West Edmonton deli plays up local flavour

By Erin Cripps-Woods

EDMONTON — A west Edmonton deli business is rebranding itself to show its dedication to preparing and serving local food.

Cameron Jordan and Louis Hamel, owners of Careit Urban Deli, are looking to refresh their look as Modern Chefs Going Local on their website. They want to emphasize the fact that they use all local food and products within their two stores, located in Crestwood on 9672 142 St. and in the Hamptons on 5236 199 St. in Hemingway Plaza.

“We source all of our products locally,” said Jordan. “Everything from our homemade soups to our bread that we use to make sandwiches is from local producers.”

The local food movement has been growing throughout North America as people recognize the nutritional, environmental and economic benefits of eating food close to home. The Live Local movement that Careit belongs to is a part of that.

The Live Local group aims to support independent entrepreneurs, keep locally owned businesses in business, and get people working together to create healthy, vibrant communities. Live Local’s Jessie Radies, who owns Blue Pear restaurant is a strong supporter of sourcing locally.

“Living local allows us to build communities I want to live in,” said Radies. “I wish there were 20 of them (Careit Urban Deli’s) instead of two.”

Careit mainly specializes in making quick and healthy take-away meals. However, it also has a fresh meat section and an in-house baked goods menu. The only items not sourced locally in the store are some of the spices; that makes an 80/20 ratio of local versus essential exports.

However, Jordan admits having a profitable business is hard. Right now 90 per cent of the customers are construction workers who are working on roads close to Careit. On the slow days, Jordan has had to send employees home because there just weren’t enough people walking through the door. He won’t change his commitment to local food, though. He says there’s value in knowing exactly where the food is coming from and Careit’s customers also appreciate the effort taken to live local.

“They are the epitome of a great local business,” said Radies.

Jordan and Hamel worked as chefs before they decided to open shop together four years ago. Both graduates of NAIT’s food service program; Jordan and Hamel have experience working for some of the top restaurants in the city.

Jordan has been a chef for 13 years now and said he knows how to make a profit no matter how hard it becomes to stay local. “We have zero waste on everything we bring in and use,” said Jordan.

Jordan says Careit’s success stems from popularity with locals and making an experience for every customer.

“We’re friendly, we know what we’re talking about and we get to know people by their first name,” he said.