The former owners of a popular east-end diner just opened a restaurant in Uxbridge

Last fall, when Riverdale’s beloved (and Michelin-green-starred) White Lily Diner was the most profitable it had ever been, owners Ben Denham and Ashley Lloyd quietly sold it—a move they say surprised their friends and family. Before selling, the couple had been torn. Their heads were in Toronto, but their hearts were about an hour north, in rural Uxbridge, on the 10-acre organic farm that they bought during the pandemic after selling their Parkdale house. “We’ve been living and farming in Uxbridge full time since, so it was the right time to make a big change,” says Denham. “And we were happy to sell the Toronto diner to a gentleman who was very adamant he wouldn’t change a thing.”

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Now in their fifth growing season, White Lily Farms produces over 150 distinct crops every year, selling their goods exclusively to restaurants and Broadfork Produce. But Denham and Lloyd are now back in the restaurant game. At the end of April, they opened their latest venture: Sundays, a 28-seat country bistro on downtown Uxbridge’s main drag.

Fans of the food at White Lily Diner will find familiar seasonal dishes at Sundays, but with a more refined edge. “We’re working within the same ethos we have for the past eight years, but the menu is an evolution of White Lily Diner’s,” says Denham. “Year round, 100 per cent of the produce comes from our farm, and we have the flexibility to change the menu as items come in and out of season. We’re not confined by a business where we can’t remove signature dishes without public outrage.” The menu comprises roughly 13 rotating dishes, all featuring ingredients and products either grown or made just minutes away, including a tartare with bison from Thunder Ridge in Uxbridge and duck liver mousse sourced from King Cole Ducks in Whitchurch-Stouffville.

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To drink, there’s a selection of beers from Uxbridge brewery Second Wedge as well as some easy-sipping cocktails that incorporate farm-fresh goods. But the real focus is the wine list, which is a mix of styles, each bottle carefully chosen to pair with the food menu.

Sundays is open for lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and dinner from Thursday to Saturday. It is, however, closed on Monday and Tuesday so Denham and Lloyd can tend to the farm.