Co-Owners Of ‘Bliss Caffeine Bar’ Dream Of Better Brunch In Halifax
HALIFAX — Jenna Oosterholt and Michelle Macdonald think it’s high time Halifax “elevates” its brunch game, so the two business owners are teaming up to do exactly that.
Oosterholt owns and runs The Ville Caffeine Bar, which serves “high-quality caffeine and small eats.” Macdonald, meanwhile, runs Buttered Bliss, a catering company and occasional pop-up specializing in pastries, desserts, and a few well-known savory sandwiches.
This week, the pair announced they were combining those brands into a new venture that aims to bring better brunch to Halifax.
Part full-service restaurant, part take-away coffee shop and bakery, Bliss Caffeine Bar will combine Buttered Bliss’ baked good and The Ville’s signature drinks with a new brunch menu to create what the pair say will be a unique brunch experience in the city.
“We’re trying to elevate the brunch scene and Halifax and create a place where people want to come because there’s literally nowhere to go in this city for brunch,” Oosterholt says with a laugh.
“We have so many beautiful restaurants here but a lot of them are actually focused on night service,” Macdonald adds. “Even a lot of places that do brunch, they’re mostly night-focused restaurants that just have brunch as an added feature.”
“So we’re trying to bring a space that’s designed for brunch — we’re not even open in the night. The space is going to be bright and vibrant, with good upbeat music. We’re really trying to bring a whole energy.”
Oosterholt and Macdonald first met a few years ago, when Oosterholt opened The Ville and recruited Macdonald to provide pastries and baked goods.
“I wanted the best of the best, so I found Michelle, who is insanely talented. You can’t get anything like Michelle’s baked goods in the whole city,” she says.
Over the next couple of years their relationship flourished (“I love you, my #businesswife, can’t wait to have this love child with you!!!” Oosterholt recently joked on social media). So when she began searching for a new location to expand The Ville, she floated the idea of collaborating.
Luckily, Macdonald had also been mulling a move to a brick-and-mortar location and she jumped at the chance to team up.
“It kind of just happened very serendipitously where I mentioned to her, ‘I’m going to go look at another space, would you consider coming with me?’” Oosterholt recalls.
“Just the more we work together, the more we learned about restaurants and the industry, we just realized that our skills were so complimentary, and it just really worked for us,” Macdonald adds.
Bliss Caffeine Bar, then, is a true merger of Buttered Bliss and The Ville Caffeine Bar, combining The Ville’s drinks and Buttered Bliss’ food into an upgraded full-service brunch restaurant.
Macdonald, who has partnered with Two Crows Brewing in the past for savoury sandwich pop-ups, says she’s planning a brunch menu featuring “a lot of classic dishes with a few unique twists.”
“I like to keep it like pretty simple with food and just make it incredibly delicious. I love nostalgic plates and things that remind you of home and are very approachable, but just so delicious that you can’t pass up,” she says.
Oosterholt, meanwhile, will carry over some of The Ville’s most popular drinks and lattes to the new space. They’ll be serving up brunch standbys like Mimosas, Caesars, and Irish Coffees, along with some new brunch-inspired cocktails.
While the pair are aiming to create an “elevated” brunch experience in Halifax, Oosterholt says she and Macdonald will still be catering to people looking to grab a quick coffee or some doughnuts to go.
So while customers can stop by for the full-service, sit-down brunch, they’ll also have the option to simply order from a barista like a traditional coffee shop.
“It definitely will be that restaurant-style, where you can get beautiful brunch and lunch plate. But then also, it’s very much like a bakery where you walk in and there’s all these baked goods and treats on display,” Macdonald explains.
“We want to elevate the [brunch] industry. And we want to make sure we’re giving … quality food and beverages in a beautiful space, while still being affordable,” Macdonald says.
“It’s elegant but casual at the same time,” Oosterholt adds. “Like, it’s not going to be $30 for a plate of brunch.”
Right now, the pair aim to open Bliss Caffeine Bar in the spring of this year. When they do, they’ll be located on South Park Street, in Halifax.
Trevor Nichols is a staff writer with Huddle in Halifax. Send him an e-mail with your story suggestions: [email protected].
Editor’s note: This story was last updated on April 10, 2023