GRAND WALKS Episode 3: Kicking it Through Kipps Lane with Marie Williams

Daniel Bennett

[ethereal background music]

Welcome to the Grand Walks, I'm your host Daniel Bennett. Since the pandemic is preventing us from making theatre at the Grand, we're focusing the spotlight out into the community to learn some more about London locals and their favorite places. Today we're kicking it around Kipps Lane with restauranteur, Marie Williams, who owns Reggae's Caribbean Restaurant specializing in Jamaican food. I can’t wait to dive into the specifics in roti, diversity in London, talk about Swiss Chalet (I still can’t believe what I heard) and share Marie’s love and big heart with you all.

Daniel Bennett and Marie Williams stand outside Reggae's Caribbean Restaurant

By now, hopefully you're standing at the starting place of this Walk, which is right in front of Reggae's, and have had the opportunity to look at the map and directions. Listen for me giving some location markers at every turn. That's how you'll know where you are in relation to us. Feel free to speed, up slow down, or give us a pause if you need to. I'll let you know when it's time to start walking, but for now, take in the sights while listening to Lacie George, costumer at the Grand, who will get us started off with a land acknowledgement.

 

Lacie George

[nature sounds]

Waase’aabinokwe N’dizhnikaaz

Anishnaabe kwe niin daaw

Kikonaang miinwaa Zaagiing doonjibaa

Mzhiikehn Doodem

Maandaawkwe daansan

Jigjigneshiikwe Ooshenyan

Zhaawnannkwadokwe tkobdoonsan

This walk was recorded in London, Ontario, the traditional lands of the Attawandaron (also known as the Neutral) people and territories associated with various treaties of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapewak. Locally, there are three First Nations communities. They are the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Oneida Nation of the Thames and the Munsee Delaware Nation. We would also like to recognize the urban Indigenous urban populations, comprised of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people. We acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we operate, as well as all the sacred waterways.

[swoosh and bell sound]
 

Daniel Bennett

So, what's your favourite thing about London, Ontario.

Marie Williams

My favorite thing about London, Ontario. I love the fact that I get to everywhere in 15 minutes, compared to Mississauga. I love the fact that people love each other. That's rare because in Mississauga, we don't have time to love each other. We don't see each other. But I noticed people get together. I love that. I love that people, you know, they try to experience new things. They travel a lot. So, when somebody goes on a vacation, they'll come back and they'll tell you all about it. Oh my gosh, my first time to Cuba. It was one of my customers who introduced me and said let's go and it was like a double family going to Cuba. So, I like the interaction with people here in London. So, in general, all of Canada kind of looks the same. But London, the people of London, I must say makes London a really nice place to live.

Daniel Bennett and Marie Williams

Daniel Bennett

Ok, well let’s get started walking. We are going to head west down Kipps Lane. Are you happy about having your restaurant in this area of London?

Reggae's Caribbean Restaurant

Marie Williams

I absolutely do. The people of Kipps Lane have welcomed us. Even from the first day we passed, they had us cooking, and I have not regretted it. Kipps Lane, entered last year into a competition where it's Like My Hood. Not sure if you heard about it with, I think it was CBC, on the radio, and Kipps Lane won. And they asked them which restaurant you'd like to represent you, and they chose us and we represented them. So, we love Kipps Lane, we love this area.

Daniel Bennett

And why do you think…so, Kipps Lane loves you?

Marie Williams

Yeah.

Getting started

Daniel Bennett

Why do you think that is?

Marie Williams

I think it's the customer service that we do provide. And we have made it our business to make Kipps Lane feel like family as well. Although we're introducing our culture here, we're also accepting the Kipps Lane culture as well. We're listening, we're learning, and we are you know, we're bonding together.

Daniel Bennett

So, you cook Jamaican food.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

What's your favourite thing to cook?

Marie Williams

My favourite thing to cook, I must say is oxtail. And I have the best oxtail sauce in town.

