Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company

Tall Grass updates

[WINNIPEG, November 20, 2020]

Our bakeries remain open during code red

At this time, in-store business continues as per our new usual at our locations in Wolseley and The Forks.

At the Tall Grass bakery in Wolseley this means:
• 2 people in the bakery at a time
• people who are waiting to come into the bakery should stand behind the black line socially distanced apart, until it is their turn
• pre-paid pickup & delivery service continues. Please see the menu and hours below for the details

At Tall Grass bakery and Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen in The Forks:
• counter service continues
• people are asked to stand socially distanced apart, waiting to be served

PS: You can also pick up our baking at many Vita Health locations, the Food Fare at Portage & Arlington, and through Fresh Option Organic Delivery.

Wolseley customers – try indoor pickup at The Forks

With the new 2 customers limit in the Wolseley bakery during Code Red, you may have a longer wait outdoors. Our curb-side pickup or home delivery is one way to deal with the cold. Wolseley even has an outside pickup window.

Another option, with indoor line-ups, is at our Forks bakery. It’s easy to maintain a 2m distance in this spacious area. The entire front of the Forks Market building has also been turned into a free pickup zone, so parking is no problem. Please use the entrance between Ellements Wine+Spirits and Grass Roots Kitchen. You can even call 204-957-5097, and we’ll bring your order out to your car. We look forward to seeing you in Wolseley or at The Forks.

order from Wolseley

order from The Forks Market

MLA Lisa Naylor leads Tall Grass tribute

“This is an achievement worth celebrating!”

Such were the words of Lisa Naylor, MLA for Wolseley who recently congratulated Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company on their 30th Anniversary on the floor of the Manitoba Legislature.

Lisa who is the Environment and Climate Change Critic for Manitoba’s NDP read a prepared statement in which she noted that Tall Grass represents so many things things that our community values now, more than ever.

She talked about the origins of the bakery in response to concerns about the well being of local small organic farmers, and a desire change people’s perspectives how food should be grown, made and how it should taste.

Of course, she made reference to the classic Tall Grass cinnamon bun and good nutritious food.

“Fair wages, community engagement, and environmentally sound business practices can change the world. Congratulation Tall Gras Prairie Bread Prairie Bakery on changing our little corner of the world!” Lisa concluded.

Calling our pie plates back home!

If you’re one of our pie customers, Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company is asking you to look through your kitchen cupboards to see whether you might have some of our metal reusable pie plates waiting and eager to return to our bakeries.

With Thanksgiving leftovers still on our minds, we’re still in an exciting pie-making season and don’t want to run out of pie plates.

Years ago, we began using sturdy metal deep dish pie plates for all our pies, out of respect for our Mother the Earth. Since that time, our deep dish pies have become customer favourites.

Return these pie plates and we will give you $5 for each one.

Ten breads or more – 10% off

When you purchase 10 breads or more, you will receive a 10% discount on those items. This applies to purchases of multiple loaves of one type or many types. It’s up to you to decide! To assure that your choices will be available, call two days ahead so we can prepare your order. Tall Grass in Wolseley 204-783-5097 or Tall Grass at The Forks 204-957-5097. This offer does not apply to other baked goods.

Tall Grass anniversary featured on CBC Radio

Our 30th anniversary has been celebrated in many small ways, and we were pleased to happily share our story with host Nadia Kidwai of CBC Radio’s Weekend Morning Show, who interviewed co-owner Tabitha Langel. Listen to the radio interview and read the profile published on the CBC website.

In the radio interview, Tabitha talks about some of the early memories as well as the challenges over the past 30 years, and how gratifying it is that the neighbourhood supported them from the very beginning in the creation this bakery with a brand new approach.

a walk down memory lane

In recognition of our 30th anniversary we’ve introduced a new page on our site that will begin to tell our story. The first instalment is a story written by Stuart McLean that was broadcast back in 2006 on CBC Radio’s Vinyl Cafe.

Nurturing Community: Tall Grass turns 30

An article in this month’s issue of the Wolseley Leaf, written by Mike Maunder, is a well-researched piece that details how it all began, complete with photos and interviews.

This is a great piece to sit down and read, in print or here online, with a cup of tea and a fresh Tall Grass cinnamon bun or a Spelt morning glory muffin!

