This month, during our continuing Local Sask spotlight, we got to see some more great local, Saskatchewan-based businesses.
Our first visit was to Dessart Sweets Ice Cream & Candy Store. If you haven’t been to Dessart Sweets yet, you are missing out on a Regina staple. Dessart Sweets opened in 2002 and has been one of the favourite places of Regina residents to get their ice cream and speciality candy fix.
We stopped in early as Dessart Sweets opened and it was immediately busy; a testament to how much of a favourite this business is in the community! Shelley, the owner, gave us a tour of the candy.
Dessart Sweets creates decade-themed candy packages. We picked up a 90s candy package and Chubby sodas as a throwback.
Did you know that Dessart Sweets gets their gluten-free ice cream cones from Old Fashion Foods? On top of being mindful of gluten intolerances, Dessart Sweet has vegan ice cream options. So, if you’re looking for a vegan-friendly summer treat, Dessart Sweets is the place for you. Additionally, Dessart Sweets sells Pride-themed merchandise where the proceeds go towards supporting Lulu’s Lodge, a transitional home for 2SLBGTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. Look for Dessart Sweet’s Pride flag candy platters or limited edition t-shirts.
We headed outside of Regina again this month to visit Jane Dough’s Bakehouse and Coffee Company in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. Jane and the staff at Jane Dough’s Bakehouse and Coffee Company make sure their ovens are fired up and baking away to make sure their customers get amazing, fresh-baked goods every day.
You can stop into Jane Dough’s for your morning coffee and breakfast, but there are also some great lunch options and other baked goods to treat yourself.
Jane, the owner, opened Jane Dough’s in February, 2020, right before the pandemic hit. While this could have been a disastrous time for a new business, the push to keep supporting local helped keep Jane Dough’s Bakehouse and Coffee Company going strong. To give back to the community, Jane Dough’s stays active by supporting as many local endeavours as they can. You can purchase dog biscuits at Jane Dough’s with the proceeds going towards helping fund a new dog park in Lumsden. This past Christmas, Jane Dough’s stayed open and fed anyone who came in for free. Baked goods and food that do not get sold but are still good do not go in the trash, volunteers take this food to Regina to distribute to anyone who might be experience food insecurity or homelessness.
While we talked with Jane, many customers who were stopping for lunch or simply a coffee poked their head in to say hello and chat awhile, which is a testament to the warm atmosphere and great service at Jane Dough’s Bakehouse and Coffee Company. Customers sitting on the patio had nothing but good things to say about their meals. We asked, and the popular item among customers that day was the sourdough calzone.
Next time you’re on the highway, we suggest making a pit stop at Jane Dough’s Bakehouse and Coffee Company!
We also got the chance to head out to Weyburn, Saskatchewan to drop in at Raw Karma Chocolate. Candice Kievits founded Raw Karma Chocolate while working alongside her mother in her wellness centre. While maintaining her full time career as a salon owner and stylist, Candice created ten healthy & delicious recipes and watched them fly off the shelf at her salon. (www.rawkarmachocolate.com)
Now, Raw Karma Chocolate bars are available in more and more places, including Old Fashion Foods! We polled our staff to see if there were any favourite flavours, and every flavour got a mention as a favourite.
Candice uses raw, organic ingredients in her chocolate flavours, including raw cacao. To maintain the nutritional benefits or the ingredients, none of the ingredients get heated above 117 degrees Fahrenheit during the chocolate-making process. Each chocolate bar is hand-poured by Candice, and once the bars have set and been frozen to harden, they are hand-wrapped. That is why each chocolate bar wrapper might look a bit different from each other, there is no automation in the process! The end result of this process is delicious, smooth, flavourful dark chocolate bars that are sure to delight even if you are not the biggest fan of dark chocolate. Our Marketing Director usually stays away from dark chocolate, but Candice’s creations swayed his opinion and he can’t get enough of Raw Karma Chocolate.
Here is a time-lapse of Candice making a batch of chocolate bars.
We also went to Core Coffee in Regina! Located at 2078 Halifax Street in the Heritage neighbourhood, Core Coffee is run by Tim and Amy Weisgarber, who also own T + A Vintage. Originally located next to the Italian Star Deli, Core Coffee shares the newly expanded space with T + A Vintage.
T + A Vintage came first, it opened about six and a half years ago, where Core Coffee opened around two years ago. Tim and Amy used to share the space in T + A Vintage with other coffee shops, but when the last vendor they shared space with moved to their own venue, they knew they wanted to give running a coffee shop a try. Core Coffee nicely balances with T + A Vintage. It’s nice to get a cold brew and a baked treated after browsing through the vintage clothing, or through the art prints by local artists.
Amy and Tim love the Heritage neighbourhood. They have been in Heritage for years, and when they moved from the old location to the new location on Halifax Street, it was important to stay in the Heritage community.
They run Core Coffee with harm reduction and community in mind: they posted on their Instagram some information for community members and customers outlining that
anyone can come in and cool off or warm up in their location, that they have water for people or pets who might need it, that anyone is welcome to rest at the picnic table on their property, and the number for the Mobile Crisis line.
Caring for the community means that the community will care for them in turn.
Besides great coffee and other drink options, Core Coffee offers gluten free and vegan friendly baked goods that are baked in-house. Core Coffee also carries goods by Saltine Baking Co and Serendipity. We got to try a few treats: a dark chocolate chunk cookie, a jam jam cookie, and a s’more brownie. They got rave reviews by our staff—especially the s’more brownie.
Next time you’re in the Heritage area, stop in at Core Coffee and T + A Vintage. The atmosphere is inviting, the coffee and food are great, and you might find your next favourite piece of clothing!
Lastly, we got to stop in at Kitako Lake Honey once again to see part of the extraction process. The part that we got to see was the pulling, where the beekeepers pull the hives out and start stacking them on a truck for transportation.
The crew at Kitako Lake Honey after pulling two bee yards
The Kitako Lake Honey crew started at 7 am, pulling the frames out of the hives and setting them out. This gives the honey bees a chance to leave the hives and go to flowering fields while the beekeepers do their work. For the bees who do not leave, they get gently escorted out of the hives with a leaf blower. Once all the bees are pushed out of the hives, the hives get stacked on the truck.
The next part of the process is the extraction. Unfortunately, we were not able to stick around until the next day to see the extraction, but Steven promised to get some pictures and video to share, so we will have an update soon!
We have more spotlights lined up for August, so if you want to keep up with our Local Sask spotlight, please follow us on Instagram! We have a highlight on our page and we post our spotlights to the story.