Daniel Bennett

Can you tell me the secret?

Marie Williams

Never!

Kipps Lane and Barker Street

Daniel Bennett

So let’s turn left here to turn left on Barker St. So, tell me about where you draw your inspiration from--in Jamaica?

Marie Williams

My inspiration comes from the many visits I've had in Jamaica. I've lived, I'm mostly Canadian, although I'm Jamaican descent, but I came here at a very early age, whereas for most people, they would have totally forgotten their culture. But I have visited back a couple of times, and I'm a foodie. So, I've been from parishes to parishes, and I've tasted different cuisines, but from the parish of St. Thomas, where they do the jerks and my husband's also from there, the jerk chicken and all that, it's really authentic and nice. So, I'm saying I draw it from St. Thomas.

Daniel Bennett

Cool. Can you tell me a story from the first day you opened Reggae's?

Marie Williams

Oh, the first day I open Reggae's. The inspectors were in, the fire marshal was in, the health was in, so I said 'okay guys' to my kids, and my husband says we're going to cook and we're going to enjoy this day for us. I had people coming through the door, they going, "we saw the inspectors leave, we want food now." So, we're like "oh no, we didn't cook for..." and they says, "no, no, we've been waiting, you have to give us some of that." So, I start cooking from the first day and didn't stop.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. I love that the community was here waiting for you, waiting and ready.

Marie Williams

Yes. Yes, they are. And they have not disappointed, and not only Kipps Lane, I must say it's all of London.

Daniel Bennett

So we are going to make a soft right here into Ed Blake Park and we are going to take the next 4 minutes to casually stroll by the playground and the splash pad. What's been the hardest part of, uh, the hardest moment at Reggae's?

Entering Ed Blake Park

Marie Williams

The hardest moments. One of the hardest moments was when my customers asked, could we have Red Stripe beer? Yes. And I went for my liquor license, and they came in and they said based on your capacity, you can only have 10 people. So, I think that was one of our hardest hits. Whereas we can’t do alcohol, because we seat 25 now, but with alcohol would be down to 10. You know we sucked that up. We just said you know what, Scores, we know the owner, we said to him, listen, you carry Red Stripe, I'll be sending my customers there. That was fixed.

Daniel Bennett

It was fixed? They have Red Stripe?

Marie Williams

Yeah!

Daniel Bennett

I think I know what I'm doing after this walk. I'm gonna go get a Red Stripe with some goat roti, of course.

Marie Williams

So just a little bit about rotis. So rotis are not originally Jamaican dishes. They're from Trinidad and Tobago. So, Trinidadians do make better rotis than Jamaicans. Yeah, yeah, yeah. However, here, when you have a roti at Reggae's it's done the original way as how it is in Trinidad. We have been asked by Trinidadians to make it for them the original way which has bone in, right? So, roti is normally the roti shell, curried chicken, with potatoes. Some people like chickpeas-- we don't, or curry, you know, curry goat, potatoes and the roti skin. These two, goat and chicken, does have bones in them for the original, homemade roti. And at Reggae's, we do do things as if it's the authentic way from back home, as if you would go to somebody's house, that's how your meal would taste. Right? So that's the difference with the rotis. If you're getting rotis, that's boned out, I would say it's watered down so you're not getting the original way it's supposed to be. There's nothing wrong with that, that's a preference/ choice. But we do it the original way.

Daniel Bennett

And so, like me, you're from Mississauga. And so, what was the biggest thing you noticed moving from Mississauga to London?

Marie Williams

What I noticed was London was more family-oriented. Not saying that Mississauga…we don't have families there, it's just that in London, people found the time to be with their families. And that I loved, coming from super busy. And although I'm still busy here, I adapted how to involve my family into whatever I'm doing.

Daniel Bennett

Have you ever considered opening a Reggae's downtown?

