In wake of the pandemic, many businesses have had to adjust in different ways. With social distancing and closures happening, local businesses had to do many things to keep customers coming. Oat Couture on Bank Street in Ottawa is a prime example of a business that had to adapt. What started out as a breakfast café has since grown to have any parts and has created a unique family and community.
When Oat Couture opened, the idea was to reclaim oatmeal. The owner Brian Montgomery and his wife - Jenn Guerrero - opened the café with many kinds of oatmeal bowls. From sweet to savoury, Oat Couture had oatmeal for everyone. The chef Marta De Martino is from Rome and created all the bowls from scratch. She also created sandwiches and some of the drinks. De Martino is still making recipes today, so their menu is always changing. This has resulted in a very interesting and unique experience for customers.
About six months before the pandemic started, the owners decided to make their café an oatmeal bar by day and a scotch lounge by night. This included a complete flip on the inside and a change in menu from breakfast foods and sanwiches to tacos and charcuterie boards. This flip is now limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic because they don’t want to move a lot of furniture and products around. However, they do still lower the lighting and replace most of the café items with scotch bottles.
When the pandemic started the bartenders were taught how to make the oatmeal bowls. This was done so that more people would be encouraged to come later in the evening, increasing traffic during a time when many weren’t eating out. So, at night, tacos, charcuterie boards, and oat meal bowls are all available for customers. But tacos and the boards are only available when the lounge is open, making the scotch lounge a more intimate and special experience.
Oat Couture also created their own breakfast club when the pandemic began. Every morning, the workers create ten bags with a bowl of oatmeal inside. Then they leave the bags outside with a sign that says: “Take One: For yourself or a friend in need.” The bags are completely free and because they are left outside, it removes any embarrassment people may have because they don’t have to ask for one.
By the end of the day all ten are always gone. This was an easy way for Oat Couture to support the community in their own way and give help where they can. They also have a tip jar for the Oat Couture Breakfast Club so that customers can help if they want. Just another way that Oat Couture is trying to interact with the community at this time.
As the pandemic has continued, the staff at Oat Couture has gotten closer. Though they have about twenty staff members, many of them are away at university and so cannot work right now. However, this has given the café the opportunity to hire new people and grow closer with those that still work there.
The managers, cook, and owner come in very often to both work and support the employees as they handle orders. The atmosphere in the café is a very positive one that makes you feel like a part of something as soon as you enter.
Although, the atmosphere may have something to do with the building itself and all the love that was put into its design. The back wall has a picture of Montgomery’s father, uncle, and grandfather on a hunting trip, holding mugs that are actually filled with scotch. The bathroom is an old bank vault and the walls have burnt wood built into them, which symbolize a fire that was on Bank Street in 1983. The fire burnt down the apartments that were on top of the cafe that were never rebuilt. The whole café is rich with stories that are built into the very room itself. It’s no wonder that the coworkers feel so connected with each other, as the building connects everyone.
While the coworkers have gotten more connected, so have the customers. “Customers have been really loyal,” Kristen Cuttress said, who is the general manager of Oat Couture. On Saturday, most of the regulars come into the cafe and know a lot of the workers by name. Many have a consistent order and speak to the employees about school and their lives.
“Word of mouth has been really good to us. Way better than any social media because you don’t know what’s true with that, you can pay for that,” Cuttress said. She seemed to be right, as Oat Couture’s customer base has grown. Support local businesses has become a common saying during the pandemic, and it seems that Oat Couture has benefitted from this. As their usual customers encouraged others to try out the store, and now there are more regulars than there used to be.
There were customers coming in almost constantly and the café also accepts orders through Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes. Some customers that were ordering online were putting in their hundredth order from Oat Couture, sometimes even higher. This just proves that even if customers aren’t going in person, they still value Oat Couture and its food and drinks.
Another thing that Oat Couture is doing to increase customer numbers is selling other products. Such as wine, coffee, and oats themselves. All of the products that they sell are from Ontario, getting as close to the Ottawa region as possible. With coffee from Toronto and wine from around the province, including Niagara, Oat Couture is trying to use local products as much as possible.
While now is a hard time for many people and businesses, places like Oat Couture have managed to save a slice of hope and happiness. The atmosphere that the café creates and supplies for its customers and employees is something very special. They adapted to the pandemic by building more seating and jumping to make their indoor dining follow protocol. They supply free food for people in need and maintain a bond with their usual customers.
In a time of isolation, Oat Couture has created its own community for people in Ottawa. It seems to have found a positive balance between innovation and routine comfort, which people are seeking right now. They certainly seem to be an asset and a positive place within the community.
Credits:
Harriet Smith