Waterloo Region ... • Where to Eat? • What to Eat (and drink)? • Who's cooking it?
Some Industry Background • Canadian foodservice industry: – 1 million+ employees – $60 billion annual sales • $1 spent at a restaurant=$1.85 in rest of economy – (Statscan and Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association)
Unique geography
Waterloo Region Food Culture • The character of Waterloo Region – "Waterloo County fare" – Field-to-table / rural-urban connections – Great farmers’ market – Tech sector – Cultural diversity
Local restaurant groups • Charcoal Group / Cerny Group • Fat Sparrow • Grand Trunk / Grand Surf • Lanc companies • Ignite Group • B Hospitality
Tier 1: You don't need to eat at chains • King Street Trio • Red House Uptown • Public Kitchen & Bar • Bhima's Warung / Loloan • Rich Uncle / Graffiti Market
Tier 2: You don't need to eat at chains • Ken Sushi / Kinkaku Izakaya / Izna • Pho rules! Pho Tran, Pho K&W • Universities / biz model: bao, hand-pulled noodles, poke, Thai • Wooden Boat Food Co. ("ghost kitchen")
Beverages: Coffee • Huge growth in indie coffee shops • Compare downtown TO per capita • Matter of Taste • Monigram • Eco Coffee >>> many more
Beverages: Alcohol • 16 breweries • 3 distillers • Waterloo (Brick), TWB, Abe Erb, Red Circle, Innocente, Block 3, Barncat Ales • Willibald, Murphy's Law, (Dixon's)
SWO-Threats • Labour issues / Rising food costs • Customer expectations of “cheap” • Third-party delivery apps • Changing diets / health concerns • Drinking-driving laws
Shameless plug … Get it at Indigo
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