Peterborough Blogs
Foodie Friday: Jesse's Tap & Grill's Food Being Passed Down From Generation to Generation
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We talk with Jesse's Tap & Grill owner Jason Julian about how Grandma Ella played a pivotal role behind the family-run restaurant!
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Foodie Friday: Addison Brown of Dr. J's On Becoming a Pitmaster and How All the Food is Made From Scratch
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This week on Foodie Friday, we speak with Addison Brown, owner of Dr. J's BBQ & Brews on how he became a pitmaster and how all the food is made from scratch.
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Foodie Friday: Dan Rennick of Apollo Grill Celebrates the Burger Joint's 10th Anniversary and Explains the Royal Burger Link
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This week on Foodie Friday in our first-ever episode, we speak with Dan Rennick, owner of Apollo Grill as he celebrates his 10th anniversary and how the storied Royal Burger's lineage lives on through his business.
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Homegrown Chef Lives Dream of Opening Downtown Pizzeria
/After almost 20 years in the cooking business, chef Sean Crooks gets to be his own boss by opening Pizza Bodega in downtown Peterborough in a grand opening on Friday.
Pizza Bodega’s logo was designed by Sean Crooks’s significant other. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Pizza Bodega is Crooks’s first business and is located at the side of Spanky’s bar on Hunter Street beside the Simcoe Parking Garage.
The restaurant models after New York-style pizza with a thinner crust and a bigger pie compared to most conventional places.
The opportunity to open a business came from his friendship with Matt Russelle, Spanky’s owner, who asked Crooks to supply the food for his business.
"Spanky and I have jokingly talked about working together here and there over the years," said Crooks. "The timing just happened and it seemed to be the right time and here we are."
Sean Crooks has also worked in Prince Edward County and abroad in Western Canada. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Crooks’s cooking career has had pizza follow him wherever he has gone. That made the decision to open a pizzeria as his first business venture.
Several of Pizza Bodega’s ingredients are sourced either locally or within Ontario including dry-cured pepperoni, smoked ham and spiced ground wagyu. Gluten-free and vegan options will be available on the menu.
"Everybody loves pizza and (I’m) trying to make the pizza fun and not too pretentious,” said Crooks.
Sean Crooks has worked in several Peterborough kitchens such as Primal Cuts, Gerti’s and Capra Toro. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
All customers attending Pizza Bodega’s grand opening will receive a free entry for concert tickets to The Arkells. The pizzeria is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
The restaurant opened this week for a friends-and-family event on Wednesday and a take-out window on Thursday. The grand opening will feature a full outdoor back patio with live music and beer samples.
"It is my very first venture out on my own so it's definitely very challenging, said Crooks. "There's a lot more to deal with than just the kitchen side of things now I'm taking on the entire animal but I'm super excited and super nervous. I just want to see where this goes."
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Hometown PTBO: Jay Rowan Discusses the Sandbagger Hard Seltzer Story Including His Father's Influence and the Development of the Drink
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This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday speaks with Sandbagger Hard Seltzer founder, Jay Rowan about his father’s influence on the drink, how the drink was made, how golf impacted the drink and the story of having 2,000 cases of the drink when COVID hit.
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Local Ice Cream Parlour Celebrates 125th Anniversary
/Central Smith Creamery celebrates their 125th anniversary with one-dollar vanilla ice cream cones this Saturday which is considered National Ice Cream Day weekend.
(left to right) Jillian Scates, project manager and co-owners Ian and Jennifer Scates are part of three generations who have been involved with Central Smith Creamery. Photo by David Tuan Bui
The price is a throwback to when the Scates family purchased the business in 1978 and sold ice cream scoops at that price. They chose vanilla as ice cream’s oldest flavour to commemorate the milestone.
"It's a true honour,” said Ian Scates, co-owner of Central Smith. “Sometimes you kind of have to pinch yourself to realize that you've literally been here before cars existed. It's a bit surreal to think that it's been around as long as it has.”
Ian Scates describes working at Central Smith the “longest summer job” of his life. Photo by David Tuan Bui
“Sometimes in life, it's really important to stop and celebrate the milestones,” said Jennifer Scates, co-owner of Central Smith. “The business of life gets us not thinking about the important things and it's important to recognize where we were, where we're going to, celebrate our employees who have helped us along the way and just pause and reflect.”
Central Smith Creamery has over 70 flavours of ice cream where some come in and out of rotation depending on popularity. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The business has had three generations of the Scates working at Central Smith. Ian’s father, James Scates purchased the business back from the Andrews family in 1978 where Ian first helped the business in 1979. Since then, Ian has been working at Central Smith for 42 years.
His daughter, Jillian Scates graduated in business from Dalhousie University in April 2016 and joined the business starting at the bottom. She has worked her way through as a sales analyst and now as a project manager.
“There's a lot of pride in that we've been able to keep going with the legacy,” said Jennifer. “This place is still in the same place 125 years ago.”
Some of creamery’s top flavours are Algonquin Canoe, Lavender Lemonade and Monster Cookie. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
New this year is Central Smith merchandise for sale such as reusable water bottles, caps and t-shirts. A colouring contest to design your own ice cream flavour is part of the milestone celebrations. Customers can pick up a colouring sheet and submit their designs to the store by Aug. 1.
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New Brewery Ready To Break Through the Pandemic With Quality Brews
/As the province is opening up for more businesses to operate, Haven Brewing Company is serving up traditional European-style beers for the city of Peterborough.
Brothers Andrew Anker (left) and Nathan Anker (right) favourite beers of their company are the Schwarzbier and All Natural Belgian Blonde Ale respectively. Photo by David Tuan Bui
The duo official took over former Smithhavens Brewing Company back Apr. 9 last year but bought the company in October 2019.
The brewery had to face challenges after taking over the company during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but has high expectations for themselves as Ontario is gradually opening back up.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunities right now and while it’s been a difficult year and we’re a small local company,” said Nathan Anker, Haven Brewing Company, President and CEO. “We are going to do anything we can to help other businesses out there and I’m sure that will be reciprocated too.”
Nathan Anker previously had eight years of business and brand development experience in automotive before owning Haven Brewing Company. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The brewery focuses on European-style beers that remain tried, test and true to the classics that have been appreciated over time. The company applies its own twists to their products to deliver a unique taste and style as an homage to the classic traditions.
Several of their ingredients are imported from Europe to retain that genuine flavour and style within their beer.
“They're all recipes that have existed for a really long time and there's a reason they've existed because it's really good beer,” said Nathan. “We've just taken it, refined the recipe a bit but we also try to keep as true as possible to the process.”
Some beers that were originated from Smithworks has been incorporated into Haven with slight adjustments to make it more true to the traditional European style such as the Hefeweizen according to Nathan.
Brewmaster Andrew Anker graduated from Niagara College in 2012 their inaugural brewing program beginning in 2010. Photo By David Tuan Bui.
