YYC Princess

Meet Caitlynne Medrek, owner of YYC PRINCESS and chosen as Kefira’s #YYCSpotlight.
“@yycprincess_ adds pure magic and joy to our world, and spreads light to our community where it’s needed the most ♥️ @caitymed is a powerhouse of a woman and self made entrepreneur who deserves the world”

About
YYC PRINCESS has been sprinkling Calgary with magic since 2016. From hospital visits, to corporate events, full length original musicals all the way to large scale events/charities, YYC PRINCESS gives children and adults alike permission to play and imagine with our authentic, luxury princess experiences, all over Calgary and the surrounding areas.

“We thank the universe every day that we get to do what we do. Every face that lights up when they see us stays with us forever. We believe when hugging a child, never let go first - you never know how much they might need it.” Caitlynne Medrek, owner of YYC PRINCESS

Veg-In YYC

Meet Sehra Bindal, owner of Veg-In YYC and chosen as Jared Rotar’s YYC Business spotlight.
“@veginyyc Honestly this Calgary Business is my favourite. Because they genuinely care about the community. They give so much back to Calgary’s communities. They donate food and they spread love and warmth. Family-run restaurant. Always a smile when you walk in and you can tell they really really care about yyc and want to make this city the best place they can. I hope you pick them. They truly deserve it”

About
In 2016, we started with the idea of sharing our best plant-based dishes and family recipes. Fast-forward to 2021, we are proud to say that we have not only become a uniquely delicious vegan restaurant, but also a strong pillar of support for the community!

Creating a menu that uses seasonal ingredients and flavours to emphasize the beauty of vegetables. We are proud that each dish served to you is made fresh to order and packed with interesting flavour combinations!

A true family business working hard to serve you something delicious and from the heart. Blending French-style cooking with Indian flairs, non-traditional cooking methods and presentations.

We put our love into each dish we create. We hope you enjoy all that we have to offer!

Footwork Lab

Meet Jason Sealy, owner of Footwork Lab and chosen as Kimmerli’s YYC Business spotlight.
“It is a complete blessing to have been nominated and a tremendous honour to be under the YYC Spotlight. This is proof that all work that’s been put into training and developing my athletes has been worth the all the blood, sweat and tears. Thank you, I am eternally grateful!”

About
Footwork Lab was established in 2018, after finding a need for movement and agility training in Canadian sports. Footwork Lab is dedicated to developing athletes on the foundation of movement and giving them an opportunity to improve their in-game skills through mentorship and training. As Canada’s only elite footwork training program, we are committed to providing inclusive and accessible training to all athletes, regardless of age, skill or sport. We believe footwork and agility is a beneficial and lifelong skill athletes can have.

BARE ACTIVEWEAR

Meet the Bulldogs. We are Bäre Activewear.

“It means so much to win this local spotlight award. We love our city and we are so proud to be a part of the big YYC family. Thank you to all our customers that nominated us and thank you to Interac, Square and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation for your generosity. We promise to keep providing our customers with the quality and care they have grown to trust from our products while always finding ways to give back to our community along the way. Go Stamps!”

About

As a family owned-Indigenous business it really is all hands on deck! From our first market, to launching our website, now packing orders and setting up photoshoots we have been so lucky to work together while growing our company. Aside from selling amazing activewear Bäre Activewear has also given us the opportunity to collaborate with other BIPOC talent such as models, photographers, consultants and affiliates. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work with these talented individuals and use the Bäre Activewear platform to showcase them and tell their stories.

TESCOR PRODUCTIONS

Meet Steven OgoC, owner of Tescor Productions and chosen as Bambi Duek’s YYC Business spotlight.
“Being part of the Calgary business community gives us more time to express our creativity and passion. The overwhelming support we all have for each other not only brings us closer together as a whole, but also creates a better “YOU” as a person.”

“Thank you to Square, INTERAC and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation. We are extremely honoured and grateful to be under the YYC Spotlight. To be recognized by the community we live and work in. Thank you to all of our clients who nominated us and for your continued support. You guys have been a big part of TESCOR’s Journey, and we will continue to provide what we always do best.”