Learn about:

• city kids and country cows
• deliveries of bread using a little red wagon
• Stuart McLean’s 2006 Vinyl Cafe broadcast on CBC Radio.

It was thirty years ago today…

This September, 2020, Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company is celebrating its 30th anniversary!

Tall Grass opened a cosy little bakery in the Wolseley neighbourhood of Winnipeg in 1990 with a desire to support Manitoba farmers and bring the production of good food to Winnipeg. Twelve years later, we were privileged to bring organic grains and fresh milling to The Forks.

By 2005 the Tall Grass commitment to whole food was expanding. We had so much more to share. We developed hearty, oven-ready meals as well as home style soups, jams, jellies, preserves and pickles, all prepared with the care you’ve come to expect from us. And so Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen was born.

Every day Tall Grass celebrates the ancient tradition of bread making. Our foundation continues to be daily fresh milling of whole organic grains, including ancient varieties such as Red Fife and Spelt. Our bakeries are where from scratch creations are born and begin to sing their own songs.

At Tall Grass and Grass Roots we are all about local, organic, and made from scratch. These principles guide us in every step as we create the food we are proud to provide at our three locations and through our catering.

From all of us at Tall Grass and Grass Roots, we extend our gratitude and thanks for the support and loyalty that you have extended to our bakeries and our kitchen over the past thirty years. Watch this spot over the next little while as we bring you:

• our anniversary story just published in the September issue of The Leaf newspaper (see page 6)
• a re-posting of the Stewart McLean story first presented in 2006 on CBC Radio’s The Vinyl Cafe
• the results of delicious new recipes we are fine tuning
• and exciting plans for the future

Thanks for the first 30 years,
Your friends at Tall Grass and Grass Roots

Poetry in Wolseley

Winnipeg Poet Laureate Duncan Mercredi made Wolseley the subject of his recent poem And so it begins

Here’s an excerpt from the poem.

and it begins
the city shakes the cobwebs off
the streets laughter echoes down arlington
then back again
cars exhaust hangs in the air
tires squeal trying to beat the others
he races alone

Use this link to read the entire poem on the page 3 of the issue of The Leaf.

DRM/2020 Duncan Mercredi

Published in the July 2020 edition of the Wolseley and West Broadway community newspaper – The Leaf. Published with the permission of Duncan Mercredi, and with the permission of The Leaf Editor, Terese Taylor.

Photo by KC Adams.

Four at a time in Wolseley!

We’ve added an extra cash register and some helpful protocols so we can all stay safe while visiting Tall Grass in Wolseley.

• 4 customers are allowed in the bakery at one time.
• Using the automatic door button, first check to see how many customers are inside.
• If there are more than 3 customers, please wait outside behind the black line.
• Use the door buttons to enter and leave.
• Please approach the cash registers one at a time while the next customers wait at the two floor markers, 6 feet back.
• Families are welcome! Keep one child close to you. Additional children must wait at the rear floor markers.

Pickup & delivery continues

While we’re all excited about having customers back in our bakeries, for those who prefer pickup and delivery, that service continues to be available Tuesdays to Saturdays through our Wolseley bakery. Call us at 204-779-4082 or email us at wolseley@tallgrassbakery.ca to place your order. Make sure you leave us with your phone number so we can call you back and confirm details. Also check out our menu below.

Catering your gatherings

As restrictions have been lifting, Tall Grass Catering is returning to our usual hours. Enjoy a variety of baked goods and other items for your next gathering. Call Mona, 204-947-1297 Monday to Friday: 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

In-store customers are back at both our bakeries!

[WINNIPEG, June 30, 2020]

Tall Grass in Wolseley

Mon. – Fri. 7 AM – 6 PM
Sat. 7 AM – 5 PM
Sundays and all holidays closed

It is lovely to see our Wolseley neighbours inside the bakery.

Things look a little bit different. We have made some changes to ensure the safety of our customers and staff through adhering to the mandated physical distancing requirements for retail locations. Signs at the door will assist you in following the proper protocols.

Our Wolseley location will also continue to be the hub of our well-received and much-appreciated pick-up and delivery service.

Tall Grass at The Forks

Daily 7 AM – 6:30 PM

We are so happy to see our Tall Grass customers at The Forks.

Especially after spending so much time at home, we invite you to come and visit this iconic Winnipeg attraction. We’ve adapted our space to provide you with the appropriate distancing while enjoying our fresh baked goods.

