Potluck Café and Catering will be holding their annual fundraiser featuring Barney Bentall & the Grand Cariboo Opry at the venerable Vogue Theatre on December 11, 2010. For the past few years, Potluck and Barney have provided a toe-tapping good time for those in attendance. The show is comprised of humourous monologues and all sorts of amazing musical guests. This year’s performance promises to be better than ever!

Potluck is a social enterprise in the Downtown Eastside that runs a café and provides catering services, both of which serve hundreds of customers in the area. Potluck offers many great community programs to residents of the Downtown Eastside. They (rightfully) believe that no one should be deprived of quality, nutritious food and are committed to sharing this message.

BOB has maintained a good working relationship with Potluck for a number of years. We have partnered with them on numerous occasions, including collaborating with them for monthly SHINE dinners for clients, as well as employer breakfasts.

Barney and the band

BOB and Potluck also worked together to offer a Banquet Server Training Program last year. As a part of BOB’s Business Links program, clients were taught valuable skills in order to enter the workforce and were given the opportunity to interview with employers once they completed the training.

The night at the Vogue not only supports a fantastic cause, but is guaranteed to be a good time. Tickets can be purchased at: https://tickets.voguetheatre.com/Online/default.asp 

If you are not able to make it to the fundraiser and still want to support Potluck, visit their café at 30 W. Hastings from 8-4 Monday to Friday or donate here.

A little shot of the interior of Kranky Cafe 228-216 E. 4th Avenue

Vancouver is a city freckled with cafes. Whether they be corporate chains, smaller chains, high priced specialty cafes, there is a cafe for everyone. For me, though I do have a few locales that I frequent, the one that is most near and dear to my heart is an adorable joint just across from my apartment on Main and 4th called Kranky Cafe. There are a few reasons why I’m particularly fond of this enterprise. It’s tucked away right inside our neighbourhood, one that is an eclectic blend of break and muffler garages, refill stations and live-work lofts. Robson Street it is not, but over the past handful of months since the cafe has been open even I as a customer can see firsthand how my neighbours along with myself have embraced it as  our spot. Similarly to the Narrow, another small but cherished hang out for locals. Having it tucked right in with the lofts in this unassuming (and “up and coming”) part of town reminds of the kinds of places one would see in Berlin or other European cities, where the cut and dry zoning and commercial strips that western cities celebrated isn’t so prevalent.  Though the space is small they make the absolute most of it with live music, local artists work on the walls, and a beautiful patio space. Perhaps the number one reason why I like it so much is that it was started by a pair of young entrepreneurs who took a chance on this location and have made a real positive impact on this small neighbourhood.  So I asked them to send in a brief little backgrounder for all entrepreneurs to be, or those looking for a great lunch, coffee, snack or beer on a patio spot on the edge of Mt. Pleasant. Below is the response from Dana, one of the partners  on how they made it all happen.

Kranky Dana- Mmm-k well basically it all started many moons ago in the neighborhood of kitsilano. There is a cute lil’ coffee shop (Arbutus coffee), where both Tondela (her business partner at Kranky) and I worked for a time. It was a shop that was started by a woman named Amanda, and she had owned and operated it for 7 years. The unique part about the shop was the laid back community vibe, which in essence was an extension of Amanda’s laid back personality. When that shop was sold, Tondela and I started talking about creating our own shop, with a lot of the similar aspects that we had enjoyed at Arbutus. Tondela stayed on at Arbutus as their primary baker, and I went on to a gluten free bakery working their as a baker. Throughout most of 2010 we had met and talked about our future plan to take over the cafe world.We made some good connections and had a lot of help from our Realtor who is also a family friend of Tondela’s.
When the Moss came up for sale we made a bid and we got it.
Since then it’s been a bit of a whirlwind! in the process, coming up with a name for our place was an ongoing one. And then….gold!   Tondela had overheard a woman talk about being cranky…. and then cranky evolved into Kranky…. and ta da.

