MERVIN, Sask. – Tam Courtice won’t serve anything in her restaurant that she wouldn’t eat herself.That means a diverse selection of vegetarian, organic, fresh and dairy free at Bumbleberry’s Tea and Coffee House, which Tam operates in this small western Saskatchewan village with her husband, Jeff.”I try different things all the time, otherwise it gets kind of mundane,” she said.This day’s lunch menu features Mediterranean bruschetta and borscht or salad with cranberry vinaigrette.”We weren’t born to be on a beaten path,” said Jeff, who grew up nearby.Meat-free fare is a tough sell in the heart of farming country, where cattle dot the rolling hillsides and typical café fare is burgers and fries.As a result, Tam occasionally offers fish.”I win them over with taste,” she said of her non-traditional menu items.Business surged initially as locals tried it out, but then it levelled off, with a coffee crowd and loyal foodies continuing to support them. Local competition comes from the golf clubhouse, but it’s only open in the summer.The Courtices’ restaurant has mainly daytime, weekday hours, with sit-down or take out service. It occasionally offers supper menus and Sunday brunch and an assortment of wines with meals.The couple try to keep costs down through bulk buying and local garden produce in the summer, but their prices are still considered high by rural standards.”Being a rural centre, they won’t pay what it’s worth,” Tam said. “Urbans who drop in see low prices.”Jeff said the restaurant changed hands many times before they settled in five years ago.”Business in a small town is a tough go,” he said.They both worked at the business until restaurant help was found. Jeff now works full-time for an energy company but still helps with the books, floors and groceries.He said rural living has its advantages: a lower cost of living and an easier time for a young couple to get into business.The business is labour intensive, but Tam pointed to a room full of patrons while explaining her motivation for running a restaurant.Across the room, Edward Conacher enjoyed a mid-morning break with a friend.He admitted to having tried almost very kind of the 29 tea flavours offered, but conceded the menu is not his cup of tea.”I like much of it, but it’s not what I go looking for. She is an extremely good cook,” he said.”When you’re 74, you don’t want to be eating anything you’re not used to. I’m not on the cutting edge of dining.”Natasha Volkow is an import from Vancouver who moved to Mervin with her boyfriend and helps Tam in the kitchen.Her fiancé, James Rosendahl, also helps when needed.”It’s not your typical small town café,” said Rosendahl, whose favourites include taco pizza and quesadilla.Both appreciate what Tam is doing.”I get what she’s doing. She’s making awesome food, all good-for-you food,” Volkow said.”We know exactly what’s in it.”She thinks that’s a plus for the local seniors and other residents, some of whom have health issues.Local postmistress Linda Knowlton dropped in for a bowl of borscht that she took back to the post office next door.She said she was skeptical at first about the vegan menu, but was quickly won over by taste and flavour.”It’s good wholesome food, you know what you’re eating,” she said of the herbs and spices that Tam uses instead of salt.Knowlton said most customers are women.Marla Rauser of Paradise Hill, Sask., was treated to a special meal at Bumbleberry’s by her husband earlier this year and came away impressed.”The food took a little while but it was totally worth the wait,” she said.”Her food tasted as good as mine, if not better.”The well travelled Rauser said the food matched what she’d eaten in Mexico. They tried the wild rice and cranberries with fresh guacamole, quesadilla, soup and goat cheese salad, topped off by fresh lemon pie with a wild blueberry topping.Rauser said Mervin is a good location for the café, adding nearby Lloyd-minster has many eating options.”There are enough people in rural areas who appreciate good food,” she said.
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