Angelisa Mills is clearly excited about the new location of Absolutely Delicious, the popular restaurant she has owned and operated for 25 years.
When Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 was making plans for its new office and nine-storey, 108-unit accessible apartment building at 96 Great Northern Rd., an expanded food service for its lounge was on its wish list.
Absolutely Delicious has filled that need, opening at Branch 25’s new location Sept. 17.
It’s situated alongside the Legion’s bar and serves customers breakfast and lunch in the new building’s lounge and dining area.
“It’s an honour to be here. I believe the Legion and I both had the same drive to make the new branch a fun, family-friendly place. We’re proud to be part of this success,” Mills told SooToday.
The Absolutely Delicious breakfast menu includes bacon, eggs, omelettes, sausage, bagels and toasted Western sandwiches - the restaurant’s toasted Western a favourite with Absolutely Delicious customers.
The lunch menu includes homemade bread, homemade soup, quiche, club sandwiches, Reuben sandwiches and, every Thursday, homemade meat pie.
Absolutely Delicious meat pies are extremely popular with the establishment’s regular customers.
“They call to reserve meat pie. They say things like ‘we’re coming at 12:30, make sure there's three pieces,’” Mills said.
“The only thing I’ve added to my menu is French fries,” Mills said with a smile. “I’ve never had deep fryers before and French fries are of course a popular thing.”
Absolutely Delicious offers takeout, delivery and catering.
Mills said she’s planning to eventually add freezers filled with frozen meals - such as meat pies and pasta dishes - available for takeout.
Absolutely Delicious is also known for its homemade baked goods.
Mills bakes her own bread and treats such as butter tarts and cinnamon buns every day.
“The whole building can smell the cinnamon buns. I love it,” she said.
She also bakes pumpkin pie during the fall and prepares Christmas-themed baking every December.
Mills said that as Christmas draws nearer, customers can expect to see the dining space filled with Nutcracker dolls, a festive season tradition she holds dear and that customers enjoy.
Prior to moving to its new home at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 on Great Northern Road in September, Absolutely Delicious was located on Queen Street East in the city’s downtown core for nearly 20 years, then for a time on Dacey Road in the city’s east end before moving to another location adjacent to a residential area in the 2000 block of Queen Street East.
“It’s been great because all my customers over the years have followed me to each location. They’re excellent,” Mills said.
The latest change in location has attracted new customers, such as the Legion apartment building’s tenants and people from the surrounding neighbourhood, Mills said.
“Business was good on Queen Street but it’s even busier here. We’re on a busy road in Sault Ste. Marie. I’m enjoying it. I’m training quite a few people but we’re becoming the team we need to be.”
Absolutely Delicious includes a mixture of 10 full-time, part-time and casual staff.
The restaurant is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Mills said she is considering extending her hours of operation to 7 p.m. in order to include a dinner menu.
Born and raised in the Sault, Mills said “this is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was seven or eight years old. I’ve cooked and baked all my life. It’s my thing,” she told SooToday in 2019.
That hasn’t changed, she said.
“I feel good about our success. It’s hard in this city to own a restaurant because there are so many restaurants. I don’t go around counting and comparing. I just make sure that what we’re doing here is the best we can do for our own customers. I love it because I love cooking and I like the challenge of running a busy restaurant. It’s busy from the time we open until we leave. It makes me feel good when I can look at my staff at the end of the day and say ‘we did it.’”
