The story of Desert Lake Gardens/Mill Street Cafe

Wilma Kenny | Mar 14, 2018

In 1981, having graduated from Trent with no wish to return to Toronto where they had grown up, Pat and Rick Dawson headed into the Shield country north of Kingston, looking for a place to settle down and raise a family. They bought a piece of land north of Sydenham near Desert Lake with not only plenty of trees and rocks, but also some good sandy soil on a south slope, and a pond. A year later they had built their house in a circular design, bought a cow, and started a garden and greenhouse. “We got by,” says Pat; “We grew our own fruit and vegetables. The cow provided more milk than we needed, so we bootlegged milk to our friends for a bit of cash.” (Note: the area north of Sydenham was at one time notorious for its bootleggers, but it wasn’t usually milk they pedalled…)

As the years passed and their family grew, so did the gardens and greenhouses, but Pat and Rick held true to their personal commitment to garden in a sustainable manner, without introducing chemical fertilizers or pesticides. (The cow came in handy here, too.)

They began to sell their extra produce, and soon realized there was a rapidly growing market demand in the area for fresh local organic produce. In 1991 they registered the name Desert Lake Gardens, and began weekly deliveries of boxes and bags of freshly harvested vegetables from their gardens to Kingston and area residents. The greenhouses greatly extended the growing season, and by the time the stored root vegetables were used up, it was almost time to begin harvesting spring greens. They expanded to include organic, sustainably grown foods from other area producers in the weekly food orders: meat, fish, eggs, cheese, bakery goods. Whatever couldn’t be grown or sourced locally was selected from organic growers and suppliers. Pat started preparing a limited range of pre-cooked frozen soups and meals to meet an increasing interest in home cooked table-ready food. Their motto was; “If we wouldn’t feed it to our children we certainly won’t feed it to yours”. By 2000, Rick had left his laboratory job in Kingston to work full-time at home, managing the gardens and greenhouses. His mother, who is an accountant, had moved to live near them, took over the bookkeeping.

In 2005, seeing the advantage of a more centrally located distribution centre and a dedicated kitchen, they leased their current site in the middle of Sydenham, in a building that has had many uses; drugstore, health food store, art gallery, gift shop, karate centre. Along with setting up a fully equipped commercial kitchen, the Dawson family created the Mill Street Cafe, a lovely restaurant space with copper-topped tables, church pews, press back chairs, a licensed bar and a changing display of local art on the walls.

Starting the restaurant was a big leap, a brave gamble, and in many ways, a success. However, it proved hard to run on a daily three-meals-a-day basis. It was nearly impossible to predict how many would come to eat on any given day or night: even the hint of poor weather was often enough to deter clientele from outside the village. That made it difficult to plan for appropriate staffing or food prep amounts. At the same time, Pat found bookings for her catering were rapidly increasing, and pre-booked catering is much easier to plan for in an efficient manner.

Pat and Rick bought the Sydenham property they had been renting, and moved Grandma Dawson into an apartment above the flower shop in the old stone building adjacent to the restaurant.

Rick cut back on his greenhouse and garden areas, as more and more outlets for local produce sprang up, and demand for their weekly vegetables was replaced by calls for prepared foods. “And we’re not getting any younger; three-season gardening is heavy, demanding work.” Rick has kept his two favourite gardening activities: growing lots of tomatoes in the greenhouse, and growing and harvesting shiitake mushrooms in season.

Their kitchen has never been busier. Daughter Leah is now working with them: she does all the booking, planning and front-of-house work for their catering business: they are already heavily booked for this year’s weddings, and provide food for a wide range of other events, some as far afield as Ottawa. Pat says the demand for her homemade heat-and-eat meals and fresh breads is high: they do weekly deliveries at no extra expense throughout Kingston and South Frontenac. The prepared menu ranges from familiar comfort foods: lasagna, cabbage rolls, shepherd’s pie, turkey pot pie, macaroni and cheese, chilli, to tamale pie, quesadillas, Jamaican jerk chicken, soup and mild curries such as butter chicken, beef Korma and Thai coconut-curry soup. Dessert options include apple crisp, classic carrot cake as cake or cupcakes, and a wickedly tempting salted caramel sauce. Pat has recently expanded the variety of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options. Aware of environmental issues, she uses reusable or recyclable packaging as much as possible.

The Mill Street Cafe closes during January, to give the Dawsons a rest. It’s now open for lunch Tuesday-Friday from 11 to 3, and from late spring into fall it will serve dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings. It’s also available to book for private events. Pat plans to have music most Friday evenings through the summer, and reminds me that they have a pool table now, just off the dining room. She’s intrigued by the idea of maybe encouraging a women’s pool group to start up.

Over the years, the Dawson family has contributed to their community in a wide variety of ways, and have successfully raised four children, all adults now. They offer an excellent example of a small business finding ways to adapt and thrive in changing times without compromising their basic principles. Their goal continues to be what it’s been from the beginning: “To serve healthy nourishing local food in such a way as to minimize environmental impact.”

For more details, the weekly specials, and summer dinner hours, check their website: desertlakegardens.com.