In recent weeks, the much-anticipated Cornerstone Café and Deli opened its doors to hungry diners at 511 Main Street in St. Adolphe. So far, the business’s outlet is optimistic.

Local resident and restaurant owner Peter Ecker says they’ve seen a steady flow of traffic, both local and Winnipeg-based.

The deli is managed by Ecker’s two grown sons, James and John. It’s open six days a week for breakfast, lunch, and supper.

“We’ve desperately been needing a restaurant here for the longest time,” Ecker says. “We haven’t seen much come and go after the Pic-and-Nic closed. We know that people wanted something, and the timing was good for us.”

The style of dining at Cornerstone is something one might expect to find on the streets of New York—an upscale sandwich and soup deli.

But Ecker says it’s so much more than that.

Stepping inside, you’ll see a vast sandwich bar offering artisan breads, deli meats, many different cheeses, and a selection of gourmet condiments.

The average sandwich, Ecker says, is loaded up with a half-pound of meat before other toppings of the customer’s choosing are added.

“We created a muffaletta filling,” Ecker says. “It’s like an Italian-style salsa. People love that stuff. I’ve got pickled eggplant and baba ganoush, artichokes, and imported olives from Italy. Every sandwich gets a [helping] of imported olive oil and balsamic vinegar.”

If it’s pickled, marinated, or roasted, he says the process was done in house.

If patrons are unsure as to what pairs well with what, Ecker says they are glad to make recommendations. In some respects, he adds, that makes them sandwich coaches.

They also reserve the right to tell a customer what they cannot put on their sandwich.

“Ketchup doesn’t go with prosciutto,” he says with a laugh.

In order to help people stretch their palette, Ecker says they’ll soon be offering charcuterie with samplings from their sandwich bar.

Complementing the sandwich bar are daily soup specials, all made in-house and from scratch. Diners can enjoy traditional borscht, carrot and ginger soup, roasted tomato soup, and more.

For pizza lovers, there’s daily features there too.

The menu supports gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegetarian options. There are senior discounts and a new kids menu which includes grilled cheese, hot dogs, chicken fingers, and burger sliders.

Showcased next to the sandwich bar is a selection of pastries Ecker has brought in from Quebec.

“The croissants are a pure butter croissant,” he says. “The chocolate, the marzipan, everything that’s inside these pastries is absolutely incredible. Our cinnamon buns are already famous. This is a pastry-style one rather than a bread-style.”

Even the coffee and espresso is hand-selected, coming from a roaster based out of Brandon. The restaurant will soon be licensed to sell wine and beer.

This deli doesn’t just cater to sit-in diners, though. They provide takeout options and sandwich bundles to go. As well, individuals can choose from a selection of prepackaged whole meals to take home for the family dinner.

One of Ecker’s favourites, which is quickly becoming a favourite for many patrons too, is the jumbo Italian meatballs made from a pork, veal, and beef blend and topped with Ecker’s homemade Italian tomato sauce.

The deli also carries a small retail section where shoppers can find imported ingredients such as olive oil and pastas.

How does he use quality imported ingredients and still keep prices reasonable? Ecker says there are some key means of doing that.

“It’s important not to have waste and overproduction because that can really eat up all of your money. You’ve got to know how to cycle food and sell food [responsibly].”

Cornerstone also provides catering services for any type of event.

Ecker has been instrumental in providing hundreds of meals every month to Life’s Journey, a non-profit working with individuals with neurodiverse challenges.

As a member of the Shriners and Freemasons, he’s very familiar with charitable giving. Since the restaurant opened, he’s been providing lower-cost meals to those who live in St. Adolphe’s affordable housing units.

Ecker and his wife Lyne have been residents of St. Adolphe for the past 25 years. It’s where they raised their sons and the boys have now both returned to their childhood stomping grounds.

When reminiscing about what drew them to St. Adolphe in the first place, Ecker says the community felt safe and the residents were kind. It didn’t hurt that it was a bilingual community since both Lyne and the boys speak French.

Ecker has been a career chef for 40 years. The past 20 have been spent working for Sysco Foods where he cooks for restauranteurs as well as provides them with business management advice and menu development ideas.

Prior to that, he cooked in the kitchens of hotel chains, convention centres, and high-end restaurants. It’s why he so strongly believes in providing great meals using quality ingredients.

“Everything [at Cornerstone] is either local or imported from Italy. I grew up with the Italians in Niagara Falls where I’m originally from. I’m an antipasto-style eater, so I like variety, but I like quality.”

His wife Lyne also works in the industry. She has a degree in hotel and restaurant management and owns a company called Cornerstone Hospitality and Food Sales (CHEFS).

The couple feels indebted to a number of friends and local trades who helped them get the café and deli off the ground. It was an expensive and challenging venture, Ecker says.

While Cornerstone has an active social media presence, a new website is being developed for launch very soon.