Food For Thought: Caffeine & Co., Amherstburg

© Can Stock Photo/Kurhan

FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOOD FOR THOUGHT

THIS ISSUE FEATURES…

Caffeine & Co. Café & Bakery 238 Dalhousie Street, Amherstburg

By David Clark Photos courtesy of Meghan Boschin

Amust-see café and bakery in the small, but quaint town of Amherstburg is located in one of the most desired historical blocks on the Detroit River, in the former (1874 to 2012) Amherstburg Echo newspaper building.

In particular, this gem, Caffeine & Co. (opened August 15, 2018) is surrounded by the King’s Navy Yard Park, a true window on Amherstburg.

Inside is a beautiful and inviting café with an upbeat atmosphere. People come from all over to witness the history of the area and what it has to offer today.

The décor of the café is a collaboration between owners and operators, Meghan Boschin and Marianella Pacanins, who both enjoy mixing traditional and whimsical details with a little edge.

Brass details, combined with black patent leather, contemporary art and the show-stopper — a beloved pink cherry blossom tree — make it an Instagram photo op hot spot!

“We believed this café/bakery concept would thrive in this location because of the beautiful, walkable surroundings,” explains Boschin. “There was nothing else like it in Amherstburg or all of Essex County entirely. Beautiful atmosphere, beautiful food and beautiful people!”

When you explore the menu options, you will always find something interesting and exciting.

From the start, the breakfast choices offer several favourites, including the famed Avocado Toast.

Served on multigrain toast with sliced tomatoes, avocado and sprouts, and finished with truffle oil, it has become the stand-alone champion at Caffeine & Co. Additionally you can add a poached egg, bacon, or smoked salmon.

According to Boschin: “Our Avocado Toast is the best I’ve ever tried, anywhere, ever. True story!”

Two runner-up meals include the Breakfast Sandwich (egg, cheddar cheese and bacon, grilled Panini style) and the Sunrise Bagel (smoked salmon, fresh dill, cucumber and cream cheese).

When it’s lunchtime, the Paris Sandwich with roasted turkey breast, cranberry relish and Brie cheese on a French baguette, gives you that worldly taste.

To keep you warm on those chilly days the soup of the day is curated by Pacanins who also prepares fresh quiche daily.

Pictured with the chilled citrus juice Mimosa, you can take charge of the day with the Breakfast Sandwich that includes tomato, bacon, cheddar cheese and eggs, grilled Panini style.

Other lunch favourites include the B.L.T., with that classic taste you may be looking for, and the Grown-Up (Gourmet) Grilled Cheese, dosed with three different kinds of cheese (bacon and avocado can be added).

For the kids, the Classic Grilled Cheese and the Willy Wonka Waffles are ideal choices with satisfaction guaranteed and sticky fingers too!

And since baking is their thing, Head Baker Sandi Guadagno and her dedicated crew are responsible for creating every single item showcased, making them from scratch daily.

“Our cakes have become known for their beauty and rich flavour,” says Boschin. “Their beautiful packaging makes them a must have for any occasion. They are offered in two sizes, 12 piece (large) or six piece (small). Another best selling baked item is the Crème Brûlée Cookie. Also a crowd pleaser are the Custom Sugar Cookies, which make every special occasion a little sweeter.”

The cakes can include Classic Chocolate, Classic Vanilla, Carrot and Coconut with

In all its glory, Caffeine & Co. presents its Quiche Lorraine with Roasted Red Pepper Soup, a blueberry muffin and French Macaroons accompanied by a cup of their House Blend coffee.

specialties offered seasonally. You can also choose fresh baked pastries including cinnamon buns, fritters, muffins, cupcakes, and more. Specialty sweets like French Macaroons and Signature Sugar Cookies are also handcrafted weekly by their baking team.

Of course there is always something brewing at Caffeine & Co.!

With multiple layers to get through, this Classic Chocolate Cake is featured with a strawberry butter cream frosting known for its rich and exotic flavour.

The coffee is roasted locally at Colonial Coffee and the House Blend features beans from Columbia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Known as a Mocha Java Style Blend, it offers a universal flavour that goes with everything sweet and savoury.

The Dark Roast is a Columbian bean, French roasted and the New Blend is in the middle as a sharp, delicate cup that goes well with dessert.

The Espresso bean is minus the bitterness normally found in this drink and it goes without saying that flavoured Lattes such as the London Fog Tea Latte and Chai Lattes are best sellers too. Not to mention their Mimosas are always a fan favourite on the weekends!

To spike your coffee, try Baileys, RumChata or Sambuca. You may even find a Dirty Chai Martini floating around on occasion.

