Emma's Place Opens In Sydenham

On June 2nd, two months after the closure of Lenny’s Deli, the breakfast/lunch location that serves Sydenham High School, the township office, year round and seasonal residents and visitors alike, is back up and running.

Mike Tousignant, of Mike’s Pizza and More in Sydenham, started opening early and serving breakfast sandwiches in early April to fill in the gap.

“But it wasn’t easy for us, since we had to change over for pizza after, and our kitchen is set up for pizza, and people like to be able to sit at a table and eat a full breakfast.”

Then the idea of expanding came into focus for him.

“It wasn’t anything I was planning,” he said, since his first pizza store in Bath is not even four years old and Mikes Pizza and More in Sydenham is a year old, and opening a different kind of restaurant while running those two is a lot.

“But the opportunity was there, and I knew that what was in there was popular, so we took the plunge.”

That plunge included buying the building and getting staff in place to open up as soon as possible.

All of that has happened, pretty quickly.

Emma’s Place, named for Mike’s daughter Emma, who works at both locations, is not trying to re-invent the wheel, just alter it.

You notice that the place looks the same. We kept the menu, but we put our own touches on it. We kept the cafeteria style, because of the layout of the place, and people are used to it. We even kept the same pricing for now, and the important thing for me was to be able to deliver quality right off the bat,” said Mike.

And, a week and half in, he is more than happy with how it has all gone.

“We hired some great people, and it helps being connected to the restaurant business for that and they have staff able to move over, but I think we are now at a place that I was hoping we would get to by the end of the summer.”

The price of fresh produce, which is a staple for a restaurant selling salads and sandwiches, “is stupid right now,” said Mike. Some items, like lettuce, are three or four times as expensive as they were 18 months ago, but he is used to that from the pizza business, where the price of cheese, the most expensive ingredient, has skyrocketed.

“But just as we still insist on getting high quality cheese for our pizza, even if the price is ridiculous, we bring the same idea here.”

That means cooking turkeys for sandwiches, and choosing premium coffee from North Roasters in Kingston.

“Customers notice that, and between ingredients and having a well run kitchen, we have been able to make a good start here. People will maybe come to a place like Emma’s a second time if we do not get it right the first time, or they may not. They won’t come a third time. I was worried about losing customers right off the bat, especially since they have expectations at this location because of what was here before.”

Looking forward, Mike is thinking about staying open for dinner, even if that puts Emma’s up against Mike’s Pizza’s busiest time of day.

“People are not going to eat pizza every night, and I’d rather they were eating at my restaurant than someone else’s. We may get a license to sell beer and wine. We’ll see.”

For now, getting ready for the summer season at both Pizza shops and Emma’s is taking up all of Mike’s time, and energy.

A lifelong Sydenham native, he knows the tastes of the local community and enjoys a lot of local support.

And, as the name on the door suggests, Emma’s is a family run business. Mike’s wife Erin who still works at Costco but is involved, as well as Emma and younger sister Lacy all work in the business one way or another.

“This was a big leap, but it is a fun challenge,” said Mike, “and I’m really happy about the start we have made.”

Emma’s is open 7 days a week, 7am to 3pm. They serve breakfast all day, as well as cold and hot sandwiches, salads, wraps, burgers and fries. Phone number, 613-376-666