Marie Williams

Well, honestly, I have. I have thought about it. But I've also thought of the fact that Caribbean restaurants normally don't do well within the mix, outside of the mix, because it's more focused towards families, right? While downtown, it's mostly on the faster side or, you know, the, you know, business people going to work and stuff like that. In order … it's not a meal that you could do it on-the-go, you would … you would have to probably be like downtown Toronto, where everybody knows what it is already, for it to work for you. It's ... it's food that you need to take home, savour the tastes, and all this kind of stuff. So, it sounds good that it would be there, it would be good there, but in actuality, no, it wouldn't work.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. So, it's almost like it's too fast-paced downtown for people to truly appreciate the flavours that you're providing.

Marie Williams

That's correct. Mm hmm.

Daniel Bennett

So, you're opening a new restaurant soon.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

Tell me a little bit about where that's going to be?

Marie Williams

Well, that one is going to be in Sarnia, Ontario, 493 Christina Street North. And the irony of that one is it's just outside of downtown. But, the beauty of that one is, it's three minutes to the waterfront. There is like a building and there's a park, so it's, and there's apartment building right next door, right? So, with that one, it does fit into what I was saying before, right? It does give you the time to relax, savour, enjoy the beautiful scenery if you want to go for a walk, the waterfront is right there in Sarnia as well.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. And I love as we pass this splash pad in this park, we talked about Kipps Lane being a family focused community space, and we see that right here.

The splash pad

Marie Williams

Oh yeah.

Daniel Bennett

The families around.

Marie Williams

To be honest with you, when I drive by and I see the kids just, you know, having I'm like, "nobody brought me to the park." You know, I that's the feeling I got. So, it's like, I really love that that section right there.

The playground

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. Yeah, it feels like a gathering place. Almost.

Marie Williams

Yes, I noticed there's a lot of families gathered, and their kids are just playing which is rare to see.

Ed Blake Park

Daniel Bennett

Ok, now we are going to pick up the pace and head towards Huron. So, with Sarnia, so did you look at any other places before landing on Sarnia?

Marie Williams

Oh, my gosh, yes, we were actually petitioned by others cities. Chatham, Kitchener, Windsor, a bunch of cities. There's a lot of customers that we do have that when they come into London, they come and see us, right? So, petitions were made. Watford, you know, little quaint towns all around, "please, we need a Reggae's." Right? So, we took it upon ourselves to visit all these cities, right? And not just going into the cities, we looked at properties for lease and stuff like that. So, when we went to Sarnia, now, there was something homely about Sarnia. My background is also tourism, I must say, I could see what Sarnia has to offer in terms of tourism. And what would be a wonderful window in order to explain, you know, to show our Jamaican culture as well. They have never had a Jamaican restaurant before as well. So, I thought that would be perfect. In Chatham they have one, in Windsor they have two, Sarnia was -- they don't have any -- but it's a nice 45 to an hour drive from London, which is not far. So even my London customers could appreciate certainly, as well.

Daniel Bennett

I love that, because then you can, the customers that are here, when they go to the beach, and they can enjoy your food there. It's so lovely.

Marie Williams

That's correct, that's right. And I need to add this -- every August for Jamaican Independence, we keep a celebration in the parking lot. Some bounce abouts for the kids, and we have, like live entertainment for the adults. So, from between, like 10am to 9pm, it's a family event, showcasing our culture.

Daniel Bennett

And so, is there going to be one? Was there one this year?

Marie Williams

Well, this year, I had to tell a lot of people sorry. But you know, we said if everything's all good, 2021 we're gonna have twice the fun, because we're not only gonna do here in London, we're doing it in Sarnia.

Daniel Bennett

On the same day or different day?

Marie Williams

Different day!

Daniel Bennett

Okay, perfect. You know, you're going to find me at both. Amazing. How did you choose the location for your first restaurant?

Marie Williams

My first restaurant, I actually look through the papers.

Daniel Bennett

Oh, this is someone coming through on their bike.

