A place to connect for food and fun
‘Caring for people’ is the recipe for success
It’s not often that a restaurant experience is punctuated by a singalong. (And I’m not talking about the Happy Birthday variety.)
But, that’s exactly what happened during a recent meal at The Water Shed Arts Cafe.
The bright, welcoming eatery that’s located in the middle of a strip mall in Walnut Grove boasts a friendly, community vibe — so much so that, when I’m A Believer by the Monkees came on and one of our party began to sing quietly to herself, a fellow dinner heard her and joined in.
“You take the high notes and I’ll take the low,” he said with a smile.
Yep, it’s that friendly. While the singing scenario was an extraordinary occurrence for our group, when it was recounted later to the eatery’s chef/owner Jenn Cornish, she wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“We’re an arts cafe that celebrates food and celebrates people and gives people a place to connect with one another,” she says proudly. “A place where there is art and people can perform.”
The idea of bringing people together in a “safe space” — where they can also eat good food — was what first motivated Cornish to open the restaurant 10 years ago. Safe to say, the idea has been well received by her patrons.
“It’s crazy,” Cornish says of the milestone year.
So, what’s the secret to a decade of success in the restaurant industry? According to Cornish, it’s not only about the food. But rather, it all
comes down to the people.
“Part of what we do, is we want to know people,” she says. “Not just what they order, but also who they are.
“I think people are really important. I like caring for people. And giving people a place where they feel safe, can slow down and can connect, that’s really important. We don’t necessarily have that for us in the world.”
But, they can — and apparently do — find it at The Water Shed. Despite being past the lunch hour, there was a steady stream of customers coming and going at the cafe, many of whom paused at the counter to chat at length with the eatery’s staff.
The counter-service option lends to a casual vibe, as do the mason jars for drinks, and the art on the walls that’s for sale.
In addition to lattes, coffee and teas (both hot and cold), The Water Shed serves up trendy Kombucha from Hoochy Booch Kombucha.
The drink is available on tap, by the glass and even the growler. It’s not difficult to imagine the slightly fizzy drink would be a popular choice during one of the eatery’s advertised music nights.
“We have live music every Friday night, and for those, I do a different menu every Friday,” she says. “Usually, it’s four or five different items, and that changes every week.”
The evenings offer regulars a chance to experience new entertainment in a familiar setting, while they also draw in new guests.
A sign on the eatery’s front counter reminds visitors the food is made to order, so service may be a bit slow as compared to typical fast food.
The restaurant also works to source a majority of its menu item ingredients from local producers and farms.
“To support other local businesses and other local food producers, I think, is incredibly important,” Cornish says.
“And we have an incredible group of people in the Fraser Valley to pull from, so it would be silly not to do so, because we have some of the best stuff you can get around.”
To continue with the “slow food” mentality, the restaurant’s menu also is a bit slower than others to change.
“We try to change it, probably every year,” Cornish says. “We always have specials, so those rotate quite a bit. But the actual menu changes probably every year or year and a half.”
It’s a quality that seems to lend to the cafe being a steady favourite among locals, with the sandwiches proving to be a popular choice with the post-breakfast crowd.
The sandwiches feature bread that’s baked in-house using flour from Chilliwack favourite Anita’s Organics Mill and are served with a side of oil-infused popcorn.
“I wanted something different for the side because everyone does greens or soups. And I wanted something different,” says Cornish. “And, our house is obsessed with popcorn, so we thought it would be really fun.”
The Turkey Havarti ($6 for half-size, $11 for full) was delicious thanks to moist grilled turkey, gooey Havarti cheese and artichoke spread, all pressed between a deliciously crisp cranberry bread.
Sadly, the savoury sandwich will soon be replaced with a chicken sandwich served on sour-cherry bread.
While Cornish herself follows a plant-based diet, she say she’s not one to force the cafe’s visitors to be the same.
“I don’t want that to be in place at the restaurant, because I want it to be a place where everyone can come and everyone can learn,” she says. “If you’re going to choose to eat meat, that’s great. Just think about it. And here’s a place where you can eat meat and know that we did research into where it’s coming from and how it’s treated.”
It’s that research that prompted Cornish to remove the much-loved menu item. She says she was struggling to source turkey from a farm she felt comfortable with.
The Toasted Chevre, Apple Beet sandwich ($6 for half, $10 for full) features a thin spread of Milner Farm Chevre goat cheese with crisp pickled beets, arugula, apple and house-made onion jam, all of which combines to be simple and tasty. The flavours mixed well, although the sandwich could have been offered openfaced rather than pinched between two pieces of hearty whole-grain chia bread.
The bread was a bit heavy and muted the delicate flavours on offer with the beets, apple and cheese.
The BLT+A ($6 for half, $11 for full), minus the avocado because of an allergy, was tasty, if a tad too light on the bacon. Our table agreed the sandwich could have benefited from a few more slices of the locally sourced pork that hails from Ennis Farms Meats of Langley.
Forgoing another serving of the popcorn, we opted for the Kale Caesar Salad ($11 for meal size; $6 as a side), which was crisp and well dressed. The dressing, which is also crafted in-house using house aioli sauce with Parmesan, lemon and garlic was neither too creamy nor too rich.
With a big menu shift coming soon, Cornish says visitors can expect to discover some exciting new additions on the menu this summer.
The Water Shed will be adding new bowls and cutting down on sandwiches in the near future, as well as offering an expanded breakfast offering.