That the most popular export from Montreal to Toronto was started by two sisters and specializes in unique salads speaks volumes to how one-of-a-kind these salads are. With funky, flavourful dressings and concoctions unavailable elsewhere — sister Rebecca Wolfe’s favourite is the Wolfe, with Parmesan, toasted walnuts and avocado — Mandy’s, owned and operated by Rebecca and Mandy Wolfe, is finally opening this month in Toronto.
According to Rebecca, the sisters are ready to spread their specific, joyful approach to both food, and life.
“We felt like we’re finally ready to be tested in the big city,” says Rebecca, who began her popular chain in 2004 in the back of a Montreal clothing shop and has seen it grow into a Quebecois franchise with eight restaurants.
“The energy in Toronto is just different, and while the decor and menu from Montreal will remain the same, the vibe and feel of Toronto — the quirkiness — feels like an opportunity for a real big breath of fresh air,” she says.
The Toronto location of Mandy’s will open at 52 Ossington Ave., across the street from Foxley and just south of Paris Paris, adding to that strip’s reservoir of kitchy elegance, taste and glamour. It’s been an 18-year odyssey for the sisters to relocate to Toronto, and their plans for the city are — like their Endless Summer Salad with pomegranate seeds and tamari mock chicken or their Pretty in Pink smoothie with basil and strawberries — huge.
“We have eight locations in Montreal, and Toronto is bigger and it feels kind of like the city is our oyster, so we’re hopefully looking at opening more than eight Toronto locations,” says Rebecca, adding that she’s nearly closed a lease agreement on a flagship Toronto location at King Street West and Spadina Avenue. “Obviously we want to dip our pinkie in the water before we run, but the timing and energy feels really good, really positive, for us to expand. It feels like we’ve been waiting to open in Toronto our whole life.”
The expansion in Toronto from Montreal isn’t entirely seamless, and quickly the Wolfe sisters, who also wrote the addictive cookbook for their salads, bowls and desserts — Mandy’s Gourmet Salads: Recipes for Lettuce and Life — learned a real estate lesson in the big smoke. There are things restaurant operators like the Wolfe sisters want to do. And then there’s the reality of what landlords in Forest Hill and Rosedale dare to charge.
“We looked at opening in Yorkville for a while, but that was quickly cut short because we were so intimidated by the rent,” says Rebecca with a laugh, dreaming of a Forest Hill location, where obviously her restaurant template would translate. “Hopefully we can get to Yorkville or Rosedale someday — we would love that! — but at the moment that still remains a dream.”
The dream of what Mandy’s provides — a place where you’re served healthy food in a colourful setting by people who are actually nice to you and want you to feel good — has received an inadvertent boost from COVID-19. With so much emphasis on our health, natural foods, with freshly sourced ingredients prepared in a spotless environment, have only become more valuable to Canadian diners. Rebecca says the pandemic has the Mandy’s team doubling down on their values and their desire to see their brand grow.
“In Montreal, it’s been way less ‘let’s go out and drink heavy and party,’ because the virus is literally hurting our health and people want to put goodness into their bodies,” Rebecca says. “Food is medicine and that’s worked in our favour. Wellness is at the heart and soul of what people want right now.”
People definitely want empathy right now, and they also want value and delight. So when there’s a large matzo ball soup at Mandy’s called the Bubby for $8.49 or a Hippie Bowl with black beans and citrus tofu for $10.49, you can feel why, in Toronto, the Mandy’s recipe will be favourably reviewed. Rebecca is genuine and delightful, and when asked if she wished the restaurants were called “Rebecca’s” and not “Mandy’s” — because why should her sister receive all the love — says things like “Mandy asks me that all the time, but it was my idea to call it her name, and she’s the most modest, humble, private person. She’s the love of my life!”
Mandy’s restaurants are finally opening in Toronto, and they’re spreading a lot of love around the city. Eventually, they’ll open north of Bloor Street. In our opinion, the arrival of the Wolfe sisters isn’t happening a moment too soon.
