Luxe Cafe x Macdougals Canteen

In Jarvis, two local businesses are proving that when small businesses work together, everyone benefits - especially the customers! Luxe Café, a local bakery, and MacDougal's Canteen, an ice cream shop, have teamed up to create delicious desserts that bring together the best of both businesses. 

The collaboration began just before summer, when Kadie from MacDougal's Canteen reached out to Shannon at Luxe Café about working together. When MacDougal's Canteen first opened, Kadie and Emma wanted to showcase other local talents in the culinary industry. As a longtime customer of Luxe Café, Kadie saw an opportunity to bring Shannon’s baking into MacDougal's’ ice cream creations. 

MacDougal's Canteen specializes in ice cream but does not have a full kitchen or baking operation, while Luxe Café has the equipment and expertise to create the fresh baked goods needed for their desserts. The partnership quickly grew from an initial idea into an ongoing collaboration. 

Shannon now does all the baking for MacDougal's Canteen’s creations. Luxe Café supplies the cookies used for the ice cream sandwiches, cheesecakes incorporated into sundaes, brownies, cakes, crumbles and other baked inclusions featured in their weekly creations. Everything is made fresh, helping MacDougal's bring new and creative combinations to its customers. 

For Shannon, the partnership has become much more than simply baking for another local business. Through working together, she and Kadie have developed a close friendship, with Shannon saying that the two have become best friends through the partnership. 

That friendship has become part of what makes the collaboration so special. The two businesses have found a way to complement each other, blending Luxe Café’s freshly baked treats with MacDougal's Canteen’s ice cream to create desserts that are both creative and distinctly local. 

The partnership is also a great example of the strength of Haldimand’s small business community. Instead of working independently, Luxe Café and MacDougal's Canteen are supporting one another, showcasing local culinary talent and creating something that neither business could offer on its own.