The loose leaf green, black and decaffeinated teas are also a popular choice, with the Cucumber Melon Green (a summer feature), while the Decaf Royal Wedding Rooibos Tea is enjoyed all year long. Some teas are sold retail as well.

The wine is sourced right from Essex County like many other products at the café. Wines from Pelee Island Estate Winery are featured, such as a Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon and Prosecco from their Lola Collection.

Staring down at this mountain of cheese, the GrownUp Grilled Cheese is a combination of Brie, Swiss and Cheddar, melted between multigrain bread and slathered with butter.

Some of the other local top rated businesses they partner with include The Iron Kettle and Silverstein’s Produce.

Although you can visit the café in person, Caffeine & Co. can deliver in special circumstances and for large orders, upon request. Takeout is a great option too as their goodies travel well wherever they go!

“At this time we offer online ordering via Instagram and will be expanding that through our website soon,” Boschin indicates.

If you require catering for your special event, large orders can be accommodated, but the café does not host events on site. For more information and catering inquiries please contact the business directly.

“Caffeine & Co. is always striving to create new and exciting menu items,” says Boschin.” “We may consider an expansion in the future, but our focus from the beginning has been to make this the best little bake shop it can possibly be!”

And we can assure you, that goal has been accomplished!

To keep up to date daily with the café, check out their Instagram page: @Caffeine_Company. For their menu and hours refer to: Caffeine-Co.com.

The Year 2022: A Time Of Bowie-like “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes”

COVER STORY By Joe McParland

After two plus years of pandemic house arrest and varying degrees of restrictions, this year should have residents of Windsor and Essex County emerging from their isolation faster than Wiarton Willie’s prognostication of an early spring after not seeing his shadow!

Do you want change? Then buckle up your seat belts because it is change you will be getting!

However, for change to occur, YOU NEED TO BE the change you want by exercising your civic duty to vote when Ontarians head to the polls twice this year, within months of each other, to change the political landscape provincially and municipally. And, if you wish to change our current situation regarding COVID-19, follow the advice of the science and healthcare specialists.

For residents of Windsor and Essex County, three of this region’s important community care and service organizations are changing their leadership at the highest level — Canadian

Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex

County Branch represented by Dr. Sonja Grbevski; the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County represented by Fred Francis; and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare represented by Bill Marra.

Let’s meet these three individuals now (all pictured on the front cover of this issue) and learn a bit about their past experiences, their qualifications and the strengths they “bring to the table”.

Dr. Sonja Grbevski, The New CEO For The Canadian Mental Health Association,

Windsor-Essex County Branch

Since March 16, 1971, the Canadian

Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex

County Branch (CMHA-WECB) has been the lead provider and advocate of specialized community mental health and addiction services, integrated with comprehensive primary healthcare services, in the area. (Refer to: WindsorEssex.CMHA.ca).

For the past seven years, Claudia den Boer has held the title of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), completing her 30 year career in health care that included the Salvation Army Grace Hospital and executive positions at both Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital.

CMHA-WECB Board of Directors Chair Barb Davis acknowledges den Boer’s 30 years of contributions in the statement: “The Board is grateful to Claudia for her visionary leadership since 2015. She has been a true advocate for the organization. Her well earned reputation, community wide, as a strategic thinker and trusted collaborator has garnered CMHAWECB a higher visibility and leveraged opportunities for partnerships and integrated services to better serve those in our community.”

On April 4, 2022 den Boer officially retires, but to allow for some orientation on March 7, 2022, Dr. Sonja Grbevski commences her new position as CEO of the CMHA-WECB.

Most recently, Dr. Grbevski held the position of Vice President, Clinical Services, Mental Health and Addictions at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Her portfolio consisted of Adult Mental Health and Addictions, as well as Children and Youth Mental Health programs.

With over 25 years of experience in the field of mental health, in both community and hospital settings, she has led significant initiatives within the Windsor Essex community and introduced new levels of service unique to Ontario, such as the Transitional Stability Centre: Crisis and Wellness.

Furthermore, she redefined pathways to care and co-led the implementation of a formal collaborative with the CMHA-WECB, with integrated management positions, to streamline services to develop a barrier free client journey.

With an established symbiotic relationship between Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and CMHA-WECB — a relationship she helped to create — Grbevski is well positioned to hit the ground running. She has been instrumental in the many community partnerships CMHAWECB has established with the City of Windsor, Windsor Police Services and

Dr. Sonja Grbevski, the new incoming Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB) poses outside their 1400 Windsor Avenue location. She brings to this position a strong clinical background and expertise in Mental Health and Addictions in our community. The entire CMHA-WECB team believes she will continue to move the organization forward along the trajectory established over her predecessor’s tenure as CEO. Photo by Rod Denis.

a host of other community organizations and stakeholders.

