A specialty yogurt bar-turned cocktail speakeasy is heading to Toronto at the start of the new year.
After spending his childhood in Asia, Andy Shi, owner of the soon-to-be-opened Kome Yogurt, says he became exposed to an impressive selection of fermented yogurt drinks and dairy products that, upon returning to Canada, were nowhere to be found in grocery stores or specialty shops.
“There’s a significant gap in the market in Canada, with only a few skews of product on shelves in grocery stores and cafes,” Shi says. “The whole idea was about bringing yogurt and variety of yogurt into the hands of consumers in Canada. Kome Yogurt seeks to bring the best of Asian-style yogurt to Canada.”
Opening the first week of January 2022 at Queen St. and McCaul St., all of the specialty yogurts are made using only 100 per cent Canadian milk and non-GMO ingredients, and are free of artificial colouring as well as artificial sweeteners. Unlike typical frozen yogurt bars in the city, Kome Yogurt’s products all come in a cup, and are meant to be sipped through a straw, like a smoothie. And, all yogurt drinks have a chewable component, thanks to natural ingredients like fruits and grains.
Kome Yogurt’s menu will be divided into several sections, including Kome Classic Yogurts, where you’ll find staples like the Purple Kome (freshly-fermented yogurt blended with chewy purple rice); Modern Kome Yogurts, where yogurts like the Salted Egg (Singaporean steam salted egg blended with yogurt) fuse with unconventional tastes; Kome Teagurts, where fine Asian tea blends and silky yogurt mousses are fused together, and finally, the Fresh Fruit Yogurts that come loaded with in-season fruits like strawberries, mangoes, and lychee.
Kome Yogurt’s flagship Toronto store will also be home to a second concept—at the very back of the store, a speakeasy lounge will offer some of the best spirit forward cocktails the city offers. Staying true to brand, the speakeasy, named After Seven, will be serving yogurt-infused alcoholic cocktails. To enter, guests must walk through an unassuming vending machine. “The vending machine door is straight out of a snack vending machine, one with a glass panel, where we will mount a digital display behind the glass and display items pre-packaged yogurt bottles that we offer for purchase form the yogurt bar,” explains Shi.
Though Toronto has its fair share of bar rails and beer halls, Shi says he’s looking to bring a more refined approach to drinking culture to the city, one that’s often found in other global cities around the world. “We seek to offer guests a unique experience where the menu changes quarterly, featuring seasonal, local ingredients,” says Shi. “Gin and tonics and old fashioned’s are staples in this city, but we’re changing the ingredients. Ingredients and presentation are big in Japanese mixology, where the bartenders are proficient in the pouring and the storytelling, and that’s what we want to show.”
The Rum Raisin, for example, will use house fermented yogurt, aged rum, Korean crystal grape, and raisins, while the Bedtime Story will feature coffee infused rum, single malt whisky, milk, citrus, tamari (a Japanese sauce made from fermented soybeans), and cacao nibs. After Seven will also serve several preliminary cocktails that do not contain yogurt or dairy, but still incorporate Asian spirits and seasonal ingredients and spices. An assortment of Asian-inspired snacks and small plates will also be on offer at the speakeasy, all of which were designed to pair well with the cocktails.
Kome Yogurt will be located at 10 Stephanie St. and is set to open officially on Jan. 7, 2022.