This week’s Business Spotlight is a tasty one! We stopped in to visit with Café Millennium, located on the main floor of the Millennium Centre – Suite 111, 4909 49 Street. This café is all about freshness! The delicious aromas of baking bread and gourmet coffee greet you when you first enter along with a friendly and helpful staff! A resident of Downtown Red Deer for the past 17 years, Café Millennium is a favorite breakfast and lunch stop for many that work and play in the area. We sat down with Louise Zanussi, owner of Café Millennium to learn more about her business!
What is your business?
We are a café/cafeteria style business. We offer catering, hot drinks, baked goods including bread so we can offer fresh sandwiches, lots of healthy options and hot lunch features. We do a little bit of everything. We can offer gluten-free options and we try to accommodate dietary restrictions.
When did your business open?
I took over the business 17 years ago. It originally opened as a café with the opening of the building in 2000.
What makes your business unique?
Our customer service is amazing. My staff are always on top of things and always looking to do a little bit extra. I think also it’s the freshness of our products. Our bread is baked right here so you get that nice aroma. Our roast beef is done onsite, and we strive to keep things as fresh as possible. We make sure to have healthy options ready because a lot of people only have a half-hour for lunch and they come down here and must eat at that time, they want it fast. Most will assume when they see 20 people at the counter, they won’t have time. But then they see 6 people ready to serve them. We do our best to make sure things are fast and as fresh as possible.
What are some products/services that you offer?
Our pumpkin cookies are certainly our signature item. It was something I tried years ago for Thanksgiving from a friend that brought me the recipe and my husband loved them! The first year we opened I knew we needed a pumpkin item and people just loved them! It is something we always make sure to carry. We also offer homemade chocolates seasonally, catering services for lunches and some evening events but focus mostly on lunches. This will include sandwich trays, soups, veggie and fruit trays, dessert/cookie trays, some hot foods such as pasta and quesadillas. We can also cater to special requests and offer delivery for a fee. Our catering menu is located on our website.
Why did you choose Downtown Red Deer as the location for your business?
I didn’t really know downtown at all, it was just an opportunity that came up. It was here and was a good business, I don’t know why it didn’t succeed before. It was just an opportunity and we managed to get it. So, we have been here ever since.
What do you think makes Downtown vibrant?
There are a lot of nice little shops in the downtown. At Christmas time, City Hall’s lights are beautiful and the flowers in the summertime are amazing. I love the cobblestone streets, the Farmers Market on Wednesdays, which we participate in, bring a lot of people downtown. It’s just a nice area!
I love Downtown Red Deer because… I think its just a nice little community. From the events in the summertime to the history and renovations on a lot of the buildings, and they look fantastic! We get a lot of people from downtown businesses that come in. We might not know their names, but we know what they like to eat! It’s just a little community gathering. Sometimes people will come three or four times a day. We get to know them, joke around and have lots of fun. I love it!
Homemade meals, fresh ingredients, and expert customer service make Café Millennium a front-runner in their business! They have something for everyone on their menu whether it be a fresh sandwich, hearty soup or a sweet treat! We invite you to stop in and see for yourself everything Café Millennium has to offer!
Check out their website to see their tasty menu and follow them on Facebook for their weekly lunch specials!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafemRedDeer/
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