6 Restaurants and Stores Coming to Kensington

A healthy fast food restaurant, a ramen bar and a diner specializing in pie are all opening soon.

There’s a lot happening in Kensington right now and it’s changing the face of the BRZ. Condo buildings are being built with commercial spaces at street level. While there are still several empty spaces – we’ll let you know what’s going in as soon as we know – at least four new spots are opening in the next few weeks and two are reopening after renovations.

Crave Cookies and Cupcakes

Scheduled opening: late May/early June

Ten years ago, the Kensington Crave Cookies and Cupcakes location was the very first to open in Calgary. For the last few months, the location has been undergoing rebranding, renovations and a redesign by Sarah Ward Interiors. The new space will highlight the business’ family-oriented values and that cupcakes are just part of its offerings: there are also cookies, loaves, squares and more. The big reveal will be a surprise to shoppers, but Ward says she knows the space will be loved.

1107 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403-209-4906, cravecupcakes.ca

Freshii

Scheduled opening: Unclear

Healthy food that you can take to-go will soon be easy to find in Kensington. Calgary’s second Freshii location will offer the same nutritious products the other locations in more than 60 cities offer: wraps, salads, juices, burritos and frozen yogurt. (The first Freshii location will open just off of 17th Avenue in May.)

The base of St John’s Tenth Street apartment, 409 10 St. N.W., freshii.com

Ikemen Ramen Bar

Scheduled opening: mid May

This spring, another ramen restaurant is joining its ramen neighbours Muku and Menyatai. Unlike other ramen restaurants, Ikemen’s ramen uses chicken broth instead of pork broth. The restaurant will also focus on sushi, and will have between eight and 10 different sushi rolls on the menu. This will also be a place to visit in the evening for cocktails and small plates. In the evening, Ikemen’s atmosphere will shift from restaurant to wine bar. And there’s a 28-seat patio with a custom-made wooden high table facing the street.

217 10 St. N.W., @calgaryikemen

Pie Cloud Diner and Bakery

Scheduled opening: mid May

Pie Cloud Diner and Bakery is moving into the space that used to be home to Lava Dining. The interior is funky. The space is designed to combine vintage and modern elements, like a pink and green wood-burning stove from 1920 and vintage bakeware shades. Pie Cloud will offer sweet, savoury and sublime pies. The sweet pie menu includes favourites like lemon meringue and banana cream. The savoury pies include Boston chowder pie and turkey dinner pie. And the sublime pies are big and over the top. The only clues we have so far are the names of the pies, like “Happy Birthday Pie,” “Marshmallow Mermaid” and “Banana Split Pie.” All the pies are made from scratch and there will be special, seasonal pies on offer throughout the year as well.

There will also be upscale diner dishes, like burgers, meatloaf and a club sandwich.

Of course, both the address and phone number contain the first few digits of pi. How perfect!

314D 10 St. N.W., 403-802-3141

Sole to Soul Footwear

Scheduled opening: Unclear

A new shoe store is opening next door to Crave Cookies and Cupcakes, taking over the space that used to be Queen Boutique. This shoe store focuses on fitting and holds brands that cater to individuals who are looking for specific footwear that is difficult to find elsewhere, like diabetic shoes, extra depth shoes and arthritic shoes. Sole to Soul also carries popular brands including Birkenstock, New Balance and Converse. There are already three Sole to Soul locations in Calgary: one at North Hill Centre, one at West Hills Shopping Centre and another at Southcentre Mall.

1109A 1107 Kensington Rd. N.W., soulfootwear.com

Vendome Caf

Scheduled opening: early June

In late December, Vendome closed its doors temporarily, much to the chagrin of Sunnyside brunchers. However, the restaurant was renovated, which had some challenges considering the restaurant is in a historical building, and is scheduled to open soon. The kitchen has been entirely updated and diners can expect an expanded menu that still has the Vendome classics as well as some new offerings. Vendome worked with RAD Architecture and Interiors on the redesign to make sure the charm of Vendome was maintained yet a modern update was given. There will be new lighting, floors and marble countertops.

940 2 Ave. N.W., 403-453-1140, vendomecafe.com