Bearing fruit

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This article was published 11/08/2020 (2098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The dark purple fruit of the Amelanchier plant goes by many names: Saskatoon berry, chuckley pear, serviceberry, juneberry. 

The new brunch spot at 531 St. Mary’s Rd. that takes inspiration from this hardy Prairie berry only goes by one. Juneberry, which officially opened July 10, has been a welcome addition to Old St. Vital — and Winnipeg’s pandemic-rattled dining scene. 

“The road to opening was definitely a bumpy one,” says Dana Cherski, who co-owns Juneberry along with chef Scott Malcolmson and Marc Priestly and Kyle Matheson of Nuburger. “We had originally hoped to open at the end of 2019 or early 2020, and we had some issues — just typical construction problems we weren’t expecting. Then we were ready to go for March, and then a global pandemic hit.”

In some ways, Juneberry ended up opening at the right time — right in the eye of the COVID-19 storm, when case counts were low and summer patios, which the restaurant has, were in full swing.

“We’re very grateful we weren’t open prior so we wouldn’t be open for a month and then have to shut down,” says Cherski, 33, who has worked in restaurants for 17 years, including a nine-year stretch at Stella’s. “You have to look at the glass half full.”

Even operating at half capacity in accordance with public health measures, the restaurant has been hopping. Open every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for breakfast, brunch and lunch, Juneberry’s menu features fresh takes on morning and midday staples, made with lots of local ingredients.

“I wanted the menu to be accessible for people,” Malcolmson says via email. “Familiar dishes done with quality ingredients, with unique twists, like a grilled cheese sandwich with braised beef short ribs, salsa verde and horseradish aioli, or infusing our hollandaise with rosemary for the eggs benedict.” The cocktail menu also features novel takes on the classics, including a miso basil Caesar and a pomegranate and sage mimosa.

Malcolmson adds having well thought-out vegetarian options was important, as was doing as much as possible in house, which includes making its own sauces, grinding its own sausage and baking the focaccia every morning for the eggs benedict.

Winnipeg’s Fireside Design Build, the team behind many of this city’s coolest rooms — including Harth Mozza & Wine Bar, Nonsuch Brewing Co., and G is for Glasses — was tapped for the interior. “They really pulled the ideas we first had for the restaurant and made them into something so stunning that we’re just thrilled with how it turned out,” Cherski says.

The decor, not surprisingly, pulls from the palette of its namesake berry. “We have lots of little touches throughout the restaurant that give a nod to that, so, for example, the colour scheme that was chosen. We have these really cool mobiles that float from the ceiling that are different shades of ripeness of Saskatoon berries, so it goes from a lighter pink to a darker purple.” The art on the walls is also local, from Synonym Art Consultation.

‘We loved the idea of going to Old St. Vital because there isn’t a lot in this area,” Cherski says of the restaurant’s location. “We love being right across the river. We were able to have a patio, which is something we wanted.”

While Cherski is thrilled Juneberry is finally open and busy, she and her team recognize the pandemic is not over. 

“I think we can’t get too far ahead in our heads,” she says with a laugh. “It’s all so new to all of us. We don’t know what’s going to happen. There could be a vaccine and everything could go back to normal, or we could see a second wave and we have to shut down — who knows? We have to take it day to day and seeing how everything rolls out.”

Still, she feels grateful to be a restaurant owner in Winnipeg. 

“I couldn’t imagine doing this in a city like Toronto or New York or anywhere else that has been hit more intensely,” she says.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti