Katherine and Elizabeth Gagné run The Garden Club Cafe and Wine Bar in Wolseley. With being 1 of just a handful of restaurants in the small prairie town.
It is much more than just a restaurant or cafe, it is a hub for the community, everyone in town goes there, be it for the food or the plethora of events they host.
“She knows more people in town than anyone, even more than the mayor.” said Katherine Gagné.
In such a small town they find themselves doing a little bit of everything to run the store
“We do everything from baking, all the cooking, all the serving. We do private events as well. It’s the two of us who do the catering, the bartending, hosting everything” said Katherine Gagné.
Almost like going to an aunt’s for the weekend, the sense of community coming together in Wolseley is amazing to witness. It’s not uncommon to see the mayor sitting shoulder to shoulder with the town historian during the lunch rush talking about the scores they got from the last trivia night at the cafe or a local artist hanging their newly painted piece on the wall just as the townsfolk bring in their own mugs to add to the mug wall so they can get their coffee just like they are used to getting it at home.
The Garden Club is neighbors with another restaurant located on the same street named the Canada Cafe, which offers a mix of Cantonese and Canadian classics.
With there only being around 3 restaurants in Wolseley, menu options in town are very limited and one risks the chance of creating unnecessary competition between businesses if they have the same offerings.
Luckily the Garden Club has already figured it out with a menu that changes everyday inspired by the vibrant cafe culture one would find in Montreal, this with a touch of resourcefulness with the cooks often finding creative ways to use any leftovers from previous days for the coming days menu.
“In a town this size you don’t want to cannibalise right? If Canada Cafe doesn’t prosper, we as a town don’t prosper. If you want your french fries and burgers you go over there.We try not to offer anything to compete with another restaurant.” Said Katherine Gagné
This goes doubly so as most of the ingredients they use are coming from the local grocery store.
“We like to get things that we can get here even if it’s a little bit more expensive, it’s not worth the cost of not supporting our local grocery store. They support us, we support them.”Said Elizabeth Gagné
The cafe also brings in travelers on their journeys across Saskatchewan.
“We always ask people how did they find us, especially when they are traveling, when they ask A.I. ‘What is the best cafe between Regina and Winnipeg’, we come up.” Said Katherine Gagné
Finally the Garden Club Cafe is going onto its 2nd year, with the anniversary on oct the twelveth.
With it becoming such a massive pillar of the community in Wolseley it’s only going to get better.
