Mercato grand opening
Italian Bakery’s Mercato is celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, June 9.Throughout the day the business will be serving barbecued Italian sausages for $5 per sausage. All sale proceeds will be going to St. Albert Victim Services.
Customers can also enjoy live music, cake cutting and in-store specials. There will be Italian cars and Vespas on the lot for viewing.
For those who have always wanted to learn how to cook Italian cuisine, the grand opening is your chance. An Italian chef will be demonstrating how to make baci chocolate. There will also be demonstrations on how to make pasta and how to crack a wheel of grana padano, among others.
The Italian grocery store opened in November selling Italian deli, cheeses, fresh pasta, gelato, sauces, fresh produce and baked goods.
Since opening, owner Adamo Rossi said he’s been surprised with the interest in the store’s gelato and pasta.
“It’s been better than expected,” he said of opening. “I’m surprised with the gelato and the fresh pasta, how popular it’s been.”
The building has 10,600 square feet of space, with 2,000 of that space dedicated to a large kitchen and café. The store offers both a bakery and a marketplace.
The grand opening will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor at 10:30 a.m. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 120 Bellerose Drive.
For more information check out the business’ Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/italianbakerysmercato/.
Starbucks closing for bias training
On June 11 all Starbucks stores in St. Albert will join 1,095 company-owned locations across Canada for an afternoon of training about bias. The training session follows similar ones that recently happened in the United States.8,000 U.S.-division Starbucks closed for an afternoon on May 29, following an incident at one of its locations.
“On Monday, June 11, 2018, we will close all our company-operated stores and offices across Canada for a portion of the afternoon, for partners to participate in a training session designed to address implicit bias, promote conscious inclusion, and ensure everyone inside a Starbucks store feels safe and welcome,” Starbucks Canada said in a statement last month.
On April 12 two black people were arrested while sitting in a Philadelphia Starbucks. The duo didn’t order anything, and said they were waiting for another person.
Hours later they were released from jail and no charges were laid. They have since reached a settlement for a symbolic $1 and a promise from officials to start a youth entrepreneur program for $200,000.
Now that the U.S. based coffee shops have completed unconscious bias training, it’s time for Canadian shops to follow suit.