About
Tescor Productions is a videography and photography team in Calgary. Our collections offer a variety of options from weddings, events, business and real estate. Together we share our creativity in creating the best cinematic memorable videos for our clients and audience.

Butter Block YYC

Meet Karen Kong, owner of Butter Block YYC and chosen as Sze Man Yeung’s YYC Business spotlight.
“Butterblock is a small bakery that dreams big. To know that people have voted for us and love what we do and to feel this type of support is HUGE! Being under the spotlight is definitely something new to us and we are extremely honoured for this feature! The fact that we have been hidden on 17th Ave SW since day one and our croissants are bringing people in from all over the city is SHOCKING to us! Whether it’s baked and served fresh in one of our partner cafes or bought frozen for everyone to bake at home, we want to continue to share more flavoured croissants across Calgary! Thank you to everyone who nominated us and thank you to Square Canada for this spotlight! Dream big and eat croissants”

About
Karen started her education and by day was a student and worked as a line cook at Joey’s Crowfoot as the youngest girl to work their Alforno (Baking) station by night. Developing her skill set further and learning the discipline required to be in the fast paced, high pressure atmosphere of a big kitchen, Karen’s love for a dinner rush was born. Fast forward to post graduation from SAIT’s Baking and Pastry Arts program, Karen established herself as a key component on Teatro’s amazing team of cooks and bakers. She was given the task to lend a hand in the opening of EAT in Eighth Avenue Place and Alforno Bakery in the heart of Calgary’s Eau Claire district. Although the locations were all successful, her passionate flame for baking was dimmed by the restrictions that came with working under rules and preset recipes.

With a handful of bakeries under her belt, it was time for her to explore the fruits of her labour by having the freedom to experiment with different recipes and stamp something as truly her own. Enter Butterblock. Creating an 81 layer croissant along with her delicious cookie recipes powered by the new freedom to explore different laminated dough recipes Karen was able to reignite her passion for what she loves. Baking with no restrictions!

Amborella Flowers

Meet Michelle White, owner of Amborella Flowers.

Supporting local Canadian flower farmers since 2012. We keep it simple, and focus our energy where it matters… The Flowers! Amborella carries a small inventory of hard goods, but we make sure the spotlight is kept on our cut stems and plants. We are always looking for new and unique living products, and through great relationships with trusted growers, do our best to bring in the very best of the current season.

“It is so exciting for us to be in the #yyc spotlight. We’ve just celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year, and this couldn’t have come at a better time.”

About
We keep it simple, and focus our energy where it matters… The Flowers! Amborella carries a small inventory of hard goods, but we make sure the spotlight is kept on our cut stems and plants. We are always looking for new and unique living product, and through great relationships with trusted growers, do our best to bring in the very best of the current season.

DYP Refillery

Meet Brooker Needer, owner of DYP Refillery.

“When I first read our nomination message, my heart was full. It means the world to get nice messages from customers that love our business! Then to find out I won, I couldn’t believe it! This is such an amazing opportunity for our shop! We are honoured to be selected, especially after being nominated by a customer! We strive to offer an excellent customer experience, highlight local brands and educate people on sustainability. Being in the spotlight allows us to get our message out there and educate more people on helping people make the change to a more sustainable and eco-conscious lifestyle.”

About
DYP aims to empower anyone and everyone to make the change to a sustainable lifestyle. By showcasing how we have adapted to embrace eco-conscious living. We hope to inspire and help others do the same. Small changes lead to a big impact and DYP can help you get started and maintain that change into the future.

Rising Tides Taproom

Meet Katie McNeil, owner of Rising Tides Taproom.

“We are honoured to be under the YYC Spotlight. We want to thank all the amazing people that nominated us and shared their experiences at our taproom. We hope this can spread the word for those looking for a safe inclusive space to gather, meet new people and grab a bevy!”

About
Rising Tides was born from a mission to create a safe and inclusive community and participate in progressing the culture of the beer industry in Calgary.

More than just a taproom, Rising Tides is a west coast inspired space designed for people to gather and connect. Guests will sip on local craft beverages, with a focus on amplifying Local, BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+ and women-led operations. Snacking on cheese buns, sandwiches and doughnuts from iconic and innovative Calgary food partners will make each visit to Rising Tides an opportunity to explore the city in our small NW neighbourhood of montgomery.

