Local breweries, restaurants are showing their Pride with events and food specials: Andrew Coppolino

June is busy with a variety of festivals and events taking place in the area including Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

For many businesses, creating safe and welcoming spaces for the LGBTQ community is part of their core values, and many say it's not about a single month of the year.

Spectrum is an organization that "serves, affirms, and supports the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals in Waterloo Region." When you visit their Rainbow Pages Directory only a handful of businesses are listed. A stark contrast to the hundreds of food and beverage operations in the area.

However, that certainly does not mean there aren't many, many other businesses dedicated to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging in the community. Many entrepreneurs and food operators say they have worked diligently to build "safe spaces" for their staff and customers.

Nadia Dragusanu at Café du Monde Creperie in Cambridge, for example, says that they celebrate Pride year-round.

"When we opened the business three-and-a half years ago, I made a point to indicate, including on Google, that our café was transgender safe and in doing so we celebrate Pride everyday," says Dragusanu.

Stephanie Soulis of Little Mushroom Catering, a Rainbow Registered restaurant and catering operation also in Cambridge, has taken the same approach, adding that she encourages customers to support such businesses.

Soulis says people can find businesses who are supportive by looking for companies like B Corp certified, Rainbow Registered or who support Spectrum, OK2BME (an initiative supporting LGBTQ individuals 16 or older) and other LGBTQ spaces.

Little Mushroom has catered several Pride celebrations and same-sex marriages this month and made dozens of rainbow cupcakes for a Cambridge insurance company for its Pride flag raising last week.

SUPPORTING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY 

As Pride Month continues, here are just a few select events and specials available at local food operations. 

In Guelph, Court Desautels, of the Neighbourhood Group, has a full lineup of celebrations and specials with proceeds supporting local LGBTQ organizations.

Borealis Guelph has a special cocktail with partial proceeds going to OK2BEME, while some of the proceeds from Park Eatery's milkshake sales go to the same organization. Borealis Kitchener is sending some cocktail proceeds to Out on the Shelf, as is Miijidaa in downtown Guelph.

The Wooly has a pride cocktail with partial proceeds going to Bill 7 Award, a charitable trust awarding scholarships to members of the LGBTQ community who are in financial need in Ontario, and all of their restaurants are sponsoring Guelph Pride's Pride in the Park on June 10, says Desautels.

Grand River Pride serves the queer community of Cambridge and surrounding areas. They've organized a number of events, in conjunction with other community stakeholders, over the course of the first half of June: that includes, or has included, a street party, comedy nights, markets and a brunch.

Located on Main Street in Galt, Sugar Daddies is making three cupcakes — chocolate caramel, Boston cream and cookies and cream. Part of the proceeds will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo-Wellington and The Aids Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo & Area.

Nearby, Monigram Coffee Roasters is participating in the June 10 Grand River Pride Street Party with a booth selling art and cold brew coffee. In the café, they will continue to sell rainbow donuts, according to co-owner Monica Braun.

CE Food Experience in Uptown Waterloo is preparing light vanilla cake and cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles baked into the batter, according to Kate Welsh.

"They are then decorated with more rainbow sprinkles, a vanilla rainbow rosette and a little fondant heart. These will only be available for the month of June," Welsh says.  

In Elmira's Gibson Park, Woolwich Pride has organized their first annual Pride event, which takes place on June 17, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In St. Jacobs, Fat Sparrow Charcuterie Bar and Market is having a Pride Market on June 17 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., which includes vendors, a drag show and a presentation by Ren Navarro of Beer.Diversity. A portion of proceeds will go to Spectrum.

Co-owner of Fat Sparrow Group Nick Benninger says it is the company's first such event with staff at the bakery and the Charcuterie Bar at the helm of creating the event.

"We spend a lot of time working on staff culture, company values and providing safe spaces in the workplace. After years of doing that, we have a team of people who make sure we do the same beyond our back-of-house spaces and our own four walls," Benninger says.

Local breweries are often very engaged with the diversity of the communities around them.

TWB: Together We're Bitter of Kitchener has planned a number events for the month, and last week had a launch party for their Equal saison beer with notes of lime and black pepper. The beer is a collaboration with Spectrum, with some of the proceeds going to the organization.

The microbrewery's approach is for engagement over the long term, and they plan to work with Spectrum again, says Alex Szaflarska of TWB.

"We've worked with Spectrum in the past, and we're excited that the launch party was a start of not just a month-long fundraiser but also an ongoing collaboration with events throughout the year," says Szaflarska.

Across town, Graeme Kobayashi at Counterpoint Brewing says that for June there are food pop-ups and events at the microbrewery.

"We're hosting a queer dance party put on by ACCKWA and the ACB, but we also have queer speed dating and an LGBTQ+ family hangout," Kobayashi said adding that Counterpoint, as a Rainbow-registered business, works hard to build relationships with the community.

"We're dedicated to year-round inclusivity practices, but June is an exceptional month to celebrate and support our LGBTQ+ community."