{"id":1181,"date":"2018-04-27T13:01:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T13:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/?p=1181"},"modified":"2018-04-27T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T13:42:16","slug":"coffee-craft-beer-in-downtown-galt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/2018\/04\/27\/coffee-craft-beer-in-downtown-galt\/","title":{"rendered":"COFFEE & CRAFT BEER IN DOWNTOWN GALT"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLACKWING<\/em><\/h3>\n

BY CHRIS TIESSEN<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018If Death Valley\u2019s Little Brother is my home,\u2019 suggests Katherine Chiles, \u2018then Blackwing is my cottage: a place that I\u2019ve just recently claimed as my own, and that has so much potential. A place that, over the years, will be filled with laughter and friendship and love. And memories.\u2019<\/p>\n

She adds: \u2018A place that I need to put my stamp on.\u2019<\/p>\n

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A stamp that\u2019s already begun being administered to this newest downtown Galt venture \u2013 through a distinct brand of aesthetic with which rabid fans of Katherine\u2019s other business, Uptown Waterloo\u2019s Death Valley\u2019s Little Brother (or DVLB for short), are very familiar. A sort of mixture of opulent elegance and hipster chic, I think to myself as I gaze about the fantastic space that occupies the former South Waterloo Agricultural Society building planted directly across the Grand River from the stunning Cambridge Mill.<\/p>\n

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Luxurious wood textures. Sumptuous leather furniture. Exposed brick. Gold accents. And an attention to detail that sets both DVLB and now Blackwing apart. A potted lemon tree residing in a false fireplace framed with chopped wood. A library area shelved with everything from travel books to Elon Musk\u2019s musings. A bear skull topped with dried flowers on display in a corner. And a deliberate duality at play in the design elements, a duality evident here at Blackwing just as it is at Katherine\u2019s DVLB \u2013 and at Kitchener\u2019s Smile Tiger, too, where Katherine\u2019s collaborator-in-business, Joel Gingrich, is part-owner.
\nThe warm, orb-shaped lights contrast with the sharp geometric shapes of the light fixtures and chevron flooring. The stark exposed brick sets off the substantial frondy green plants. Joel was behind much of the interior design of Blackwing, just as he was at DVLB and Smile Tiger. Here, as there, he points out, the design language emphasizes dichotomy and opposition \u2013 and complementarity.<\/p>\n

The contrasting design cues are embedded in the logo of each of these places. The Jackalope of DVLB \u2013 a combination of jackrabbit and antelope. The tiger and dove at Smile Tiger. And at Blackwing, the two black birds \u2013 who look like they\u2019re either coming together to attack each other or to embrace. \u2018If you look carefully at their talons,\u2019 Joel remarks, \u2018you\u2019ll note that they\u2019re grasping at a heart. Either to rip it apart \u2013 or to hold it up together.\u2019\u00a0 Tension and balance. Love and hate. Up and down. Coffee and beer.<\/p>\n

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\u2018While Waterloo\u2019s DVLB has made a name for itself serving coffee and whisky,\u2019 Katherine tells me, \u2018Blackwing is about locally-roasted coffee [from Smile Tiger] and local craft beer.\u2019 She adds: \u2018We have seven taps for beer, and an eighth tap for nitro-infused cold coffee. And a simple food menu too.\u2019 Olive plates. Sourdough bread. Hummus, veggies, figs and flat bread. Sausage rolls. Charcuterie plates. All locally-made, with locally-sourced ingredients. And great for sharing. For which Blackwing seems perfectly configured.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the single-room space is divided in an ingenious way \u2013 with specific sections raised, divided. It\u2019s a space conducive to solitary contemplation or group gatherings. And event programming too \u2013 including live music. With a weeknight closing time of 10pm that extends to 11pm (or later) on Saturdays, there\u2019s opportunity for all sorts of events. And because Blackwing opens each weekday at 7am (and weekends at 8am) there\u2019s opportunity for morning rituals too. Your first coffee with a newspaper or magazine, a favourite book, a colleague or friend \u2013 while the natural light warms the gorgeous wood floors and eclectic d\u00e9cor. Settling in, at whatever time of day. Much like at a favourite cottage.<\/p>\n

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Katherine\u2019s \u2018cottage\u2019. And yours too. In downtown Galt. Blackwing.<\/p>\n

<\/span> blackwingcoffee.com
\n<\/i><\/span> @blackwingcoffee
\n<\/a><\/i><\/span> @blackwingcoffee<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BLACKWING BY CHRIS TIESSEN \u2018If Death Valley\u2019s Little Brother is my home,\u2019 suggests Katherine Chiles, \u2018then Blackwing is my cottage: a place that I\u2019ve just recently claimed as my own, and that has so much potential. A place that, over the years, will be filled with laughter and friendship and love. And memories.\u2019 She adds: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53,113,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-drink","category-issue-4","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/1DSC_0616sm2.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8KDF5-j3","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1181"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1205,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions\/1205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}