Bike rack

Marie Williams

I looked at I looked through the papers, and then I was saying it's a lot. A couple of friends said, you know, we're gonna do a restaurant, I'm looking for spots. And one of them said, "You know, I know this lady. She's, you know, her mom's not doing so well. And she's gonna pack up her restaurant. And you know, she might be selling." I said well, and I went and I met with her, and she, had a change of heart, she says, “oh, we're not selling.” But then like in two weeks I saw it in the mail, in the paper, and I called—a beautiful lady, I remember her name, Anna, she's Polish, and I said, "I would like to rent your spot." She goes "what do you know about restaurants?" I said, "can I come and tell you?" And I went and I said, “listen, my husband's family has had restaurants, mine has had shops, know nothing about it, but I do have a business diploma, and I love food, and I'll pay your rent.” And she's goes, "it's a lot." I said "I'm gonna try," and she said "I'll give you the chance." And that's how I got my first spot.

Daniel Bennett

Amazing. And what do you think it was about you that she took that chance on you?

Marie Williams

Well, I think it would be the fact that I had everything laid out to the tee exactly how I was gonna pay her bill.

Daniel Bennett

She knew the cheque was coming in at the end of the day.

Marie Williams

Yeah, she knew the cheque, she knew with my personality, I'd probably get somebody to buy my food.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. What's the scariest part about owning a restaurant for you?

Marie and Daniel walking past a water feature in the park

Marie Williams

Well, the scariest part was the beginning, the first couple of years is when you dump all that money in and you're not seeing it, coming back and all that. But then I've learned, and it takes years to know this, I've learned over the years, your ups and your downs seasons. And you have to know exactly when, you have to throw things out, that's a part of it. It's the core job in every job. There's losses, right? And I've learned that, so I am comfy with my up/down seasons, and you know, I'm comfy going through even with this pandemic, where everybody said, "you're crazy opening up!" No, it must end. Yes, I'm taking the losses right now, but you have to be optimistic. Because if we all did that, nobody would have jobs.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. That's, and that's really important that we're in a place where people need jobs, and people still need to eat, so why not take that risk right now, right?

Marie Williams

Exactly.

Daniel Bennett

You're creating jobs, feeding people. It's amazing.

Marie Williams

I know, because the money in the bank is not gonna grow, it's not doing anything. But do something, I know, you might be losing a little, right, but long term, if that's your love, and if that's your goal, long term, you might get a reward from it.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, you obviously first opened the kind of sit down and take out business. Then there's kind of the influx recently, of the delivery economy. How is switching to platforms like Uber or Skip the Dishes or things like that?

Marie Williams

Well, we at Reggae's have always had the delivery platforms. We have had, we currently have three. We have our own ReggaesCaribbeanLondon.com, Skip, and Uber, but we're used to it. So, when everybody was screaming, "ah they're taking 30%!" I'm like, "oh, you don't want to know, they've been taking 30%." But, people have jobs, right? Think about the food you're gonna throw away, then you won't, it won't feel so bad when you know they're taking 30% because that 30% could have been in the garbage. Somebody got paid. So, I don't mind it.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, that's a great way to look at it. So, what area of the city do you live in?

Marie Williams

I live at Hyde Park and Fanshawe.

Daniel Bennett

And how did you find your way up there?

Marie Williams

I lived in the south end first, right. And I said to my husband, “I don't like these floors. Can I get them black?” You know, those nice black ones when you go into Home Depot, and he says "well, our anniversary is coming," he says, "okay, I could do that for you." Okay, so he says, “I'm going to move some of the furniture out to my friend's place." So, I'm like, "okay, moving the furniture to your friend's but I'm getting my black wood floor?" Anyways, I noticed my stuff’s gone. I'm down to my one room now and stuff, and he goes, "oh, I never invited you to my friend's place did I?" I go, "no but I don't care. I'm getting my black floor." So, he invited me right around my anniversary time, and when I got there he was… I said "why are you opening the people's door?" He goes "I'm not opening the people's door. This is our house." I'm like, "are you kidding me?" He says "no, this is your house. Go in and it does have the black floors." That's how I ended up there.

