Sweet sensations filled St. Martins Road, Pickering on Saturday May 12, 2012, as deehs delights celebrated their Grand Opening.  Mayor Dave Ryan, Deputy Mayor Doug Dickerson, Councillors Bill McLean, Peter Rodrigues and David Pickles and Pickering East Shore Community Association (“PESCA”) President Keith Falconer were on hand to assist Dianne Vazansky, owner, and her staff in the official ribbon cutting ceremony.  All of the guests were treated to cupcakes and chocolate confections and the response was an incredible, standing room only crowd as guests lined up outside.  After the ceremonies were over, Vazansky, affectionately known as Deeh, and her staff were kept busy filling orders behind the counter.  It can safely be said that the occasion netted a sell-out day for this new Pickering business neighbour.

A former manager of human resources and compliance and an admitted tom-boy,

 Vazansky refused to bake after scorching a banana bread in her teens. It was not until she was searching for a baker for her wedding cake that she decided to try her hand at baking again.  Vazansky has been baking ever since.  Now deehs delights is the official cake supplier to Max's of Manila Restaurant in Vaughan and Vazansky intends to be of service to the Durham Region where she lives and where her commercial kitchens are.  The shop on St. Martin’s is her first store front and will primarily provide cupcakes for walk in traffic however it is  the perfect spot to also offer specialty cake consultations, order taking and pick-ups for the area.

When asked about her jump from the corporate world to small business, Vazansky replied, “this is not just my career anymore; this is my passion now.  I love doing this and I’ve been known to do it 24 hours with no sleep, just baking. This, for me, I love to do.”  Beyond cupcakes, deehs delights  specializes in wedding, celebration and 3D cakes as well as offering nut free products.  Vazansky is very particular in only using local fresh ingredients and completing her creations with fondant, butter cream or cream cheese icings.

Vazansky puts it best when she says, “At deehs delights, we will bake your imagination.”

Saturday May 5, 2012 was an auspicious day for two local sisters-in-law as they had a few friends over to celebrate the grand opening of their new joint-endeavour; Congratulations to Brenda and Tina on the Official Grand Opening of Crabby Joe’s Pickering! 

The event was marked with a daylong celebration kicking off with a ribbon cutting ceremony preformed by Pickering’s Mayor Dave Ryan, Deputy Mayor Doug Dickerson and Councillors Jennifer O’Connell, David Pickles and Kevin Ashe.  Guests were treated to live entertainment, cake, light refreshments, select menu samplings as well as many give-aways of gift cards and Crabby Joe’s swag bags. 

Crabby Joe’s, a Canadian restaurant, originated in London, Ontario and is part of the Obsidian Group of restaurants which includes Coffee Cultures and Union Burger. Most of the Crabby Joe’s GTA locations are in the west end making Pickering the furthest east city location with Port Perry being the next closest in a township. “Crabby’s is a new and upcoming chain, so I think we will see a lot more coming,” predicts Tina. “We were originally going to open a Coffee Cultures and then during  the training, it was decided we would go with Crabby Joe’s,” Tina explains the power and potential the brand had that after 5 years of researching different chains Brenda and Tina decided on Crabby Joe’s, “This one just suited us.”  

Crabby Joe’s boasts an eclectic menu in a sleek but rustic modern atmosphere of comfortable booths and tables.  Tina describes the establishment; “Crabby’s is a sports bar/family restaurant - it is a tap and grill.  We do show every sport possible.  We have 10 televisions – three 65” screens at the bar – and we have a real nighttime sports crowd.  On the weekends; on Sundays, we have ‘kids eat free’ and that brings in a lot of families.  There is something here for everybody.”  Employing approximately 45 staff, Crabby Joe’s recommends reservations for large parties but does limit the reservations in order to accommodate walk-in traffic.  In order to expedite the lunch rush, patrons are able to download a pre-order form from the website and fill it in ahead of time.  This allows the staff to get a large lunch party in and out in under an hour which the business crowd really appreciates.

 When business owners take a key role in running the business, it shows in the quality of service and the care the staff has for the customers. Tina puts it best when she explains how she and Brenda want their customers to feel coming to Crabby Joe’s Pickering: “Even though there is a franchise name over this building, there are two women here that took a chance and opened up a restaurant and have tried to give a really good, safe and fun environment for someone to come and have dinner whether you be 5 or you are 95. There’s something here for everyone and we try to make everyone feel comfortable so that they can come back and identify with Brenda and me – not just Crabby Joe’s, but that they know the owners, because we spend a lot of time here, and we never want it to be just Crabby Joe’s. We want it to be Brenda and Tina’s place.” Drop by for lunch or dinner and say hi to Brenda and Tina – there’s nothing crabby about Crabby Joe’s Pickering!

Crabby Joe’s

780 Kingston Road

Pickering, ON  L1V 0C5 

905-831-2722 

www.crabbyjoes.com/locations-pickering.php