GRAIN rebrands as Flourist, Announces Plans for New Flour Mill, Bakery and Cafe

VANCOUVER ARTISAN FLOUR MILLER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GRAIN REBRANDS AS ‘FLOURIST’, LAUNCHES NEW BAKERY, MILL AND CAFE

The Vancouver-based, artisan flour miller and farmer-direct dry goods supplier formerly known as GRAIN has rebranded as Flourist and will open a 2,800-sq.-ft. bakery and cafe at 3433 Commercial St. in East Vancouver later this spring.

The new bakery and cafe will feature fresh flour stone-milled on site, sourdough bread baked daily, coffee and baked goods, an all-day approachable food program and a retail market offering tools and ingredients for home baking and cooking adventures.

Established under the GRAIN brand, Flourist has earned a reputation and community following for promoting Canadian farmers, supplying traceable, farm-direct Canadian grains and beans for restaurants and retailers, and operating Vancouver’s first and only artisan flour mill.

“We’re so excited to be launching a brick-and-mortar location to better connect with our community, continue telling the stories of Canadian grain and bean farmers and to showcase our beautiful fresh flours in the best way possible: with our very own sourdough bread program,” says Flourist co-founder and CEO Janna Bishop. “The new name better represents where our company is going, and reflects the growing interest in an ingredient central to so many people’s lives.”

In addition to casual food and bakery items inspired by Flourist’s extensive and publicly available recipe collection, Flourist customers will be able to buy all the items currently available on the company’s website, including freshly milled flours.

“The farmer-direct whole grains, seeds, and beans part of the business will continue to grow and thrive through our online and retail channels and will feature prominently in the menu at the new Flourist location,” says Flourist co-founder Shira McDermott. “We’re really excited to be able show people how we mill our fresh flours and we expect our new Austrian-made stone mill will be a big hit at the bakery.”

Bishop and McDermott are joined by an experienced executive team that includes Ste. Marie Art and Design Founder and Principal and local restaurant design pioneer Craig Stanghetta and partner and CFO Rob Leadley, while new Head Baker Alessandra Percival will lead the baking and food program alongside Head Miller Christian Bendsen, who will oversee milling at the new bakery and continue managing the company’s existing South Vancouver warehouse and mill.

Flourist’s new location in Vancouver’s Cedar Cottage neighbourhood builds upon the success of the company’s monthly pop-up shops, which have highlighted the demand for a local space where amateur and professional bakers and food lovers alike can share knowledge and good food.

“Think of a bustling neighbourhood cafe and kitchen where you can eat-in or grab prepared food to go,” says Percival, who has been baking for Flourist pop-up shops since July 2017. “We’ll be baking sourdough bread daily exclusively using flour milled onsite, which is a first for this city.”

ABOUT FLOURIST | The first fully traceable grain, bean and flour company, Flourist provides premium dry goods and fresh flours stone-milled to order and offers an alternative to the highly processed and rancid flours commonly found on grocery store shelves and in the bulk bins of mystery beans and grains of unknown origins. Flourist is guided by three key principles: working hand in hand with exclusively Canadian family farms to showcase the high-quality crops produced by Canadian farmers, sourcing only premium quality grains and beans directly from the farmers who grow them, ensuring all products are fresh, and committing to 100% transparency in a category that is usually dominated by opaque supply chains and mysterious origins. At its core, Flourist connects people with the sources of their food and every product to the farmer who grew it. | www.flourist.com

Facebook: /eatgrain | Instagram: @flourist

Media release and images provided by Shelley McArthur Everett, SMC Communications Inc.