Grbevski received her doctorate in Counsellor Education with cognates in Rehabilitation Counselling and Educational Psychology, from Wayne State University. And, until recent years, she was an Adjunct Professor in the Rehabilitation Counselling program at Wayne State University.

She begins this latest chapter of her career with these words: “It is with great honour and enthusiasm that I joined the CMHA-WECB family. To be part of a grassroots and high performing organization that is embedded in this community, comes with great responsibility and opportunity to continue with the growth and success of the organization.”

Dr. Grbevski adds: “I look forward to working with the CMHA-WECB team and our community partners, in continuing to strengthen the care for individuals/families that are faced with Mental Health and Addictions.”

With her extensive clinical background and expertise in mental health and addictions in our community, Grbevski will continue an environment that inspires, empowers, and transforms all individuals into a culture that embraces the provision of optimal care.

Fred Francis, The New Executive

Director Of The Multicultural Council Of Windsor And Essex County

Another of this region’s essential community service organizations is the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County (MCC), officially established on April 8, 1973.

This was a result of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeauadopting multiculturalism as the official policy of the Government of Canada in October 1971.

The MCC’s mission is to create a welcoming community for all through education, community engagement and the promotion of diversity and equality. They provide award-winning programming in the areas of: Language, Settlement and Integration, Health and Wellness, Special Events, and Community Engagement. As champions of diversity and

As the new Executive Director of Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County (MCC), Fred Francis will be working from their downtown office at 245 Janette Avenue in Windsor. His engaging leadership in building on the area’s diversity has great meaning for him as his own parents received help when immigrating to Canada. Photo by Rod Denis.

harmony, the Multicultural Council strives to identify and address cultural and societal barriers throughout our city, county and region. (Learn more on: TheMCC.com).

Effective April 1, 2022 Fred Francis becomes the new Executive Director of MCC, replacing Kathleen Thomas who is retiring after a distinguished 30 year career with the agency.

The President of the MCC Board, Allison Johnson acknowledges: “We are grateful for the dedication, compassion, and visionary leadership shown by Kathleen Thomas throughout her three decades with the organization and her commitment to continue supporting MCC through this transition. While we know she will never truly leave the MCC family, we wish her well in her retirement and thank her for the impact she’s made on our community.”

Francis is no stranger to the public, having served as the Ward One City of Windsor Councillor since 2014. Shortly after, he won a second term in 2018, and then made news by publicly disclosing his December 31 diagnosis of cancer.

At 38 years of age, he was battling Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This news was received a little more than four weeks after burying his sister-in-law, Michelle Prince, who was fighting cancer.

He underwent a rigorous 12 sessions of chemotherapy, while only missing three or four council meetings. His courage, tenacity, determination — all hallmark Francis family traits — saw him through this and he remains cancer free today. That courage was never more evident in his willingness to publicly share his experience with cancer so others could learn from his experience.

“Cancer doesn’t discriminate,” says Francis when asked what his number one message to others would be. “It doesn’t care if you just turned 38. It doesn’t care if you just had a death in the family. It doesn’t care about anything. It could hit anybody at anytime.”

Francis is the youngest of three sons to Farid and Arlette Francis, who immigrated to Windsor from Lebanon in the early 1970s.

His father became a self-employed business owner and the three boys spent hours working the family business, Francis Mediterranean Bakery.

He is a graduate of Holy Names Catholic High School in South Windsor. Afterwards, he attended the University of Western Ontario where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (combined honours History/Political Science) in 2003 before returning home to Windsor where he studied at the University of Windsor, earning both a Master of Arts degree (History) in 2006 and a Bachelor of Education degree in 2009.

He started his professional career with the MCC in 2007, before entering the private sector in 2012 (his management experience comes from being the Director of Business Development for the region’s largest automotive retailer). In 2018 he returned to the non-profit organization and served as the Director of Programs and Development.

Regarding his new MCC appointment as Executive Director, Francis reflects: “I have had an amazing team of co-workers and worked at nearly every job at MCC. So, it is a privilege for me to now follow in the footsteps of Kathleen Thomas and build on her 30 year legacy of creating a more welcoming community for all. As I transition into this new role, I look forward to working with MCC staff, volunteers and partners in ensuring initiatives pertaining to diversity and equality remain at the forefront of our community.”

His education and life experiences position Francis as the ideal candidate to lead the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County for years to come.

He wraps up his section, appropriately, with the following: “As a son of immigrants, I believe I bring a wealth of experience and knowledge in settlement and integration, governance, operations, and community engagement, as well as a dedication to the promotion of diversity and inclusion.”

Bill Marra, The New President And

CEO Of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare

Tucked away in the city’s far west end is a large hospital campus whose service to the community dates back to 1888.