Through numerous challenges, equipment issues, learning about the business and finances etc, it has been a huge learning experience.
There is always something to do, or get done. We try our best to take breaks when we can, our goal is to one day have two days off in a row, each…. one day. one day
We both want to create a comfortable place where people will hopefully come and take some time, and connect with others in the community.
Tondela has a background in film and is also a graduate of Emily Carr, and does some great work in the visual arts. (Dana has mainly a background in music and other randomness according to herself) Essentially we want to be able to support local artists as best we can with our small space. Currently we host music nights and display artwork which changes roughly every six weeks. We were a part of SWARM and will also be a part of the upcoming Drift on main.

This is a really great area to be situated in and we have met some real nice folks. The support we have gotten from people has also been lovely, which is really encouraging for us from day to day.

Thanks Dana and Tondela for seeing the potential in this tucked away corner of EastVan and for bringing your passion and talents here.

Here at BOB, we are committed to connecting our clients with businesses that realize how important a

nd beneficial it is to hire locally.  It is especially exciting for the Supported Employment Team when a client we have placed goes above and beyond at the workplace. This month, we have highlighted the story of David, who is one of those exemplary employees.

David is working at Calabash Bistro

Read more about David’s work at Calabash Bistro here:

SEPNewsletter – Sept 2010.

Other stories this month include:

• Employer Profile – Calabash Bistro
• Urban Farming Workshops
• Event Listings
• Job Postings

Calabash Bistro just opened up in Chinatown, on the edge of the Downtown Eastside and Gastown.  They are a delicious addition to our neighborhood, and only too welcome with their Jamaican flavor, art and music.

Calabash Bistro Chef Cullin

Last week I had the Fry Fish sandwich with homemade Jerk Fries and Jamaican ketchup.  OH MY WORD.  It was simple, delicious, and I had to go back again this week!  This time I ate the Jerk Chicken sandwich with Jerk Fries and salad.  The chicken was made with the chefs own house made jerk sauce.  Speaking of sauces..  I’m a sucker for them!  So their Jerk Aioli and Jamaican Ketchup threw me over the edge.  And OH MY GOSH..  Their homemade Coco Bread..  It’s a light sandwich shaped bread that they use for their sandwiches or make into a patty.  And it is wonderful.

Dayna, Calabash Bartender

Both times I’ve dropped in, the servers were really friendly and they are on the ball with great service.   The upstairs is comfortable posh, with local art work and Caribbean décor, with the chefs cooking in the background wearing their colorful tams.  We tried a couple of their drinks, and I would definitely recommend the Ginger Ale which is made in house and is strong and nice.

A unique aspect of Calabash is their desire to bring art and music into the eating experience.  Their downstairs lounge is host of Foundation Radio, an online radio station that plays roots, reggae, jazz, blues, motown and funk music.  They often have live music with DJ’s spinning and local artists performing reggae, hip-hop, funk, and poetry.

Natalie, Server and weekend DJ

If you haven’t checked it out, come in at lunch for their daily special sandwiches that are very reasonably prices ($6-$12), or come in the evening for their delicious Mains ($10-13).  I haven’t tried the sides yet, but I’ll have to wait for next week to check out the Plantain Chips and Fried Coconut Dumplings.  J

I just had the little point and shoot camera with me, but they were nice enough to pose.

Calabash Bistro

Many moons ago, when we were at our old offices Mina Jung came into our office about opening up her dream business, selling healthy Korean food as a lunch alternative. She planned on calling the business Next Sunday Kimbab because as a child she always looked forward to the Next Sunday. It took a while and the idea was refined, but Next Sunday Kimbab is now open and providing healthy Korean food delivered to your office for lunch or meetings.

A Next Sunday Kimbab retail location is still in the long term plans, but BOB staff were quite happy with the samples Mina brought over today. So consider Kimbab for your next meeting or staff lunch, you can learn more about Next Sunday Kimbab from their Facebook Page or their blog.