I Heart Edmonton

The Blue Chair Café is not just the perfect spot for food & drinks, but they also proudly support and recognize everything local By Emil Tiedemann I T was only by chance that I found myself downing whiskey at the Blue Chair Café recently. It was lunchtime and I had been out for a drive because we were finally having some decent Spring weather. Blue Chair Café owner Harold Wollin (photo by Larry Wong, Edmonton Journal) I came across this unassuming building on the corner of 76th Avenue and 96th Street, tagged with subtle signage barely noticeable from the street. One of those signs said Blue Chair Café, which I had heard of but had never been to before. I pulled in. I sat at the bar and ordered a whiskey from the friendly server, who happily answered any questions I had about this unique café on Edmonton's southside. I noticed Edmonton's Alley Kat Brewery draft spouts and asked her if they served any other draft brands. "Nope, just Alley Kat," she ...

I Heart is on the lookout for the Edmonton businesses that are keeping it as local as possible! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN W HEN a large chain shop or restaurant opens a new franchise in town, we don't think much of it. Another McDonald's, another Starbucks, another Subway...they've become a part of our daily routines, always there on every other corner.  YEGified! And because we don't put much thought into it, most of us don't realize that that's just another big-name, usually-American corporation that is about to threaten the ma & pa shops who surround it, and who simply cannot compete with their prices and marketing capacity. If a new Wal-Mart pops up in a certain district, a litter of retail and food chain shops follow, at times displacing the independent eateries and retailers that no longer can afford to stay afloat amongst the conglomerate brands that have come to rule the global marketplace. Some might argue that these places, the Chapters'...