King East’s Impact Kitchen Attracts 600 Guests in Only Four Days
MAKING AN IMPACT: Corktown’s newest restaurant seeks to “upset the apple cart” with healthy and local food options. Photo by Dennis Kucherawy.
By Dennis Kucherawy, Corktown.ca
“Now lemme get this straight. You put de lime in de coconut and drink ‘em both up”
– Harry Nilsson
Dynamic. Hip. Exotic. Invigorating. These are just a few of the adjectives inspired by Impact Kitchen, Corktown’s newest restaurant.
Its mission statement is simple, according to co-owner Josh Broun, 35, a native of Port Credit: “We have a responsibility to our community to not only feed but also educate them, to show our guests there is a healthy alternative.”
Impact Kitchen is a first of its kind. Of course, the media and food and beverage industry like to categorize restaurants. “Eatertainment” has described themed restaurants such as Rainforest Café and Planet Hollywood. In retail, “Edutainment” describes toys that also educate. Impact Kitchen inspires an entirely new category. I’d call it “Eatercation,” the latest in life-long learning designed to appeal to all ages and demographics.
It’s already a hit. As of Thanksgiving Sunday, four days after its opening on Thursday, Oct. 8th, Impact has already attracted 600 guests.
TAKING THE LEAP: Impact Kitchen co-founder Josh Broun. Photo by Dennis Kucherawy.
Two of them are Alex, who lives next door, and her boyfriend Austin. Alex, a 24-year-old student of environmental design at the Ontario College of Art, is accustomed now to grabbing a juice or a bite before class. “Before, my only options were Tim Horton’s and Subway,” she said.
Austin, 25, works as a server at the People’s Eatery on Dundas and Spadina and at another restaurant in Yorkville. “Impact is a great addition to the neighborhood,” he said enthusiastically. “In the past, I’d always find myself gravitating to fast food because that was what was available and convenient.”
Both of them enjoy Impact not only for the food and beverages, but also because of its energetic atmosphere, especially the music. Time flies when they are there, they say.
“The concept is intriguing,” said Alex, “the way things are put together. Here’s a café on one side and salad bar on the other. It’s not pretentious, but very hip. It’s a gathering place.”
I’ve often believed the greatest compliment any restaurant, bar or attraction in Toronto can receive is “Hey, this is just like New York. It’s not Toronto.” And this is certainly the case with Impact’s bright interior, athletically themed, open concept, transparent design.
READY TO EAT: Impact Kitchen’s interior features lots of places for guests to enjoy their food. Photo by Dennis Kucherawy.
Impact’s exterior is imposing. It covers just less than 5,000 square feet on the southwest corner of King St. E. and St. Lawrence St, a block west of River St. Approximately 30 percent of the space, Josh estimates, is the large back-of-house for staff, a rarity since most staff facilities at other restaurants are inadequate. It contains a washroom, showers, an office for the general manager, executive chef, and a library of books about nutrition, wellness, healthy lifestyles and, of course, cookbooks, some of them by Michael Pollan, one of Josh’s favorite authors on nutrition. Josh says they are bringing in a yoga instructor for them. Other perqs are in the works.
As you enter, the first thing you see is Impact’s iconoclastic logo, an upside down crown. Co-owner Frank Toskan, 65, says, with a wink, it’s about “upsetting the apple cart.” Frank is no stranger to success. While Working as a photographer in Toronto in 1984, he co-founded MAC Cosmetics with the late Frank Angelo, which soon became an international success and is now owned by Estée Lauder. Impressively, while most 65-year-olds retire, the Italian-born entrepreneur is entering the food and beverage business with enthusiastic gioia di vivere!
Josh Broun met Frank Toskan when he was Frank’s physical trainer. Three years ago, Frank told Josh to feel free to approach him with a business concept. Josh went away and wrote a business plan for what is now Impact Kitchen.
“I presented it to him,” Josh recalls, “He asked me if I wanted an investor or a partner. That was an amazing offer. I would love to have him as a partner!”
Upsetting the apple cart, is just one of their missions. Others are “Changing the Game,” “Challenging the Status Quo,” “Being Revolutionary,” and, of course, “Making an Impact.”
JUICE ‘EM ALL UP: The juice bar at Impact Kitchen lets guests watch the juicing process. Photo by Dennis Kucherawy.
The interior is a post-industrial design complete with exposed ducts. Once inside, turn to the left and there is an espresso bar. Next is a juice bar with a transparent, glass wall through which guests can watch juices being made from the bushels of fresh fruits and vegetables including luscious pineapples. On the wall, several surfboards Josh bought at auction in California hang on the wall. They are decorated with illustrations of juice bottles.
Guests turning to the right upon entering will see a case of fresh baked goods, the menu’s food on display and the kitchen behind it. The western wall has a white mural with red stripes and oscillating blue waves ornamenting the image of an Olympic diver in a pike position. It is altered from a photo of an athlete in the 1930s.
Below the mural are grey couches where people can lounge, visit and possibly have casual meetings over espresso drinks, coffee and tea.
Two ounce shots and juices have names such as Fireball, Germ Kick and Black Out Green with such ingredients as cayenne, oregano oil, turmeric and ginger.
But, alas Harry, no “lime in de coconut”…yet!
However, good news, there is coconut oil in Cacao Mylk, Drink that and chase it with a Gold Punch that has orange, fresh turmeric, pineapple, ginger root, carrot, and … LIME!! Throw these two drinks back and voilà, as the song says, “then you’ll feel BETTER.”
Impact’s food items are reasonably priced, ranging from a slice of Superfood Bread on the breakfast menu for $1.95 (Toasted, gluten free chia flax bread with avocado smash, nut butter, or chia berry jam) to $14.95 for lunch dishes like the Olympian (Vegan) salad and Halo (Vegan) power bowl.
For meat eaters, there are proteins consisting of chicken, salmon and steak. Bison Meatballs include pork and marinara sauce. Indeed, all ingredients are made fresh on site from scratch.
Breakfast is served from 7:30 a.m. to 11”30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to closing at 9 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Toronto’s Stephanie Tucci, a grad of New York City’s renowned Natural Gourmet Institute, is the executive chef. She also studied at Toronto’s Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Don Mills.
The key to Impact Kitchen’s success, Frank Toskan believes, is community: “Planning is very important, looking at the neighborhood… tenants, residents, retailers …and determining what the needs are for all of us.
“That’s what makes a great community. Especially when traffic congestion is becoming more of a problem, we need great services close to home so we don’t have to run around throughout the city. That creates a great quality of life.”
THE IMPACT TEAM: Co-owners Josh Broun, fourth from left, and Frank Toskan, third from right celebrate opening with staff. Photo by Dennis Kucherawy.
Impact Kitchen’s Food Philosophy
- Ingredients matter. Don’t count calories, count quality
- Eat minimally processed food
- Plant power
- All proteins are not created equal
- Embrace healthy fats
- Hydrate with purpose
Impactkitchen.ca #impacteveryday