Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/561260
62 G O I N G P L A C E S | F A L L 2 0 1 5 brian hydesmith/the buzz I n a way, the roots of Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company reach down to co-founder Tabitha Langel's warm recollections of childhood on a Hutterite colony, where women baked together and food came from the fields. So when she and four other members of a Wolseley bread co-op founded Tall Grass in 1990, it was leavened by the conviction that city people longed to restore that connection between food, community and the dignity of farm families. ey were right. e bakery formed the frontline of what is now a surging farm-to-table movement. On the day it opened on Wolseley's Westminster Ave., customers lined up around the block to soak in the wafting scents of freshly baked cinnamon buns and bread, and the first batch of about 70 loaves sold out in minutes. Today, Tall Grass is thriving, celebrating its 25th year filling Winnipeggers' bellies with every- thing from organic spelt and multigrain bread to sweet, moist slabs of poppyseed cake. In addition to the Wolseley location, the com- pany now boasts a bakery, kitchen and pantry at e Forks, where they mill their own flour, fill jars with everything from homemade pickles to apricot jam and serve Eastern European take- out fare. On a busy Saturday, up to 1,000 loaves of bread emerge piping hot from the Tall Grass ovens, scooped up by faithful customers now into their second generation. If they're lucky, they'll get to meet farmers delivering grain and produce; sometimes the customers applaud. For Langel, that is the best part. "Food is made to be shared," she says. "It's also made to be personal. It isn't a factory thing. at's a very old-fashioned view, but hey, I am." GP Kneaded with Love by Melissa Martin LANDMARKS