Putting the kale in Corktown
Ex-trainer, MAC Cosmetics co-founder team up to supercharge city with health-focused eatery
You wanna be smart? Hang out with intelligent people. To become an entrepreneur, Josh Broun started, purely by accident, by spending time with some very successful businesspeople.
When he first started out, Broun had dreams of becoming a firefighter. In the meantime, he began working as a personal trainer and started to build a roster of one-on-one clients.
By chance, many of them were successful entrepreneurs. In between reps, they’d share stories from the trenches. “I’d pick their brains,” says Broun.
He was particularly impressed with Frank Toskan, co-founder of MAC Cosmetics. He had started his company from nothing, using hard work and strong ethics. Toskan wasn’t very forthcoming at first, but as the two built up trust, he started to talk.
About three years ago, Broun says, Toskan told him that if he ever had a business idea, he should feel comfortable coming to him with it.
That was all the push Broun needed. While he loved his job and was not only busy but had a chance to travel with clients, he now had the entrepreneurial bug, too.
He quietly got to work on two business plans: one for a gym and one for a restaurant that focused on healthy eating. Soon enough, he ditched the gym idea and focused on the restaurant. He had long been convinced that eating right was as important as exercise. Travelling had exposed him to establishments elsewhere that put health first — and he knew there was a gap in the market in Toronto.
Broun showed Toskan the plan and he says the MAC co-founder loved it right away. “Do you want an investment, or do you want a partner?” Broun says he was asked. For him, the answer was immediate: of course he wanted Toskan’s decades of experience on his side.
The two found a huge storefront on King St. E. near River St., in the flourishing Corktown neighbourhood. Toskan actually bought the building and is renting it out to Impact Kitchen. (They picked the name because they want the place to make an impact.)
The healthy menu of superfoods such as kale, lean proteins and onsite cold-pressed juices was put together by Stephanie Tucci, a culinary nutritionist and chef. She’s something of a wunderkind herself: she makes healthy food taste delish, is as much of a fitness buff as her bosses and is also a master of social media.
Her drinks, healthy baked goods and three-meal-aday offerings are on order from a long counter, and customers can perch at a big table ideal for laptops and coffee dates, at a section of small tables or at the long banquette nook, where parents and babies tend to go during the day. Full breakfasts and quick lunches are self-serve. Dinner gets brought to your table by Broun or Toskan.
Hardly the silent partner, Toskan is on site every day and can be found, late at night, sweeping the floor. “His work ethic is amazing,” says Broun.
In fact, everyone on this team is supercharged. While Impact has only been open a few weeks, it’s already attracting regulars, who are spreading the word. The catering side of the business is quickly ramping up. There’s already talk of more services and expanding to new locations. To do it all, this healthy, enthusiastic crew probably won’t break a sweat.