Daniel Bennett

So sweet. So, you started your career as a nurse and then you've moved into the food, the food industry? How did you come to make that switch?

Marie Williams

Well, my philosophy is this. Along life's road there's a bunch of stuff that you want to do, but then you have to, you have to do what your friends say; you have to go to school, you have to be, you know, what's gonna put the bread on your table. But then you also have to find yourself, right, what you love, and what you really want to do. The first thing I went to college for was Travel and Tourism with a hospitality major. So that's what I loved, and I did work at Pearson for a couple years. I really loved that, but as the industry grew then, you know, ups and down, and then you're looking at, oh, I need to do something with my hands, you go into nursing, you know. The same clock's going, so you're not feeling that pressure. And then you're like, "yes, I really love people. I really love the care of people. But this is not the real side I really wanted." So, I have to go back to hospitality, which is my first love. Right? So that's all my strategy.

Another view of the neighbourhood park.

Daniel Bennett

Let’s turn right here onto Huron. Amazing. So, I'm from the Grand Theatre, downtown London. Have you ever been?

Marie Williams

I have never been to be honest with you. But I've heard, I have a friend, her name's Nanette, she's always she loves theatre. She's always telling what’s happening at the theatre--she goes to the theatre, I've never been. It's on my to-do list when I get out the kitchen one of these days.

Daniel Bennett

I know I used to work in service myself, so I know that I know the hours can be grueling.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

Is there a specific barrier that's prevented you from going to the theatre?

Marie Williams

Ah, time.

Daniel Bennett

Time.

Marie Williams

Because when I have that time, it's not necessarily everybody's time, right? And everywhere I go, I'm literally late. Or, I remember, a couple months ago, the Marley's came to town to play. And they're like, you guys, you know, you guys got to come. But I was feeding them. And I'm like, how am I going to do that? And I went home, and I said to my husband, you know what, even for an hour? And we went, and we had a lovely time, and they're like, you should I said, it sounds lovely, but my time and the circular time is off. Because I am in service. I am here to serve, YOU. You know? So, I can't just say, you know what, this Saturday, I'm gonna go to the theatre. And what does my customer say? "Where've you been?"

Daniel Bennett

We’re gonna turn right here on to Gatewood Road. Yeah, exactly. It's hard to make time when, because you needed to work when everyone else is off.

Marie Williams

All the stat holidays, even this weekend, I will be in Sarnia, we're working. I remember going to the concert downtown. What's it called that concert where Snoop was at last year? It's a big concert, I forgot the name. And when I walked in, on the Saturday, because I closed an hour early, just to go, everybody's like, "so when this is finished, where am I gonna get jerk chicken?" I'm like, "oh, my goodness, but I'm here," and they were like "we didn't give you time off." But I must say, I have fabulous customers, because when it gets to October, everybody says to us, it's time to take your vacation.

Daniel Bennett

That's so sweet.

Marie Williams

Yes, they come in and they say, "aren't you going now?" They give me one week. I go to Cuba, Jamaica, or Florida for that one week, and they'll buy food and stock up for that, for when we're gonna go. And they says, "Oh, we starved while you left, but you're rested? Don't do that again."

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. There's your week. When you get back, please cook for us. I love these sunflowers here. They're super, super cute. And so, you know, coming from Mississauga, something I noticed was, you know, Mississauga is about 50% diverse population compared to London, which is less so. How has that impacted you, your family, or your business at all?

Sunflowers in the Kipps and Carling neighbourhood

Marie and Daniel stand in front of a patch of sunflowers

Marie Williams

Actually, no, and I thought it would. I thought I would have had a hard time, you know, telling people about my culture or, you know, I wonder if they would accept us. But I found that when I came to London, people were accepting. At first, they're like, a bit skeptical. You know, I found some people stared a lot, but then after speaking with people, I noticed that it's not per se that, you know, they're scared of you or anything, it's just that they didn't understand your culture. So, I thought that was my job to actually, to let people know my culture. It's not your skin culture, it’s not your skin colour. It's all about, it's your…I think people are scared of cultures.