As is the case at our Wolseley bakery, we will have as many of your favourite baked goods as possible. And if you are missing one of your special treats, and you do not find it immediately on the shelf, we want you to know that we will be adding more products every week until we have our full complement of items.

Top of the pops

[Winnipeg, June 5, 2020]

Winnipeg’s original organic bakery, Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company, is pegged as #85 in the CBC Manitoba 150 listing on Instagram.

We are delighted to be part of this selection of 150 Manitoba icons.

With many thanks,
The Tall Grass team

Check it out at the links below:

Calling all salad lovers

Tall Grass is receiving regular deliveries of local salad greens, grown at the Harms family farm in Geneviève, MB. Our long-time regular customers will appreciate the delicious lettuce greens that come from this farm. Rinsed with artesian well water, air dried, and delivered the same day, these delicious fresh greens keep well. Thank you to our Mother the Earth and the Harms family for this first taste of spring. Use them for side salads, main salads or to spark up your sandwiches.

Thanks to our farmers, we have flour

At Tall Grass, we love supporting home bakers and bread adventurers! Thanks to the lovely folks at DeRuyck’s Top of the Hill Farm, we now have organic whole wheat flour for sale, as well as white organic flour. Both are available for pickup and delivery.

Join in the song!

As was reported on local CBC Radio News on Saturday, March 21, Tabitha Langel has invited everyone to join in the singing of The Beatles’ classic Yellow Submarine, from their balconies, porches and front steps any day at 4 pm as a way of keeping up our spirits throughout this time! And if you can’t carry a tune, Tabitha is asking you to carry out a pot or pan, to add percussion to the voices. Let’s all chime in!

featuring Desem Breads

Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. European-inspired and naturally leavened. Read more…

traditional canning

We can do it. Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen takes a can-do attitude to traditional canning. Read more…

Opening hours

Fresh baking and local food, made from scratch. Check out our hours. Read more…

Featuring Desem breads

The loaves come out of the oven – crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. These are the hallmarks of the European-inspired, naturally leavened loaves featuring a sourdough starter. Desem breads are also well known for what’s not in them – no added commercial yeast, oil, sugar or honey. In the ‘Desem’ fermentation process, a natural culture occurs that allows the bread to rise. At Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company, it all starts with our own freshly ground organic whole grain flour made from Red Fife, Spelt and Rye, as well as other grains. A growing appreciation for the Desem style of nutrient-rich sourdough baking demands the use of a brick oven to bring out the finer details, as was done in Europe for centuries. This is where our brick oven upstairs at our bakery in Wolseley is at its best. Try these finely crafted Desem breads, including our:

• Fig walnut / Olive rosemary
• Heavy German Rye
• Multigrain sourdough
• Onion Rye.
• Potato dill
• Spelt sourdough

Also emerging fresh from this oven are Ciabatta buns and baguettes, and the occasional pizza. Enjoy!

Traditional canning

Who has the time for traditional canning, the way Granny did it? We do! At Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen we follow the time-honoured steps that bring you delicious local canning from the farm to your table. Come and watch us at working during the late summer and into the autumn at our kitchen in The Forks Market as we bring you summer in a jar through this prairie custom. Our delicious choices include, but are not limited to:

• Apple and wild cranberry jam
• Manitoba Saskatoon jam
• Apricot sunrise jam
• Homestyle apple sauce
• Rhubarb apple chutney
• Salsas (mild, medium, or hot)
• Homestyle dill pickles
• Bread and butter pickles
• Pickled beets
• and much, much more!

At Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen, we are preserving more than food. We are preserving a heritage. A selection of our canned items is also available at Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company in Wolseley, 859 Westminster Avenue, and Tall Grass in The Forks Market.

Our hours

Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company in Wolseley, 859 Westminster
Mondays – Fridays: 7 AM – 6 PM
Saturdays: 7 AM – 5 PM
Closed Sundays and all holidays

Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company in The Forks
OPEN every day, 7 days a week
Mondays – Sundays: 7 AM – 6:30 PM

Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen in The Forks
OPEN every day, 7 days a week
Mondays – Sundays: 9 AM – 6:30 PM

At The Forks, we are open most holidays except: Remembrance Day (November 11) & Christmas Day (December 25)