Today’s campus is the result of a series of medical care realignments and mergers over the years. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) employs 1,300 employees and has over 313 beds. As the regional provider of post-acute care services in Windsor Essex, it includes all programs and services such as complex medical/ palliative care, regional rehabilitation, cardiac wellness, bariatric services, specialized mental health and addictions, and children’s mental health. (View: HDGH.org for further details)

In November 2021, Janice Kaffer, then the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDGH — notified the HDGH Board of Directors of her intention to retire after 30 years in the healthcare field — including her last seven years as CEO at HDGH.

Brian Payne, Chair of the HDGH Board, in paying tribute to Kaffer, states: “Janice is the epitome of a true leader. Janice has been an advocate, a voice for social justice, and she has never shied away from standing up for our community’s most vulnerable. Her commitment to the safety of our patients, our staff, physicians, and visitors through this COVID-19 pandemic has been paramount. She has led our organization through unchartered waters and done it steadfastly with a calm resilience that has been reassuring to us all. Janice’s ability to connect with staff, patients, and our community is to be commended.”

While this transition was anticipated no later than March 31, 2022, the HDGH Board of Directors made the decision to advance the planned transition to January 1, 2022.

Bill Marra is now President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH). Through an open door and determined focus to upload the key values of their organization, there is immense confidence in the leadership HDGH will receive from Marra going forward. He is pictured inside the lobby of the facility at 1453 Prince Road in Windsor. Photo by Rod Denis.

As a result, Bill Marra, who has worked alongside Kaffer for the past seven years, took over as the new President and CEO of HGDH.

Throughout the coming months, Kaffer will continue to support Marra and the HDGH Board of Directors in an advisory capacity.

Readers will know Marra through his successful six terms and 21 years on Windsor City Council, which he ended in 2018.

In addition to his work on council, Marra has a lengthy list of community volunteerism and an even longer list of awards and recognition.

Marra is a 1984 graduate of W. D. Lowe High School with postsecondary stops at the University of Windsor to obtain Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Sociology and Criminology.

During the 1990s he received the designation of a Certified Dispute Resolution Mediator through a joint University of Windsor and York University program, and then earned his Masters Certificate in Public Management from The Schulich School of Business at York University. And in 2019 he received executive certification in Advanced Health Leadership through the University of Toronto’s Rotman

School of Management.

With a solid educational foundation in criminology, Marra worked for 23 years in the Criminal Justice and Social Services Sector. He was a Youth Counsellor and a Probationary Parole Officer with the Ministry of Correctional Services.

In 1999 he was named the Executive Director of New Beginnings (a centre for children and youth services; NewBeginningsWindsor.com). After 14 successful years with them, Marra embarked upon a career change and in 2011, was appointed President and Executive Director of the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital Foundation, the charitable fundraising arm of the hospital. Within two years he joined the executive cadre of HDGH and held the position of Vice President of People, Mission, Communications and Corporate Affairs at the time of his appointment as President and CEO.

“I feel humbled and honoured to be offered this tremendous opportunity to work with and lead an organization that I care for very deeply,” says Marra. “As I reflect on my time as an employee with HDGH in my teens, as a board member 20 years ago, and now in the role that I have accepted, I feel absolutely blessed and I look forward to working with our entire HDGH and our partners across Windsor Essex as we continue the legacy and mission of our founders!”

One of the first major tasks Marra finds himself immersed in, is with HDGH’s participation in the Stage Two Planning of the New Acute Care Hospital (The WindsorEssex Hospitals System) being built on County Road 42 at Concession 9.

A critical part of the total makeover of the community’s healthcare system is the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence for Mental Health and Addiction Care at HDGH on Prince Road. This will include the transfer of Windsor Regional’s 68 acute-care mental-health beds and the addition of 49 new tertiary beds added to the HDGH inventory.

Marra has been with HDGH for over 10 years and his commitment to the hospital’s mission and vision, as well as to the Windsor Essex community, is one of his greatest strengths.

A Windsorite through and through, Marra (born in Switzerland, he immigrated to Canada with his Italian parents when he was three years old) has built his career and raised his family here in this community and he knows it well. He has been a member of the executive team for seven years and played a vital role in assisting with the hospital’s COVID-19 response.

This immediate appointment of Marra as HDGH’s President and CEO will allow the work of HDGH to continue uninterrupted.

The Future Is In Good Hands

To Dr. Sonja Grbevski, Fred Francis and Bill Marra, all of us at Biz X magazine congratulate each of you on your 2022 appointments at three of our most important community care and service organizations.

We also thank your respective predecessors: Claudia den Boer, Kathleen Thomas, and Janice Kaffer for their years of professional and committed service and for their tireless “changes” and contributions to the organizations they now entrust to you.

We know you will do a great job of looking after the well-being of all residents in our region, always!