There’s a great deal to admire about self-styled cook and entrepreneur Sylvia Mickanuik – especially when somebody or something throws her a curve ball.
Co-owner of Juntos Bistro located in Campbell Park, Mickanuik has experienced the drop in spending due to an unstable economy while forking out more money in minimum wages.
These conditions seem like a recipe for disaster. It’s the kind of adversity every restaurateur faces today, one where only the savvy endure.
In her words, Mickanuik said, “It’s a very competitive business right now. The one who puts out the best product is going to survive.”
Armed with more than a decade's experience in the food industry, Mickanuik solved the issue by adding a mobile catering service to the existing dining room and takeout counter.
“I always watch for trends and I’ve noticed that there are three or four restaurants in St. Albert that are now catering. In this economy you have to have your hands in different things to survive.”
Juntos is part of a popular emerging model in the restaurant world. It’s loosely dubbed a “ghost kitchen.” In a ghost kitchen’s purest form, entrepreneurs operate delivery-only food businesses that rarely serve walk-in customers.
Ghost kitchens have popped up in the United States and Britain, and have only recently started trickling into the Canadian food market, one that is ripe for the model.
Businessmen and chefs have discovered the ghost kitchen phenomena saves on real estate and staff while leveraging the ingredients and equipment already in stock.
Mickanuik added the uptick in food delivery is also bolstered by the growth in consumer demand for convenience meals as well as the rise of delivery apps including Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes and DoorDash.
She uses Skip the Dishes, a company that delivers within a 15-minute driving radius from the restaurant. For providing convenience, the delivery service charges Juntos a 25 per cent commission.
“It’s too much out of the bottom line,” Mickanuik noted. At present, the restaurant makes 10 per cent of its bottom line from mobile catering. Despite the hefty commission, she is closely monitoring the increasing consumer demand.
“We’re hoping it will grow with word of mouth. I think it will become a big part of the business. I follow trends and when I go shopping I see what families put in grocery carts and take-away is where the business is going.”
How it started
Juntos Bistro officially opened January 2016, however Mickanuik was no newbie in the food industry. She operated the popular Uptown Catering through St. Albert Community Hall for several years.“I came to Campbell Park looking for space and I discovered 225 businesses operating in the area. There wasn’t any decent place to get a good lunch, and by good, I mean homemade soups, sandwiches, sauces and marinades.”
Mickanuik developed extensive catering training cooking for two high-end Edmonton caterers. Not only did she learn to cook creatively, but the experience defined her personal kitchen philosophy.
“They’d open a jar or can of Campbell soup and pop it in. Their frozen boxed chicken was full of soya and water. I couldn’t believe people would rave about it.”
Before opening Juntos, Mickanuik made the decision to offer appetizing dishes with no preservatives, no chemical additives, no growth hormones or antibiotics.
“My partner is celiac. And I realized how easy it is to cook with real food. We serve food the way it was eaten 30 or 40 years ago.”
But yes, they do use butter and cream.
“The amount of butter we go through is astronomical,” she laughed.
Chef Ivan Fuentes is in charge of the kitchen and is the creative mind behind the restaurant’s incredibly scrumptious upscale desserts.
The Cuban-Canadian chef received his designation at Havanna's Sevilla Hotel and refined his expertise cooking in various tourist hotels.
Nearly 20 years ago, the Alberta government, in partnership with NAIT operated a welding school in Cuba. They needed an experienced, adventurous chef to prepare meals for a group of Canadians in the program. Fuentes was the candidate of choice.
One of the instructors, Joe Mulder, and his wife, Marlene, took a liking to Fuentes and assisted the dedicated chef to immigrate to Alberta. At the catering firm where Fuentes was employed, he met Mickanuik and the duo developed a professional respect for each other.
When she invited Fuentes to head up Juntos kitchen, he jumped at the opportunity.
“I needed a change. I wanted to experiment. It’s good when it’s a new place. I could start to do my own recipes. I love baking. I love cooking,” Fuentes said.
Known to take his work home, he forgoes ordinary, basic choices.
“I like to try new things like a chocolate dessert with a touch of cayenne pepper. And I allow everyone in the kitchen to bring new ideas. It’s good for everyone.”
One of his dessert specialties is the duquesa, translated into English as duchess. It is a sweet tart, slathered with whipped cream and topped with a raspberry to form a crown.
With staff from across the world, the kitchen fuses ideas from Thai, Chinese, Filipino and Latin cuisine.
“For me it’s about fresh and fun food. When you try the first bite, you play with flavours. I do things that are different so people can enjoy something different.”
Running a kitchen that serves a restaurant, take-out and mobile delivery service is a challenge, but one that Fuentes takes pride in advancing.
Drop by Juntos and you will find both Mickanuik and Fuentes engaging, enthusiastic and passionate about sharing the latest trends in food. And you will be severely tempted by the desserts.
