New cafe will focus on healthy eating

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Start your journey to healthier eating with a stop at Oma D’s Country Market and Cafe, soon to open at 24 Duncan Avenue South (formerly Elaine’s Hairstyling). With a trend towards healthy eating, there’s still something for everyone.

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Dolly Dikens is the owner and visionary of the new cafe targeting July 5 as opening day. The cafe features a variety of healthy grab-and-go eats which Dikens says will fill the needs and appetites for people on the move.

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“I think this is a perfect fit,” explains Dikens referring to the cafe’s proximity to downtown businesses, professionals and office workers who are within walking distance.

“This square here,” says Dikens, “they can just quickly come over and grab their specialty drink, whatever it is, grab soup, grab a sandwich. They can eat it here or take it with them.”

“Mostly it will be grab and go which is good, but also I’d like it for people to come with your grandkids if you want and have a nice cup of tea.”

Oma means grandma in Dutch but Dikens says the cafe’s name is in honor of her mother. People found her mom’s real name too difficult to pronounce.

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“So, people would call her Oma because it was easier,” reminisces Dikens who is greatly inspired by her. “Even people that were older than her. And her maiden name was de Ruiter.”

Dikens’ given name, Dolly, was also her mom’s nickname. Her mom’s real name was Lolkje.

The hours Dikens has set her sights on will be from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with no plans for dinner. She’ll be serving the breakfast, break and brunch crowds.

“From 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. would be my summer hours,” continues Dikens. “I want to test it and then we can adapt going forward.”

“I think for 6:30 a.m., someone who works at the hospital, or one of the two nursing homes, starts at 7:00 a.m. so they would be able to come in and get something. And then I’d be here for an extended lunch.”

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“Also,” adds Dikens, “it’s my journey towards healthy lifestyle and eating. And born out of my own frustration. If you’re busy and all the different things like I am, and you just need to grab something, it’s very limited for something that’s healthy. So that’s what I’d like to offer people, that they know if they come here, they can get something that’s healthy, that fits their lifestyle.”

There’s a lot of emphasis on healthy eating, says Dikens, and she’d like to be a part of that trend.

“To be another option for people. There are lots of options for food in Kirkland Lake but in terms of knowing ‘if I go here, I know I can get something healthy.’ So, there will be something if you’re gluten-free, or vegan, or you just want regular Canadian fare. Very inclusive.”

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The daytime hours also free up time and space in the evenings for Dikens to serve up a helping hand. As a bi-vocational minister, she doesn’t get paid and having her own business will give her the balance she needs to serve the greater good.

“So, the other thing we’re doing,” praises Dikens, “I run a ministry called Reunion Kirkland Lake. It’s for people who — I would say were spiritual but not religious. So they wouldn’t necessarily go to a traditional church. They’re not interested in the institutional church, but they’re interested in Jesus and spirituality.”

“So they have questions, they’re curious, they may have been hurt by the church in the past.

I want to make it as welcoming as possible. It’s basically a discussion; I would talk but it’s interactive and they can ask questions. We just sit around, we arrange the tables so we’re all facing each other. We may want to expand, do a discussion group at night.”

Dikens vision for the cafe patrons and her ministry is nice, peaceful and calm. She’ll have a big screen with calming images, and paintings and photography hung by her artist friends.

“It’s a trend toward healthy with food but also relationships,” says Dikens. “I’d love for this to be a peaceful place for people to come and have a tea with a friend, or a coffee group with your buddies. It would just be a healthy, peaceful and safe place for the community to gather.”

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