Member PROFILES

Owners Juan Carlos Domínguez and Beatriz Salgado 

Juan Carlos Domínguez has been working as a chef in Ottawa for over thirty years, but the story of Ay Wey!, which he and his wife Beatriz Salgado opened in November 2025, is more personal than the cooking he did for restaurants like Le Moulin de Provence and the kitchens of the Mexican and Algerian embassies. 

“Everything started at home,” Domínguez explains, “We are from Mexico originally, and we always dreamed about our cuisine from back home. We used to invite friends over, so people started trying our food and they’d say, ‘why you don’t open a Mexican restaurant?'” 

When Juan and Beatriz started thinking seriously about the idea, they picked McArthur Road for the location. “We always knew that the Vanier area was a great spot for business.”  

The restaurant’s signature dish, tacos al pastor, is made with meat carved from a vertical spit that you might recognize from shawarma restaurants. Though Domínguez notes they do use halal meat, the restaurant’s spit was imported from his hometown Mexico City, where it is known as a trompo and is a traditional part of the city’s street cuisine. 

Ay Wey! also offers unique vegan and vegetarian options, including a version of tacos al pastor with soy instead of meat, a salad made with fresh cactus leaves and sopa tarasca, a soup from Salgado’s home state, Michoacan. 

Give their food a whirl at 295 McArthur Road! 

Tracey Clark, Owner 

While Linden Pizza opened its doors for the first time this year, restaurant owner Tracey Clark is quite familiar with the Vanier neighbourhood.  

Clark has lived in the community since 1997. She says she loves the neighbourhood because of how eclectic and diverse it is.  

“I wanted to bring something to the community where they could gather, have social connections, eat delectable food, and feel like they had a warm embrace,” Clark said. 

Clark is known throughout the Ottawa community for being one of the founders of the Bridgehead coffee chain, as well as its former CEO. She now is dedicating herself to her other passions: pizza and the community. 

Linden Pizza has eight pizzas on the menu, four with classic tomato sauces and four with green or white sauces. 

Among the most popular pizzas are the Valentina, which features pepperoni and hot honey, and the signature Linden, which has roasted leeks, garlic confit, fennel sausage and Gruyère cheese. Clark says that she has been making the Linden for her son for 18 years. 

Linden Pizza is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 5 pm to 9:30 pm. 

Come get a delicious pizza at 119 Beechwood Avenue! 

Filipe Correia, Owner 

Filipe Correia has been working at Mario’s Food Centre for most of his life. “I took over full time in 2001, but I started working in 1980, when I was twelve years old.” Nephew to the store’s namesake and original owner, Mario Marques, he started out stocking shelves and helping with various chores before beginning to help running the store’s operation in the 90s—while also adding his own passion project, a comic and collectible section called “The Final Stop”. 

The food centre, which offers a wide variety of imported Portuguese and Brazilian products and specialty foods, celebrated its 60-year anniversary in 2024; though the business started a few years earlier selling door-to-door to Ottawa’s Portuguese community out of a second-hand station wagon, the MacArthur storefront opened in 1964. More than half a century later, the store is still operating out of that same building, and Correia has no plans to leave Vanier. 

“We’re a very diverse community. We don’t just cater to only Portuguese or Brazilians, we have people from all sorts of backgrounds coming in who appreciate our food.” 

Get a taste of Portugal at 381 MacArthur! 

Head of Money Advisors Inc., financial advisor since 1997, managing member of a real estate investment group, and co-author of a book on financial literacy (Who Took My Money, released in September 2024), it’s clear that financial planning is a calling for Cathie Orfali. 

“The heart of the matter is I love helping people connect their goals with their financial plans,” she said in an interview. “When people are in tune not just with the financial side of things but can connect that to the meaningful things in life, that’s wonderful.” Money Advisors offers a variety of services to help with that, including tax preparation and planning, mortgage services, investment guidance, group and business insurance, and savings plans for retirement, disability, education and more.

As well as running a business in Vanier, she also lives here. “Vanier is a unique neighbourhood because it’s a blend of many different backgrounds, and that brings a vibrance, a richness to the neighbourhood.” She noted that residents care about the area and the people around them. “It has an old-fashioned community feel.” 

