A new cafe will be taking over an iconic Preston location, showing the city folk what country farming is all about.
Farmhouse Coffee and Deli will be taking over the former Wuddup Dog restaurant at 960 King St E.
The Cafe is an expansion of Top Market Family Farms that resides in the same plaza as their new cafe.
“We had a lot of people over the years come in and wish we would serve coffee, sandwiches, salads and stuff like that,” said Leslie Zinger, owner of Farmhouse Coffee and Deli.
“We want to give everyone in Preston the availability of walking into a coffee shop and having good coffee and local food.”
Zinger also owns a livestock farm just outside of Cambridge and runs it with her husband and son. Just over six years ago, they opened Top Market Family Farms serving the community local organic food from their farm and other locally sourced vendors.
Having seen the need for a space to be able to serve customers coffee and freshly made food, the Zingers decided to take over the Wuddup Dog space and open up their cafe right next door.
“We are also outgrowing this space so getting that extra bit of room will greatly help with our ability to serve our customers,” said Zinger.
Their goal is to be able to bring the farm directly to the table and since they are the farmers and own the table, there’s no middle-man. Farming lamb, pork and goats, the Zingers currently bring in fresh cut meat into their store for sale. When they open up their restaurant they will now have the option of serving it directly to customers.
Aiming for an April 2023 opening date, they have a lot to prepare in order for the cafe to be ready to handle the traffic and become a spot for the community to come and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Zinger sees how their store brings neighbours and friends together and is excited to expand on that to a sit down restaurant.
“The community shows that they want to support and enjoy locally and we can’t wait to see that with the coffeehouse,” Zinger said.
“People want to see businesses in Preston succeed, we really want to become a community hub for this area.”
Zinger was born and raised in Cambridge and moved to her farm 19 years ago when she and her husband got married. There she learned how valuable local farms are and the quality of food they can produce.
Her goal with Top Market was to show people in the city that "amazing things come from local farms" and they don’t have to go to the big box stores to shop and get their food.
“I really wanted to open a store and bring all these amazing things that I've discovered living in the country to the city, because I never had that,'' said Zinger “I needed to let people know we have really amazing local farmers in this area that do such a good job and that we're lucky to have that local food connection.”
The new coffee house and deli will be exclusively stocked with locally sourced goods staying true to their local and farm to table roots.
Construction is currently underway, but customers can still shop local at Top Markets Family Farms at 960 King St E. The store is stocked with over 1,500 local products like honey, cheese and canned goods.
“I'm excited to have everyone coming in and hearing laughter, enjoyment, everyone enjoying coffee, their community and just being part of a good thing,” said Zinger.
