Oat Couture expanding and continuing to serve free meals to those in need
Posted Jan 8, 2021 07:14:00 PM.
In tough times, a socially conscious eatery and bar is opening a new location in Ottawa's Centretown West neighbourhood.
Oat Couture Oatmeal Café is in the process of opening on Gladstone Avenue, taking over the former Pressed Café spot, and its owners have already started giving out free breakfast to community members in need.
The OC Breakfast Club started back in April of 2020, at its Bank Street location.
“[With] a simple cart, and we put a sign on it. And we put 10 or 15 bags everyday — that had a bowl of oats in it… and a spoon and a napkin — and they just were taken,” explains Oat Couture Owner Brian Montgomery. “So, the next day we did it [again], and I think we've done about 3,600 bowls since then.”
Montgomery plans to opening a third location in 2021 as well, slated for the central downtown area, and he doesn't plan on stopping the breakfast program any time soon.
“I think there's always people in need. So I don't see us stopping it.”
As an homage to Pressed, which used to be a popular music venue, Montgomery says they will continue with that tradition. The restaurant will become a scotch lounge by night.
