Antica Café Opens in Lowertown East

By Nadia Stuewer

The much-anticipated successor to Bamm’s Snack Shack on Cobourg Street in Lowertown East opened its doors in mid-July. Antica Café and Kitchen, and its owner Gilda Mackwood, are now welcoming customers with a zen atmosphere, friendly service, and a comfort food menu.

Gone is the cluttered charm of Bamm’s, the sticker-covered tables, the toys and, sadly, the decadent donuts. The new vibe includes vibrant walls featuring paintings for sale by Lowertown artist, Julia Davids, and portraits of Nelson Mandela and Frida Kahlo. If you ask nicely, Gilda will lend you a book from her collection. The furniture, still original to Tugal’s, the Portuguese bar that occupied the building before Bamm’s, has been stripped, sanded, and refinished to a wooden glow. There are a few comfy chairs perfect for curling up with a good book and a warm beverage. In September, Gilda will open the back room featuring a long table and a sofa.

The menu, which Gilda is fine-tuning, features soups, salads, and sandwiches as well as poutine (including kimchi poutine), sausage, and grilled cheese. For dessert, there is soft ice cream. Breakfast is available on weekends. Gilda’s application for a liquor licence is in progress. Currently, the selection of drinks includes mango lassi and flavoured lemonades, specialty sodas and, of course, hot and cold coffee and teas. The kitchen at Antica is long and narrow, not well suited to many helpers in the kitchen. A lack of counter space makes prep a challenge. Pizzas are unlikely to hit the menu, as there just isn’t enough space to prepare them.

Owning a café has been a long-time dream for Gilda, who originally hails from Sudbury, and when she heard Bamm’s was for sale she took the plunge. She is thrilled to be back in Lowertown East, where she’s lived in the past, and hopes to move back to. She loves the character of the neighbourhood, especially the diversity of young families, students, new Canadians, and long-time residents, and its strong sense of community.

Gilda loves to cook and has spent thirty years working in small business. Her experience varies from running a print shop to working in restaurants as a server and a barista. In Sudbury, she worked for a very exacting French chef.  At Thyme & Again in Ottawa, she served hors d’oeuvres to Jean Chrétien. And at The Ritz on Elgin, she learned the art of pastry-making on her days off, testing her skills on dessert parties for 20 friends.

Like Matt and Ashley Atton, the former owners of Bamm’s, Gilda is very community-oriented and plans to turn her café/restaurant into an accessible and friendly space. The back room will be available for community members to book for events like children’s birthday parties or meetings. She is organizing twice-monthly trivia nights and may host acoustic music evenings. She welcomes feedback from community members about their wishes and needs for a community space.

Hours are Tuesday to Friday from 8 am to 7 pm, Saturday 9 am to 7 pm, and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm. It is closed on Mondays. Antica is located at 74 Cobourg Street (corner of Heney).