Food Roundup
Aug. 25, 2026

Openings

• Valleyview IGA has reopened at 142 Street and 91 Avenue in the Parkview neighbourhood of west Edmonton. The store replaces the short-lived premium grocer L'OCA Quality Market, which closed both of its locations in March, and fills a space that Andy's IGA held for nearly six decades before owner Andy Taschuk retired in 2024. The new store has hired about 45 to 50 staff, some of them former L'OCA employees.
• Fargos has opened a second location, at 11998 109A Avenue NW. A grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 4.
• Sip Soda Co.'s fourth location in the Edmonton region is now open at 10512 82 Avenue NW.
• Kindling, a new food truck offering artisan pizza, launched at Hawrelak Park.
• MSSM will open a sister restaurant called Yori.
• Calgary's Lil E Coffee Cafe will open an Edmonton outpost at 10104 103 Avenue NW in HSBC Bank Place. The company employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Headlines

• The Globe and Mail profiled Aliya's Foods, the frozen-foods manufacturer behind the Chef Bombay brand. Chief operating officer Khadija Jiwani, who joined the family business founded by her parents in 1999, has helped grow the brand to more than 7,000 stores across Canada and the United States, with a new Mexican-American product line launching this fall. But it wasn't an easy start. "Letting go, whether the succession is to another family member or to a hired CEO, can be very, very difficult on an emotional level for the founder," said Jiwani.
• Ramneek Singh's stage version of his Butter Chicken Odyssey review series was selected as one of Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival's holdover shows after its sell-out run. The shows on Aug. 28 and 29 are already gone. "I managed to snag tickets to (Singh's) Saturday performance just before they sold out," Mayor Andrew Knack posted. "I can't wait!"
• Daily Hive rounded up restaurant patios in Edmonton to visit before summer ends, highlighting spots such as Campio Brewing Co. and the newly opened Rooftop by Boxer on top of the Crawford Building in Old Strathcona. The blog also featured five cafés with standout atmosphere, including Felice Cafe and Boxcar Coffee Shop.
• The Ark Cafe, a northside café known for its storybook 2D interior design, has sold to new owners. "While this chapter is coming to an end, we are incredibly grateful for everything Ark Cafe has meant to us and excited to see what the future holds for this special place," the current owners wrote.
• Calgary-based startup League Nutrition Labs partnered with the NAIT Centre for Culinary Innovation to develop Hydrate+Go, a sports drink formulated for youth athletes rather than adults. Unlike conventional sports drinks, it contains no artificial sweeteners, caffeine, or dyes, and is calibrated to youth physiology. The product is now available in about 15 Alberta stores and online.
• Edify explored gochujang as a kitchen ingredient. Alex Kim — a NAIT culinary arts graduate who served as the 2026 Hokanson Chef in Residence and cooked at Ernest's discussed how the fermented Korean chili paste can be used beyond traditional dishes to add complex sweet, spicy, and umami flavour to everything from shellfish bisque to duck sauces.
• Edmonton Public Library chef Zofia Trebaczkiwicz shared a recipe for a raspberry-based soup with The Tomato. It includes beets and is based on Polish traditions.
• Alberta health authorities issued an alert about a possible hepatitis A exposure at Roasti Coffee Co. on Brentwood Boulevard in Sherwood Park. Those who consumed food or drink at the location on Aug. 4 or Aug. 13 between 8am and 4pm may be eligible for a post-exposure vaccine and are asked to call Health Link at 811.
• This year's weather has been kind to some Alberta farmers but catastrophic for others. "We must have prayed too hard, and we got a little too much moisture," Dwayne Kalinski of Bonnyville told CBC. By mid-August, the insurance company had written off 10% of his crops, and he expects it to get worse. "There's going to be close to 20% of the crop gone right off the top. So yeah, it's pretty, pretty devastating."
• Liquor and cannabis retailer SNDL — which operates Wine and Beyond, Liquor Depot, and Ace Liquor stores — reported nearly $8 million in losses for its second quarter, with revenue down 3.7% to $235.8 million. Bali Toor of Mission Liquor Mart in St. Albert said his sales have dropped significantly, partly due to cost-of-living pressures leaving customers with less to spend on alcohol.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• Aug. 25: Growing Herbs and Cut Flowers for Insects, Health and Delight starting at 6:30pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Aug. 25: Trivia Night starting at 7pm at The Pizza Spot (West Edmonton Mall)
• Aug. 26: Tree Health with Emily Neis starting at 5:30pm at McCauley Community Orchard
• Aug. 26: FalconFest starting at 6:30pm at Bin 104
• Aug. 28-30: Ignite Market at Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Terwillegar
• Aug. 28: Diner en Blanc starting at 5pm
• Aug. 28: Poulet & Cuvée starting at 5pm at The Marc
• Aug. 28: Dragon Food Tour: Peking Duck starting at 6:30pm at 97 Hotpot 涮涮鍋
• Aug. 29: Capilano Apple Cider Event: Press Fresh Cider starting at 11am at Capilano Community Hall
• Aug. 29: Jerk & Jollof starting at 1pm at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park
• Aug. 29: Chinatown After Dark starting at 6pm at 10640 98 Street

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Sept. 13: Savour Strathcona at Strathcona County Community Centre
• Sept. 17: Harvest Dinner at The Old Red Barn
• Sept. 19: Wholly Handmade Art Fest at Strathcona Community Centre and County Hall

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.