A central feature is our Giving Wall. Local organizations nominated by our community will be highlighted, with specific times of the day and taps providing guests an opportunity to contribute to the cause that speaks to them the most.

Shiki Menya

Meet Koki Aihara, owner of Shiki Menya.

“A huge thank you for nominating us to be a part of the YYCSpotlight. Huge shout out to all the loyal Shiki Menya fams that’s supported us over the years and continue to support us now. We strive to do our best to contribute innovation and quality to the growing ramen scene in Calgary. Again, thank you for the opportunity. Much love Calgary!”

About
Shiki Menya opened in 2014 serving ramen in Bridgeland with the focus of quality over quantity. In a 1,000 sq ft space, we served a limited 150 bowls of ramen daily from 11:00AM -3:00PM or earlier once all the broth was sold out. Our specialty is the Tonkotsu broth which is pork based and gets boiled for a minimum of 20 hours before serving to achieve the flavourful and rich taste in our ramen bowls. Our ramen noodles are also all made fresh in house.

In the summer of 2020, we moved across the street to a larger space which has allowed us to expand on our menu and to fully do more in house but our concept still remains the same. We still fill our 40 gallon soup pot daily to serve all the hungry ramen heads in Calgary. The Chili Goma Ramen is our original best seller.

We also have a small store attached to the building called First Avenue Corner Store. The access of the store is at the back of Shiki Menya and we serve Japanese sandos (crustless Japanese sandwiches), Japanese curries and more fun snacks that is available for dine in or take out.

Chroma Club

Meet Mackenzie Conrad, owner of Chroma Club.

“We are beyond thankful for all the nominations and reading such kind words from everyone made our hearts want to burst. We just celebrated our one year anniversary and the support we continue to be shown is incredible. A big thank you also to Square, Interac and CSEC for supporting & showcasing us small businesses. We can’t wait to bring even more colour, quirkiness and glitter to YYC.”

About
Tay and Kenzie met at the Comic Expo in 2017 and instantly hit it off over their shared love of pop culture and internet memes. Tay has been a full-time artist under her brand Taytayski for the last eight years and Kenzie created a company called Mustard Tiger as a way to keep her creative side alive while working in the corporate world. A shared working space was something Kenzie and Tay were always daydreaming about and after talking about it for a while they decided to jump at the opportunity and TADA! Chroma Club was born.

The front of Chroma Club is a gift shop owned and operated by Kenzie that is full of quirky, colourful and pop culture focused goodies. Not only will you find products from Taytayski and Mustard Tiger in store, you will also be able to shop goods from a ton of other local small businesses. Kenzie has also curated it with items that you will not find anywhere else in Canada.

The back of Chroma Club is Tay’s private art studio where she creates all of her colourful, glittery creations. Not only is Tay just a painter for the people, she also uses the space to teach people how to paint virtually, processes her worldwide online orders and creates her silly content for the internet.

Amaido Cafe

Meet Melissa Luu, owner of Amaido Cafe.

“A great big thank you to our lovely Amaido Cafe fam for nominating us. We appreciate everyone we’ve met along the way; all our customers, friends, and family who have supported us. We’re so grateful to be chosen and just want to express how much we appreciate it. Thanks for giving us the chance to grow and restart. Cannot wait to see what this year has in store for us.”

About
Not your ordinary cafe Amaido is bringing a sweet flair to Calgary’s Chinatown. We are located on the main street of Centre Street S.E. in 202D. A place to socialize, a common space to interact, unwind, or just kill time. At Amaido we serve coffee, handcrafted drinks, ice cream, mochi donuts and baked goods. Putting a twist on traditional flavours and incorporating unique flavour profiles from our cultures in our products. We try to incorporate new and classic flavours to our donuts and ice cream fit for everyone alike. Our goal is to provide a new experience and introduce flavours that others may never have tried before. Creating a positive food experience through our customer service, through taste and our sweet treats. Orders for next day pickup can be made on our website @ www.amaidocafe.com. Follow us with the latest updates on new drinks, donut flavours and daily stock on Facebook & Instagram @ Amaidocafe.