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| Panini Xpress, known today as Gourmet Xpress, at 270 Marier (Photo: Author) |
By Mike Bulthuis
While staffing and equipment issues may have kept the single new food truck destined for Vanier from setting up shop over the past summer, a lunch counter across the street offers one alternative for hungry passers-by. Granted, you need to know where to look – with the Gourmet Xpress counter located under the Panini Xpress sign, inside the back door of 270 Marier (the Centre Francophone). When you find it, you’ll be rewarded not only with the chance to buy lunch, but with the opportunity to help a neighbour find a new job.
Many of us may acknowledge that Vanier’s mainstreet offerings could be a little more, well, vibrant. And, some residents may be more than pleased if there were a few more job prospects.
It may be less clear how you and I can help to turn these hopes into realities. Earlier this year, I cited BALLE (the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) in encouraging us to be “localists,” subscribing to a “Local First” approach - encouraging support of locally-owned businesses when possible and recycling money back into the local economy. Intuitively, we understand that our neighbourhood’s well-being is tied to our local economy; long-time community organizer Jim Capraro notes simply that local businesses fare better when customers have jobs, and when those businesses do better, they are able to grow and provide more local jobs.
Support for our community’s social enterprises, like the Gourmet Xpress lunch counter, offer one snapshot of how we might support a local business, while at the same time growing our neighbours’ economic prospects through job training. The counter is open weekdays, from about 11 to 1:30, with specials changing from day to day – ranging from soups to salads, from sandwiches to lasagna. Walk-in traffic is welcome. Items are made fresh-on site, in a kitchen under the management of Philippe Dupuy. You may recognize the name.
Until July, 2012, Chef Dupuy was the owner of Le Saint-Ô, the upscale French restaurant offering fine dining at the corner of St. Laurent and Hemlock. This was a place enjoyed by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and is said to be the place where Paul Martin decided to run for Prime Minister. After 12 years at the helm of Le Saint-Ô (and nearly 30 years in the restaurant business), Dupuy sold the restaurant, planning to take a year off. One month prior to closing, he was asked to take on management of the kitchen at Panini Xpress (now known as Gourmet Xpress). He hasn’t looked back.
As noted, Gourmet Xpress operates as a social enterprise. A what? Enterprising Non-Profits, or enp for short, defines social enterprises as businesses run by non-profits, aiming to generate income while creating social, environmental or cultural value. Gourmet Xpress generates income when you purchase your lunch – or when you place an order for a wide array of catering options (think appetizers, canapés, cheese cake and dessert platters, breakfast combinations or even a full Brasserie Menu), all prepared under the supervision of the experienced Chef Dupuy and sous-chef Larby.
At the same time, added value comes in supporting an innovative food services and employment skills training program. Participants, about eight at a time, and working under Chef Dupuy, are offered 12 weeks of practical work experience in a commercial kitchen – learning food preparation, kitchen help, customer service training, and general experience in the food industry. Participants bring different stories. Some may be newcomers, looking for Canadian experience. Others may be starting fresh. Each is referred to the program through the Employment Services team at the Vanier Community Services Centre. After the 12-week “apprenticeship,” Dupuy and the VCSC job developers offer their assistance in helping to match participants with restaurants, cafeterias, catering services or other positions (across the region) in their new field.
It’s a change from Le Saint-Ô. But, seeing the tangible ways in which he can impact the lives of participants, the “family” of participants that fills the kitchen, Chef Dupuy is more than energized. “Working here is worth a million dollars.” He has big ideas for the future, knowing that if more of us knew about Gourmet Xpress, the enterprise could one day be financially self-sustaining.
So, at Gourmet Xpress, simply stopping for lunch or having your event catered may offer ways to support community. If enough of us do, demand will rise. Maybe we’ll see the catering options grow, or a storefront open up, with meals to go. And hopefully we’ll see a few more neighbours find new jobs.