Montreal salad empire 'Mandy's' finally touches down in Toronto

Written By

Christine Peddie

2 years ago

If you’re stuck in the “salad is boring” camp, a trip to Mandy’s Salades Gourmandes is guaranteed to snap you out of it. At Mandy’s, a pastel-heavy, glitz-meets-boho chic theme complements the team’s deft ability at layering scores of ingredients into harmonious bowls of goodness. One bite, and you’ll never think of salad as anything other than exhilarating again. Happily, as of March 1, you no longer have to travel to Montreal for your epiphany. Located at 52 Ossington Avenue, Mandy’s first location outside of la belle province boasts all of the beloved Mandy’s trademarks, and will have you downing more colourful produce than you ever thought possible.

Opened in 2004 by sisters Rebecca and Mandy Wolfe, Mandy’s has grown from a small, make-your-own salad bar into a mini, Quebec-based empire. “Mandy’s is a high-end, gourmet salad chain,” says Rebecca Wolfe. “You can come in and choose all of your own ingredients. All of our dressings are home-made. We also have grain bowls, we have smoothies, we have soup. We make all of our own desserts,” she adds.

Designed by Rebecca, who also handles brand marketing, each location is “warm and comfortable,” with emphasis placed on giving customers a complete experience, not just a nourishing meal. In the years since it first opened, Mandy’s has steadily grown, garnering a cult-like following thanks to a covetable aesthetic and sister Mandy’s passion for cuisine.

Sisters Mandy (left) and Rebecca Wolfe (right) began the cult-fav Mandy's in Montreal nearly 18 years ago.

“Mandy has always just been a little culinary genius,” says Rebecca. “She’s just always cooking… It’s what she loves to do and it’s what she spends most of her time doing, experimenting and cooking for herself and coming up with what she wants to eat. That’s what she puts on the menu."

With the Ossington location, Mandy’s now comprises nine cafés, with Mandy as chef and creative food director for the brand. Beyond the nine locations, there is also a Mandy’s cookbook. “It was the number one cookbook in Canada last year,” delights Rebecca. “So it was a fun way to get into the Toronto market. A lot of people here have our book already. In terms of brand awareness, we were really happy about that." There is also a line of dressings, olive oil, coffee, tea and branded apparel — from trucker hats to sweatshirts — all to help you bask in the Mandy’s glow long after you’ve set foot out the café’s doors.

Despite the company’s rapid growth and popularity back home, moving beyond Quebec’s borders was always part of the plan. “We’ve always wanted to be in Toronto, it’s been a dream of ours,” affirms Rebecca. “We’ve been in business almost 18 years in Quebec. We figured that the product has been tried and tested at home and we feel like we’re finally ready for the big city. Our dream is to give Mandy’s Salads to cities far and wide, and hopefully one day around the world, so Toronto was the next natural step for us.”

With the opening of Mandy’s on Ossington, the team didn’t just choose Toronto, but one of the city’s most charming, most in-demand locales. “We wanted to open up more in a neighbourhood, residential area at the beginning, for our first one. That’s sort of how we started the market in Montreal. We like to be more niche-y and neighbourhood-y at the beginning,” explains Rebecca. Joining one of the city’s prime dining destinations also doesn’t hurt.

“In terms of the food scene there, we’re very inspired by it and we’re excited by all the neighbours and the really innovative restaurants that have opened up there,” she adds. With neighbours including Dear Grain, Melanie Auld Jewelry and more, the south-east side of the Ossington strip is primed for a busy spring and beyond. “The landlord really curated nice businesses to complement each other there. We’re hoping it’s going to be a destination.”

Inside the new café, “the design is beautiful,” gushes Rebecca. “It’s almost like Palm Springs meets Paris. It’s lively and it’s colourful and it’s sexy.” Dressing-room style vanity mirrors accent one wall, with a mix of antique finds, family photos and eccentric tchotchkes vying for attention. Shelves are lined with Mandy’s goods (naturally) plus a host of Canadian-made favourites, ranging from Mumgry nut butters to Smoke Show sauces.

On the menu, guests can expect to find their favourite Mandy’s deluxe, signature and vegan salads and bowls alongside “create your own” options. From The Wolfe (Rebecca’s go-to) made with a mix of greens, quinoa, avocado, walnuts and more, topped with tamari dressing, to the Bún Bowl, where rice noodles cuddle up to a host of aromatics, veggies, honey coconut chips and sesame, the menu won’t stray far from Mandy’s classics. “The menu is going to really stick to what we do best and we’re hoping to just deliver what we love to do in Montreal to Toronto,” says Rebecca. There will be a “Toronto salad, which will be designed just for Toronto,” but details are, as of yet, under wraps.

A selection of smoothies and juices, flavoured waters, coffee, tea and, eventually, beer and wine, will be available to sip with your entrée of choice. And, for those who live for balance, Mandy’s chocolate chip cookies will round out the menu. Chewy and crisp, with a buttery bite that’s as indulgent as necessary after heaping bowls of greens, Mandy’s cookies are as essential to the chain’s popularity as every element in the mix. Recognizing the cookies’ particular allure, the Wolfe sisters will soon be launching them Canada-wide, in frozen form. “They’re our top-selling skew over any of our salads,” says Rebecca. “It’s our most popular item on our menu. Those are being launched this month, so that’s exciting… they’ll be in grocery stores across Canada.”

Anyone still in doubt about the sisters’ ambition should know that a second Toronto location is already in the works. Located at King and Spadina, the spot is “under renos right now so I can’t give an exact [opening] date,” says Rebecca, adding that the team hopes that it’ll be ready for Fall 2022. “It’s quite a bit bigger than the first one so we wanted to get our foot in the door and feelers and figure our logistics out and then we’ll be ready to open up a bigger one,” she adds.

As of yet, Mandy’s isn’t a part of the Toronto lexicon. Just give it time. Will you soon be donning a Mandy’s beanie as you sip your morning Mandy’s smoothie? Will you find yourself filling your Mandy’s tote with your lunch order, then brewing an afternoon pot of Mandy’s coffee? Might you start tossing your dinner salad with Mandy’s dressing while you patiently await your Mandy’s cookies to emerge, caramelized and oozing chocolate, from the oven? If our Francophone neighbours to the east are any indication, without doubt. Drunk on Mandy’s joie de vivre vibe and energized by the uptake in your veggie intake, you’ll not only understand the hype but joyfully embrace it.

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