Introducing: Apiecalypse Now, a new vegan bakery with an activist agenda
Name: Apiecalypse Now
Neighbourhood: Mirvish Village
Contact Info: 589 Markham St., 416-800-1736, @ApiecalypseNow
Owner and Chef: Jennifer Bundock
The Food: Sweet and savoury vegan comfort food. Owner, chef and proud vegan activist Jennifer Bundock came up with most of her meat- and dairy-free repertoire as a way to indulge nostalgic junk-food cravings without compromising her convictions. Current menu items include faux-sausage rolls and mock-chicken pot pie; jam-stuffed “compassion flakies” made with cashew ricotta; and rainbow cookie sandwiches designed to taste like Dunk-a-Roos. Vegan spreads, dressings and dips can be purchased by the jar.
The Drinks: Cold-pressed coffee from local brewers Northwood, Jennifer’s favourite press in the city. Come summertime, she’d like to install a slushie machine.
The Place: The subterranean space used to be a popular after-hours destination. Jennifer carted away the stained couches and transformed the space into a fully operating commercial kitchen and bright retail bakery. The distressed wood counter and handmade glass cases display her golden inventory of baked sweets and savouries. They’re also plastered with stickers promoting various organizations and activism alliances, some of which receive a cut of the shop’s proceeds. In opening her store, Jennifer hopes to connect with people through vegan food and important causes.
The Numbers:
• 40 stickers, with activist objectives, pasted to all available surfaces
• 8 vegan pies
• 6 day setback due to frozen pipes during December’s ice storm
• 1 makeshift vintage bomb shelter
• 1 lucky rabbit (made of porcelain)
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- Apiecalypse is located on Markham Street, beneath Green Iguana Glassworks
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- Owner Jennifer Bundock doesn’t take herself too seriously (hence the pie-eating raccoon logo)
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- Apple-sage vegan sausages are wrapped in puff pastry and baked with a teaspoon of brown sugar on top ($3.50). They come in two varieties: “folk punk” and “grind core” (which is spicier)
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- The faux-chicken pot pie is the most popular one on the menu ($12.50)
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- A vegan homage to Dunk-a-Roos (i.e. the discontinued Betty Crocker snack from the 90s): mock cream-cheese icing sandwiched between sugar cookies and covered with rainbow sprinkles ($4)
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- Chocolate croissants ($4.25). Jennifer sources her chocolate from Toronto-based <a href="http://chocosoltraders.com/">ChocoSol Traders</a>
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- At present, Northwood Cold Brew coffee is the sole item on the drinks menu
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
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- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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- Vegan dips, dressing, spreads and sauces are stacked in the well-stocked fridge. Popular items include garlic butter, cinnamon butter and vegan ricotta cheese
- (Image: Jackie Pal)
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
- Introducing: Apiecalypse Now
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You can sure kiss this kind of place goodbye along with the rest of Mirvish village with Mirvish cashing out of the area for his big fat monument to himself downtown.