Daniel Bennett

We’re going to turn right on to Delphi Road ... Del-fi Road. I dunno. Mm hmm. So. I've been I've been talking a lot about visibility recently, and you know, when I'm walking downtown or in Wortley, or Old North, I find I feel visible as a Black man in London, Ontario. And then as I kind of move outside of the downtown core, I feel less visible.

Marie and Daniel

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

Do you have any thoughts on visibility and culture in terms, of in terms of London?

Marie Williams

In London, when I just got here, I noticed that, a little, right.? But then it's how you position your mind. Am I looking for that? Because if you're looking for something, you'll find it, right? So, I'm not looking for it, so I'm not seeing it. Not seeing the visible things that might be there. Cuz I'm not gonna say it might not be there, and it probably is, but I'm not looking for that. And most of the time, I'm interacting with anybody, it's like, you're a person, I'm a person, so I'm not seeing, you know, any divide.

Daniel Bennett

And so, you're, you're teaching people about culture through food.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

How do you introduce people to that?

Marie Williams

Well, the first thing I do when you come in, and you say, "oh, I've never tried this before," I ask you, "do you like pepper? Do you like spicy? Do you like how it tastes? Do you like your food?" Well, some would say, you know what, I love pepper. So, then I start, I said, you know what, there's jerk chicken, and then there's jerk beef, because those are very spicy, but they have flavour. But if you told me, no, I can't do spices, I says, well, there's fried chicken, there's curry chicken. And if you're up for it, there's oxtail, and goat. So, with that, you could add pepper or you could take away, you know, you get into their mind's eye, you give them something to try, and you say, next time you try another dish until you get your feel as to what you really love.

Daniel Bennett

Mm hmm. So, I love that it's kind of like an individualized approach to, exploring culture through food.

Marie Williams

That's right. That's right.

Daniel Bennett

What do you do to stay active in your community here?

Marie Williams

You know, what? I have tried to get out, I haven't been able to. But what I've done, for example, if churches are having their events, there's a couple of churches that book us for their, their yearly events. So, say, for example, they're catering for, like, 400 people, I'm charging them for 200. You know, so I try to give back to the community in terms of, you know, in terms of costing and time, and physically being there to cater for them. And in terms of there's a, couple of people that, you know, they can't find meals every day. And we don't put ourselves out there where as a particular, charity could say, oh, we're getting this from Reggae's, no, we do it individualistic. Whereas you don't feel as if somebody is looking down at you. You come in, you're getting your meal. You know, you come in and say, "you know, I can't afford this today." That's fine, you're getting your meal. You know, so we do our charity a little bit different. We also do charity back home in Jamaica, which is still a little bit different. We reach into the churches, you know, and we're saying, "What do you need? What are you missing? How can we help you?" And then they'll say to us, "oh, would you like us to say you did this?" And we're like, no, you know, charity shouldn't be something that you know what you caught it – announced. That's how we feel.

St. Lawrence Presbyterian Church on Huron Street

Daniel Bennett

We are going to turn right here on to Monsarrat Road. Hmm, that's amazing. What have you been thinking about, what have you been thinking about most during the pandemic?

Painted stones in the neighbourhood

Marie Williams

During the pandemic, I'm thinking, hmm, this is a time where a lot of families get to spend with each other. A lot of families get to reflect. A lot of businesses struggled. We also struggled with this pandemic, while we were open, right throughout because we have doctors, nurses, police that eat at Reggae's, and, you know, it was just nice to say, "hey, hang in there," and be there for them, although we were feeling the brunt of it as well. But this pandemic has taught me that time is precious. And, you know, we really need to spend it with family, and we really need to, you know, put something away for tomorrow, you know, because anything can happen.

