Patterson develops most recipes for a menu of cafe fare like salads, sandwiches and baked goods herself, with support on fine tuning from a few chefs.
"Seemingly overnight, the impacts of COVID-19 obliterated our catering business and led to the sad decision to close 1 King West and walk away from our new commissary kitchen dreams," Melissa Patterson tells blogTO. "We had hoped to stay longer so we could regain some momentum and then look to move to a new home in the PATH, but we were caught off guard when Brookfield asked us to vacate the premises immediately so they could put in a Starbucks. So, we were forced to close our old PATH location in October of 2022."
With her help, Cafe Plenty has been able to bounce back as a business and open more new locations again, opening at 1967 Yonge Street in December 2021, at 389 Danforth Ave. in July 2022 and at Commerce Court in January 2023. "We pivoted expansion to local neighbourhoods with the goal of becoming an important pillar of their communities," says Patterson.