By David Holmes, contributor

When youB次元官网网址檙e a former roller-derby competitor - and an ex-outreach worker - what career path should you take?

If youB次元官网网址檙e Jenny Smart, the owner of EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚 BunnyB次元官网网址檚 Kitchen, you open a restaurant.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e always really loved cooking and people kept telling me, B次元官网网址業t would be so nice if you had a little caf茅B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� so it was very much a personal love that grew into this business,B次元官网网址� Smart explained.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e always loved feeding people. I love seeing peopleB次元官网网址檚 reactions and I love making food so it all just came together.B次元官网网址�

Located at 904 B Esquimalt Rd., BunnyB次元官网网址檚 Kitchen opened in November 2019 with the goal of producing quality, healthy B次元官网网址済rab-and-goB次元官网网址� food for customers on a tight schedule. While there is limited seating in the eatery, the bulk of the operationB次元官网网址檚 trade is devoted to take-out service.

B次元官网网址淚 used to be involved in competitive roller derby and my persona, my stage name was B次元官网网址楶sycho BunnyB次元官网网址� and a lot of people continued to call me Bunny even after I left the sport, so when I opened this business, I just kept it going,B次元官网网址� she said.

Without formal culinary training, yet with a passion for producing food that was both healthy and flavourful, Smart realized she could turn that desire into a viable business.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of it came from feeding my kids. Growing up I didnB次元官网网址檛 eat a lot of vegetables,B次元官网网址� Smart said. B次元官网网址淲e lived off KD and Mr. Noodle, so after learning more about nutrition and how food is a medicine I wanted to get as many vegetables into my kids as possible. People would then say that Bunny is the perfect name for a restaurant as bunnies eat vegetables.B次元官网网址�

True to its name, the menu at BunnyB次元官网网址檚 Kitchen is heavy on fresh salads (including distinctive made in-house dressings), sandwiches, breakfast bowls, wraps and various vegan options. While she had worked for 20 years in various pubs and restaurants her experience was always B次元官网网址渇ront of houseB次元官网网址� interacting with the customers, but never with the actual food preparation.

B次元官网网址淔or about five years before opening the restaurant I worked as an outreach worker, and while I loved it the stress of the job took its toll. Trying to deal with all the problems of society had an impact, I was fighting off panic attacks all the time, so I eventually went on stress leave B次元官网网址� that time away is when the opportunity to open the restaurant happened,B次元官网网址� she explained.

Very much a family business as both her son and daughter work in the operation part of the time, her next challenge will be finding a new location as she has been made aware that her present site is slated for redevelopment in about a year and half.

B次元官网网址淭here might be an option to come back into this space after the renovations, but I would really like to see us move into a proper space where I can carry out some of the expansion ideas I have. But thatB次元官网网址檚 still in the future,B次元官网网址� she said.

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