Local breweries, restaurants showing their pride with events and food specials: Andrew Copolino IG News

June is busy with a variety of festivals and events in the area, including Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

For many businesses, creating safe and welcoming spaces for the LGBTQ community is part of their core values, and many say it’s not about one month of the year.

Spectrum is an organization that “serves, affirms and supports the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals in the Waterloo region.” There are only a few businesses listed when you visit their Rainbow Pages directory. Unlike the hundreds of food and beverage operations in the area.

However, that certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t many other businesses dedicated to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging in the community. Many entrepreneurs and food operators say they have worked diligently to create “safe spaces” for their employees and customers.

For example, Nadia Draganu at Cafe du Monde Creeperie in Cambridge says they celebrate Pride year-round.

“When we opened the business three and a half years ago, I made it a point to indicate, including to Google, that our cafe was transgender safe and that we celebrate Pride every day in doing so,” says Dragusanu.

Stephanie Solis of Little Mushroom Catering, a Rainbow Registered restaurant and catering operation also in Cambridge, has taken a similar approach, saying she encourages customers to support such businesses.

Solis says people can find helpful businesses by looking for B Corp Certified, Rainbow Registered or companies like Spectrum, OK2BME (an initiative supporting LGBTQ individuals 16 or older) and other LGBTQ spaces.

Little Mushrooms has catered several pride celebrations and same-sex weddings this month and baked dozens of rainbow cupcakes for Cambridge Insurance Company to raise their pride flag last week.

Supporting the LGBTQ Community

As Pride Month continues, here are some of the featured events and specials available at local food operations.

In Guelph, the Neighborhood Group’s Court DeSales features a full lineup of concerts and specials, with proceeds supporting local LGBTQ organizations.

Borealis Guelph has a specialty cocktail with partial proceeds going to OK2BEME, while some of the proceeds from Park Eatery’s milkshake sales go to the same organization. Borealis Kitchener is sending some of the cocktail proceeds to Out on the Shelf, as is Mijida in downtown Guelph.

The Woolley has a Pride cocktail with partial proceeds going to the Bill 7 Award, a charitable trust providing scholarships to members of the LGBTQ community who are in financial need in Ontario, and all of their restaurants will be celebrating Guelph Pride on June 10. Sponsoring In the Park. Desautels says.

Grand River Pride serves the queer community of Cambridge and surrounding areas. They have, together with other community stakeholders, organized a number of events during the first half of June: including, or including, a street party, comedy nights, markets and a brunch.

Located on Main Street in Galt, Sugar Daddies is making three cupcakes – Chocolate Caramel, Boston Creme and Cookies & Creme. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo-Wellington and The AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo & Area.

Nearby, Monigram Coffee Roasters is participating in the June 10 Grand River Pride Street Party with a booth selling art and cold brew coffee. According to co-owner Monica Braun, they will continue to sell Rainbow Donuts at the cafe.

According to Kate Welsh, the CE Food Experience in Uptown Waterloo is preparing light vanilla cakes and cupcakes baked with rainbow sprinkles.

“They are then decorated with more rainbow sprinkles, a vanilla rainbow rosette, and a little fondant heart,” says Welsh. These will only be available for the month of June.

At Gibson Park in Elmira, Woolwich Pride is holding its first annual Pride event, which will take place on June 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In St. Jacobs, Fat Sparrow Charcuterie Bar & Market has a Pride Market on June 17 from 12 noon to 5 p.m., which includes vendors, a drag show and a presentation by Ren Navarro of Beer. Diversity. A portion of the proceeds will go to Spectrum.

Fat Sparrow Group co-owner Nick Benninger says this is the company’s first of its kind event, with the bakery staff and charcuterie bar at the helm of the event.

“We spend a lot of time working on employee culture, company values ​​and providing a safe space in the workplace. After years of doing this, we have a team of people making sure we take our back home do the same beyond the realms of the world and our own four walls,” says Benninger.

Local breweries are often closely linked to the diversity of their surrounding communities.

TWB: Together We Are Bitter of Kitchener has several events planned for the month, and last week had a launch party for their similar saison beer with notes of lemon and black pepper. The beer is a collaboration with Spectrum, with some of the proceeds going to the organization.

The microbrewery’s vision is for long-term engagement, and they plan to work with Spectrum again, says TWB’s Alex Szaflarska.

“We have worked with Spectrum in the past, and we are excited that the launch party was not only the start of a month-long fundraiser, but also an ongoing collaboration with events throughout the year,” says Szaflarska.

Across town, Graeme Kobayashi at Counterpoint Brewing says microbreweries have food pop-ups and events lined up for June.

“We’re hosting a queer dance party organized by ACCKWA and ACB, but we also have queer speed dating and LGBTQ+ family hangouts,” Kobayashi said. community.

“We are dedicated to inclusive practices throughout the year, but June is an extraordinary month to celebrate and support our LGBTQ+ community.”