Orfali has been the President of Money Advisors since 2006, and under her leadership the company has emphasized giving back to the community, both internationally and in Ottawa. This includes something that’s close to the heart of Vanier; for the last four years, Cathie has organized the Vanier Holiday Giveaway. This December event, produced in collaboration with the Vanier BIA, encourages local businesses to give back to the community and bring holiday cheer to the neighbourhood.

“It’s become something like a Christmas market, where people can come out and enjoy the community, have a hot chocolate, hang out with Santa and pick up something they need from the giveaway table.” She encourages locals to invite anyone they know who might need a little help this winter to the event on December 14th. Businesses interested in contributing to the event can drop off donations at the Money Advisors office, or contact Cathie at 613 762 8020.

Plan your next financial move at 235 Montréal Road, suite 100!

Founded by a mother-daughter duo, this pottery studio just joined the neighbourhood, opening its doors in September. The pair hope that it will become a neighbourhood hub for sharing the fun of ceramics. Micha Basman, the studio’s lead technician, credits an upbringing in Mexico surrounded by pottery with her appreciation for the craft.  

“My favourite part of my job is that I get to be close to these materials that I love, and this artform that I love,” she said.  

The studio offers six-week courses to learn skills like turning clay on a wheel and hand-building clay pieces, as well as one-night introductory classes, and have classes for children as well as for adults. 

Give it a spin at 123-B Beechwood Avenue! 

Founded by literature lovers in 1994, Books on Beechwood has become the go-to place for patrons to find their next read. 

The store’s walls are lined with a colourful array of books of every genre and style. Even those who come into the store not expecting to find anything will often exit the doors with a book or two in hand.  

“I think my favourite part is introducing people to books they may not know about,” said Hilary Porter, the store’s manager. “When they come in not sure what they’re looking for and you can give them something they wouldn’t have come across any other way.” 

September marks the 30-year anniversary of Books on Beechwood. The store is planning on holding a celebration on the 21st, filled with giveaways, prizes and other fun things to honour the long-time Vanier institution. 

Dive into the pages of your next read at Books on Beechwood, located at 35 Beechwood Avenue! 

For two decades now, Eric Cardinal’s florist shop has been a staple of the Vanier area. 

 “I was a florist for eight years before I opened this shop, and for a long time I was looking to open my own business,” Cardinal said. “I always knew in the back of my mind that Beechwood would be the place.”  

Mood Moss has stayed in the same spot for its entire run, exceptionally impressive considering that they are celebrating 20 years of service in 2024.   

Mood Moss is a full-service flower shop, which means they do a bit of everything. They take walk-ins, provide flowers for events, and have even done work for the government and embassies.  

While the shop is a Vanier institution, they also deliver across Ottawa and Gatineau every day except Sunday.  

Come visit Mood Moss Flowers located at 186 Beechwood Ave!  

This restaurant has been a Vanier landmark since the 1960s―and the owner has a history in the restaurant business almost as long. “I’ve been working since I was a kid in the food business,” says George Ibrahim, an international chef with more than 50 years of experience.

Ibrahim took over Fontenelle in 2021, renovating the interior and updating the menu with pizza and pasta dishes, while keeping the classic breakfast and lunch dishes that are the restaurant’s specialty.

“I love it here. We have an excellent clientele,” he says of Vanier. “We like our place here, and they like our food.”

Get your fill of Canadian and Italian comfort food at 55 Montréal Road!

Royal Prince Caribbean Cuisine is a restaurant where customers can always expect to be greeted with a smile and interesting food.

Owner Jean-Charles has devoted his life to making food: “Whether I’m old or young, this is my passion, and this is what I’m going to do to the end of my days.” His dream of opening a restaurant found a home in Vanier. “Vanier is an absolutely beautiful community, very different, where people are welcoming.”

His restaurant offers a range of traditional Caribbean classics, with main dishes of jerk and curry chicken, marinated beef or goat complemented by sides like accras, pikliz, and fried plantains.

Visit Royal Prince at 165 Montreal Road.