Brunch phoenix rising Marion Street Eatery’s closure makes way for Pamela Holunga’s Roasted Nomad By: Eva Wasney Posted: 5:14 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 24, 2024

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This article was published 24/09/2024 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A world traveller with more than a decade of serving experience, Pamela Holunga is finally setting down roots — in familiar soil.

Holunga had been working at Marion Street Eatery for three years when she and her co-workers learned the St. Boniface breakfast and lunch spot would be closing at the end of May.

What started as the loss of a stable job has turned into a dream come true.

Earlier this month, Holunga opened her own concept, Roasted Nomad, in her former workplace.

“I always thought I wanted to open a brunch place one day,” she says. “When (Marion Street) closed down, we were really sad… and then everyone was like, ‘Are you going to try?’”

Holunga has also rehired many of her former colleagues to staff the kitchen and dining room.

“I learned a lot in three months — my brain hurts, but it’s been easier because (the staff) know me and they know the space.”

Kitchen manager Kathy Casillas is one such employee.

“When I saw the space will be open for a new opportunity, my mind went to Pam because she had the passion and I wanted to help her with the experience I have of working in the industry,” says Casillas, who worked at Marion Street for a year before its closure.

Casillas, a pastry chef from Mexico, has helped develop new menu items for Roasted Nomad — such as the huevos rancheros, served with housemade salsa, and the Mexican mocha latte — while offering operational expertise gleaned from 17 years of running a restaurant in the United States with her husband.

“It’s better to know your (staff) because you know you can trust your team. They’re a really good team.” Casillas says.

Holunga, 33, grew up in Selkirk and got her first serving job at 18 years old. She drank her first cup of coffee in university while cramming to finish an essay and gained a deeper appreciation for the caffeinated beverage on a trip to Tanzania, a major coffee-producing nation.

Her passion for brunch and coffee culture grew during an extended sojourn Down Under.

“I moved to Australia and they have the best coffee, they really know how to prepare it. I saw the cafés and brunch and was like, ‘I want to do that,” Holunga says

Since returning to Manitoba, she’s gained experience in front-of-house hospitality while working approximately “eight billion” different serving jobs at Pineridge Hollow, Merchant Kitchen, Nola, De Luca’s and elsewhere.

Holunga is a fan of early mornings and the fast pace of breakfast and lunch service. In 2023, she made a move towards her dream and opened a pop-up coffee cart under the Roasted Nomad banner. She spent a year lugging a coffee maker to craft sales, weddings and even a synchronized swimming meet at Pan Am Pool.

“I was in my little Honda Civic with my (espresso) machine on the seat beside me,” Holunga says with a laugh. “It worked, but the whole year I was like, ‘I need a space, I can’t keep doing this.’”

When the restaurant inside the Marion Hotel became available, she decided to take a shot. She pulled together financing with help from friends and former customers and dove into a real-world entrepreneurial crash course with guidance from industry peers.

The first few weeks in business have been full of déjà vu.

“It feels just like old times,” says Holunga, who made minor changes to the restaurant’s modern farmhouse-style interior.

It’s been heartwarming to welcome back regular customers.

“I’m so happy to see familiar faces because people missed the space, but also missed feeling the ambience,” Casillas says.

While Holunga is excited to make her mark on Winnipeg’s brunch scene, she isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel.

The menu at Roasted Nomad is full of comforting breakfast and lunch staples — eggs and toast, hash browns, chicken and waffles, pancakes, soups, salads, wraps and sandwiches.

“It’s definitely a menu built by service industry people. It’s very simple but it’s very good,” she says.

The coffee bar includes espresso-based standards such as lattés and cappuccinos, as well as hot and cold beverages with a twist, such as the Aussie-style iced latté (a vanilla iced latté with ice cream on top) and the cookies n’ cream hot chocolate.

Holunga’s goals for Roasted Nomad venture well beyond food and drink.

“I just want the community to thrive, I want to be a hub for people to gather,” she says. “I know it’s just food, it’s just eggs bennies and coffee, but there’s more to it than that.”

Roasted Nomad is located at 393 Marion St. and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Visit theroastednomad.com for more information.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

X: @evawasney