Food For Thought: Ten Friends Diner, Wyandotte East At Moy Avenue, Serves Up Good Grub And An Even Better Operation

Approaching the restaurant near the Olde Walkerville area, the Ten Friends Diner (TenFriendsDiner.org) greets you with two smiling faces on the facade, a welcome to a happy place.

According to Carolyn Burton, Manager, “Founded in 1993 in a previous location, Ten Friends Diner (TFD) has always been a nonprofit organization and a community-based project that offers aid to people who suffer with mental health setbacks by helping them through specialized employment training programs at the restaurant.”

Carolyn is involved in all aspects of operating the diner, including financial, programming and even, cooking. In fact, she does such a great job that customers nominated her for a Biz X Award in the “2019 Powerhouse Professional” category. Additionally, her husband Michael Burton is a manager who assists with cooking and waiting on tables.

So what makes this restaurant unique from others? All of the staff have mental health setbacks and TFD provides a healthy environment that encourages intermingling with the public, while promoting teamwork at the diner. Learning a skill is also helpful as is the supportive employment opportunity.

Upbeat and colourful, the diner can accommodate 95. You will immediately notice the superior customer service — they always aim to please at TFD. In total there are 30 “peers” as they say, at the diner.

“The peers can receive counselling and help with difficulties in a real world environment,” says Katherine White, Peer Leader. “Also, our training program here helps to support clients who have suffered previously with mental health difficulties or do now.”

The awesome food at TFD keeps the customers coming back for more with a loaded

Ten Friends Diner 1412 Wyandotte Street East, Windsor Story And Photos By David Clark THIS ISSUE FEATURES . . .

menu featuring breakfast and lunch selections. At breakfast time (or even later) diners have several choices.

The Breakfast Special reigns supreme and comes with two eggs; two pancakes; ham, bacon or sausage; and toast. The Sunrise Double comes with all that’s in the Breakfast Special without the pancakes, but with home fries.

You can also choose an omelette from the “Omelette Factory” with an exciting list of toppings to pick from.

For heartier fare, look at the lunch favourite Clubhouse sandwich with an option of doing it in a wrap. An appetite buster!

The classic Hamburger has à la carte choices with a six ounce patty and all the toppings. How about another popular lunch special, the Crispy Chicken Wrap with four sauces to choose from?

Ashley George (Cook) displays the popular Breakfast Special, a menu item that satisfies hungry customers with its large portions and great price.

Under the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit “Meet Smart” program (WECHU.org/ meetsmart), TFD’s menu items promote healthier choices such as two eggs with toast and fruit, the two-egg Veggie Omelette and a Whole Wheat Turkey and Veggie Wrap with a side salad and seasonal fruit. Other healthy choices include Oatmeal and Grilled Chicken Garden Salad. TFD also has a kids menu.

TFD has their own large community garden located off McDougall that not only supplies the

The highly stacked Clubhouse Sandwich with fries and coleslaw entices Peer Leader Katherine White to dig in!

restaurant with herbs and vegetables, but also donates produce to charitable organizations like Street Help. The diner will use almost all locally sourced food products as well — supporting local businesses when they can.

A highly acclaimed and active catering business, TFD provides veggie and fruit platters, wraps and cookies and more. The diner can serve up to 200 and offers customizable menus. New and onsite is Café 10, serving you after hours till 8:30 p.m. A good place to mingle and chat with friends and family and a safe environment for people with an illness.

Regarding the peers, it is a slow and steady process to end the stigma in and around the community, but TFD is working towards it.

“At Ten Friends Diner we foster self-esteem, self-confidence and they encourage us to come out of our comfort zone — a true recipe for success!” explains waitress Melissa Rei. For more information about this special eatery, including hours and the latest news, check: Facebook.com/TenFriendsDiner.

Local business owner Jordynne Ropat’s goal is to “Plant Joy” in the hearts of her customers, one bite at a time, through her delicious vegan (no dairy or egg) doughnuts. Plant Joy, located at 5622 Wyandotte Street East in Windsor, was created in March 2018 when Ropat had the idea to provide plant based comfort food. A month later, she made her first doughnut.

“I began bringing doughnuts to markets and local pop-up events and realized this was something Windsor was missing,” she explains. “I spent a year attending pop-ups and selling my doughnuts wholesale, and in May of 2019, I opened our storefront in Olde Riverside.” Plant Joy makes gourmet vegan doughnuts with high-quality fair-trade and organic ingredients. More than a dozen innovative and delicious flavours are offered.

“Cinnamon sugar, of course, is a classic, and cookies ‘n’ creme is one of our everyday best sellers,” Ropat states. “And we make our vanilla frosting and chocolate cookies from scratch — nothing from a box!”

“Plant Joy” has a number of meanings. One is pretty obvious — plant-based joy.

“Doughnuts can be a source of joy,” she believes. “They have a way of allowing us to feel like a kid again; they are a comforting, fun, delicious treat.”

And the business gives back to the community as well, frequently donating gift cards and doughnuts to local charities and fundraising events.

“We recently donated doughnut holes to a charity event for the Australian Red Cross which raised more than $5,000 and we were asked to provide 600 mini doughnuts to the ‘Do Good Divas’ most recent event,” Ropat reports. “Additionally, any doughnuts at the end of the day are donated to community organizations, such as the Windsor Youth Centre, The Hospice and Windsor and Essex County, Street Help, The Downtown Mission of Windsor and The Welcome Centre for Women and Families.” The great thing about the doughnuts at Plant Joy is that they are a treat many people can enjoy, even if they have dietary restrictions or allergies (to see a menu of choices visit: PlantJoy.ca).

“Our doughnuts are also a favourite for people who care about the ingredients that go into their food,” she adds. “We use more than 90 percent organic ingredients and prioritize fair-trade ingredients as well, which means the workers who farmed the ingredients — such as organic raw cane sugar — were paid a fair wage.”

She and her staff often serve young families — many of whom have children with dairy and egg allergies — and they serve many vegans and people that eat a solely or mostly plant-based diet. It had always been Ropat’s goal to provide a high-quality plant-based dessert option that leaves people feeling satisfied.

“A common misconception about vegan food is that it has to be bland and tasteless,” she describes. “We are frequently told that our doughnuts are better than traditional doughnuts made with dairy and eggs, so vegans and non-vegans alike can enjoy a plant-based treat and don’t feel like they’re ‘missing out.’”

Ropat expresses that she loves being a woman in business.

“I think that female entrepreneurs are sometimes underestimated or taken less seriously, but fortunately that has not been my experience in Windsor’s small business community,” Ropat comments. “I believe in surrounding myself with people who also have big goals and love serving others, and I have been fortunate enough to receive advice and mentorship from many other women in business, local and otherwise. I see my position as a woman in business as an opportunity to help other women achieve their goals and show little girls what is possible if they follow their heart.”

Ropat tries to deliberately carve out time that is solely her own in order to balance work and home life.

“Usually, for me that is working out, whether it is spin class, yoga, or boxing,” she lists. “As a business owner, you can always find more work to do — whether you should or not — and sometimes it is a challenge to turn off my ‘business brain’ and rest. So I find that an hour-long workout class is really helpful for getting myself out of my head and taking time to focus on me.” XX FILES Story And Photo By Ujjwal Sharma JORDYNNE ROPAT Baking Up Joy With Plant Based Doughnuts Jordynne Ropat holds up a colourful selection of freshly baked doughnuts at her Olde Riverside business, Plant Joy.

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