Taking care of your mental and physical well-being can sometimes be a stressful undertaking in and of itself. There are countless remedies and treatments out there but finding the right ones is anything but relaxing. To cut through all the noise, Beatrice Society has opened up a cafe right in the heart of downtown Toronto.
Beatrice Society Café—located on Richmond St. W past Spadina Ave.—is a two-storey loft space, sister cafe to the popular Boxcar Social. However, where Boxcar specializes in curated coffee roasts, wine and craft beers, Beatrice instead focuses on mind-body wellness with an adaptogen centred food and drink menu and mushroom infused coffee blends. For those unfamiliar, an adaptogen is a natural substance that helps protect the body against the effects of stress and can be found in herbs like ginseng and ashwagandha.
Beatrice Society's "goal as a brand is to make it easy and approachable for people to explore wellness in many forms - whether that's through supplements we carry, articles we write, or through the food in our cafe. Our cafe menu is a huge part of this mission, and we partnered with nutritionist Miranda Malisani (RNCP) to ensure that every menu item was carefully designed to deliver on nutritional and flavour profiles."
Featuring health-focused smoothies, salad bowls and energy bars, the menu is a mix of familiar superfoods—such as avocados, bananas and kale—as well as functional mushrooms and adaptogenic herbs for various boosts in energy, cognition and relaxation. For their coffees, Beatrice has partnered with Subtext Coffee, offering mushroom powder add-ons and mushroom infused coffee blends. While items from the smoothie and lunch menu aren't available just yet, when they are they'll be prepared in-house just upstairs.
Through the cafe, Beatrice Society wants to change the perception of plant-focused and alternative therapies from shady to sophisticated. To that end, the loft like space can transform into a venue for educational seminars and social gatherings, acting as a hub for the community. There are also plans to host evening events in the future, featuring healthy cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages.
The cafe is open to anyone and everyone. Whether you're looking to unwind with a good book, bolster your well-being through the robust menu, or head upstairs to browse the assortment of evidence-backed tinctures and supplements, this is a place to shelter from the stresses of everyday and discover something new to relax with.
Beatrice Society Café is located at 511 Richmond St. W and is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
