we are cut from the same fabric,” Mandy said. “All our values are the same.”
Admiration for family is visibly at the centre of their business — with framed family photos and Mandy’s infamous chocolate chip cookies, which she first started baking in their kitchen as a 10-year-old — both staples at their growing list of locations.
“We want to make [customers] feel like they're home,” Mandy said.
Background
Table Talk is a weekly CTV News Toronto series that explores the people who shape Toronto’s food scene, published every Friday at CTVNewsToronto.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL has suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.