Louise Arbour French Immersion on Belfield Street is home to the One World International Welcome Centre.

The TVDSB International Welcome Centre is a neighbourhood fixture that welcomes newly arrived students to London.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah.

Marie Williams

Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

I love that you bring up that there's kind of a two-way support street there.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

You're supporting frontline workers.

A thank you to frontline workers

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

Through your food and they're supporting you through your business.

Marie Williams

Yes, exactly.

Daniel Bennett

And that brings us back to the community that we love about London, Ontario.

Marie Williams

That's right.

Daniel Bennett

We are going to turn left here on to Barker St. Where do you think London has the most room to grow?

Marie Williams

The most room to grow. I would say, hmm, London has the most room to grow in, it needs more homes.

Daniel Bennett

Needs more homes.

Marie Williams

More homes, more apartment buildings. I find that some people might, can't afford to, you know, to have a townhome or you know, and then you have the younger kids that they don't necessarily want so much space. But there's not enough buildings, but they will do good in a one-bedroom apartment. So, I find in terms of infrastructure, that's where they need to grow. In terms of the way you know, we view each other here in London. I think London is grown.

Daniel Bennett

And let’s turn right on to Kipps Lane and head back to Reggae’s restaurant. What's your favourite...you cook a lot, obviously.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

Where's your favourite place to go out to eat?

Marie Williams

To go out to eat. Believe it or not, I like Chinese food. I really do. I like going to Mandarin. And I love Swiss Chalet.

Daniel Bennett

You love Swiss Chalet. What do you love about Swiss Chalet?

Marie Williams

I like the Chalet sauce. I'm a sauce person.

Daniel Bennett

There is something about that sauce? But your chicken's better, right?

Marie Williams

Oh, yes. For sure!

Daniel Bennett

And where's your favourite place to shop in London?

Marie Williams

In London, I love the mall up here, but, I have found the strip mall by my house to be quite interesting. The Walmart, it closes at 11, fits into my schedule. That's at Walmart.

Marie Williams

Daniel Bennett

If you could wish one more, one thing for London, what would it be?

Marie Williams

For London, a proper nightclub?

Daniel Bennett

A proper nightclub. Yes.

Marie Williams

Yes.

Daniel Bennett

And what does a proper nightclub look like?

Marie Williams

I am thinking dress codes.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah.

Marie Williams

You know, nice lines, posh, inside, smoke, you know, the works like what we have in Toronto?

Daniel Bennett

Yeah.

Marie Williams

Dress codes. I grew up on dress codes, so I want that.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. Yeah. I'm really appreciating your, your positive and relaxed attitude. How did you cultivate that?

A tree-lined street in the Kipps and Carling neighbourhood

Marie Williams

Years of customer service and years of enough people yelling at a particular product. So, you don't listen to that, the noise. You get to the root problems, like what is happening here? How do I fix it? How could I help? You know? You know, the thing is, we're not here for ourselves, or else we wouldn't have been in the restaurant business. We are here for others

A view of Reggae's Caribbean Restaurant and its neighbouring shops.

Daniel Bennett

Thanks for coming on a Grand Walk with me. I really enjoyed being able to spend some time with Marie who is a small business owner who's really made the most of the pandemic. It's really inspiring to hear these stories of people who have been able to pivot and be creative, and start new things during these times. Food's always a meeting place for me, and those of you who have dined with me know that I love it so much, so I love that this restaurant can serve the community and act as a meeting place for people in Kipps Lane, as well as London more broadly speaking. The Grand Walks would not be possible without our lovely team here at the Grand, including Dennis Garnhum, Deb Harvey, Lauren Rebelo, Jen Matthews, Aaron Ouellette, Suzanne Lanthier, Lyndee Hansen, Britt Duncan, Lacie George, and Megan Watson. Special thanks to friends, Rob Novakovic and Frank Donato for brainstorming with me. Thanks again and looking forward to getting some more steps in with you soon.