This past August, Gina Scandrett and Carson Killham packed up the car with all their belongings, two kids, and a dog and drove 42 hours from Calgary to Cornwall. Carson was born and raised in Calgary and has worked in the restaurant industry since he can remember. Before the move, he was the Executive Chef at Rodney’s Oyster bar in Calgary, where he met Gina, 30, a New Zealand native and at that time the events and marketing manager for the restaurant. The couple had always talked about starting up their own eatery and in a few days, that dream will come to fruition when they will open the doors to The Birchwood Café. We sat down with them to talk about what they’ll bring to the downtown core.
How did you get here?
Gina: We moved here blind. No jobs. No firm plans. We thought we’d be here for 12 months and then look for something. But we found this space and took advantage of the opportunity.
Carson: The goal has always been to open something in our early 30s – to do something for ourselves. I’ve spent most of my life around restaurants, 50 to 80 hours a week and I’m really happy we can do this here and now.
What kind of food will the birchwood café serve?
Carson: We’re all about homestyle cooking. Not plated, not tweezered. Just homestyle food, cooked with care.
Gina: We offer breakfast and lunch but with no set menu. There will always be muffins, scones, daily sandwiches, gluten-free options, and vegan options. The point is there’s something for everyone. There will be items to take away as well. You can either pick from the daily selections in our cabinets to enjoy here or if you want to grab something to take away with you—salads, pies, chutneys, sauces—you can, too.
Photos: Lee Ladouceur/Ladouceur Photo
What of your favourite items can we expect to see?
Carson: Personally, I like to make pies so you’ll see lots of those.
Gina: New Zealand has quite a unique style of baking so for me, I’m excited about share that. My parents even have sent over various pieces of equipment and utensils that you can’t get here. It’ll be interesting to see what food items will become the local favourite.
Tell us more about the to-go options.
Carson: We’ll have salads and sandwiches but we also have a freezer stocked with sweet pies and savoury pies like tourtière, shepherd’s pie, lasagna and those kinds of things. I’ve also started stocked the shelves with all types of hot sauces, jams, salsas, all made here.
The idea is that you can come enjoy a scone and a coffee, pick up a sandwich for lunch, and at the same time grab a shepherd’s pie for dinner.
How will The Birchwood Café complement its neighbour cafés, Tilly’s and Simply Jennifer?
Carson: I was pretty worried about there being such a high density of cafés but I’ve talked with Carol-Ann and Jennifer and we are not stepping on each other’s niches. They’ve been super helpful and welcoming.
The nice thing is this is about each playing a role in building up downtown. The more we can support each other and build attraction, the better. Everyone wins.
-Gina scandrett
Where do you see The Birchwood in future?
Carson: We want to be part of the community here and to build a place where everyone feels welcome. We’d like to see kids, people who want to settle in with a computer and do a few hours of work, and Tuesday morning bridge groups. We’re hoping anyone and everyone wants to hang out here. We’ll even open on weekends for things like baby showers, corporate parties, or birthdays.
Do you have any collaborations in mind?
Gina: There are so many great local producers in Cornwall and the counties and we’ve set aside some space for their products as well so we can support local and build partnerships with our local specialty producers of cheese, meats, and so on. We found there is a lot more going on in food than we initially realized. We want to do anything we can do to help local people who are doing such good work and to make it accessible to local people. We’re going to start working on that. We’ll build it up.
Carson: I’d definitely like to partner with cideries and wineries and breweries and do events. It’s one of the biggest things that we’ve noticed about Cornwall so far—and it’s one of my favourite things—is that everybody works together and contributes to each other.
Parting words?
Carson: We want to make sure we keep building on the sense of community that has been shared with us. It’s been a big relief, especially for me coming from Calgary where the race to survive can be brutal. Here, generations of generations have built a strong foundation for doing good things for themselves and for their community. We’re so happy that we get to be part of that.
The Birchwood Café
109 Pitt Street, Cornwall
(613) 938-0101
birchwoodcafe.ca
Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm
