Gold Winner Local Jo Cafe & Market
Silver Winner True North Diner
Bronze Winner Cora’s
This family joint boasts some of the cafe world’s youngest patrons. Dining on cubes of apple slices, cubes of cheese, raisins and organic bread served in a boat-shaped dish, kid customers are king at Local Jo Cafe & Market. “They come in and get their favourite cookies (inevitably chocolate chip) and homemade lemonade,” says manager Danielle Surette of the place’s young visitors, who stream in from the two nearby schools and swath of family homes around its Oxford Street location. The split-level cafe boasts a padded play area equipped with toys for toddlers, chalkboards for doodling and a selection of children’s books. The bathrooms are also fashioned with diaper-changing stations. The cafe is equally popular with adult clientele: Surrette says it’s abuzz on Friday mornings when moms stream in for some caffeine-fueled socializing. Local Jo is just as well-known for its homemade baked goods and farmers’ market selections.
