As we mentioned in last week’s post on Homemade Kolache, the recently rebranded Somerville 630 offers up a community space filled with coffee, business, local art, and of course, an array of tasty dining options! In the second instalment in this series, we’ll take a closer look at one of three brand new restaurants located inside 630 Dundas Street, Bella’s Acacia Catering.
Bella Rivard moved to Canada from Korea in 2015 and knew immediately she wanted to “share her culture with those around her.” Following praise for dishes she shared with work colleagues and fellow students, she formally opened her restaurant in 2018 out of a shared space on Dorinda Street in Old East Village.
During this time, she was also in school full time for Business Accounting but wanted nothing more than to grow her business and bring her traditional, vegetarian Korean menu items to even more people.
“After graduating in April 2020, I said I’d work seven days a week, even if I didn’t get any orders. So that’s what I did, and the orders started coming” Bella told us.
In an effort to expand and reach more potential customers, Bella moved her operation to Somerville 630 in August and officially opened in September. She has since been serving up her healthy, Korean creations to very, very happy customers on a daily basis.
But, Korean food certainly isn’t typically vegetarian, in fact quite the opposite; so what led Bella in this direction?
“It’s just how my family always cooked, we didn’t eat meat, and we made our meals vegetarian. It’s healthy and it’s fresh, so that’s how I do it!”
And do it she does, because since opening vegetarians and carnivores alike have come in droves for such dishes as her tofu-bap, bibimbap, fresh-rolls, and homemade kimchi. Plus, the in-house “must-try” is none other than her own personal recipe creation, the Bella-kim bap which expertly combines pickled ginger, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and garlic sauce into seaweed rolled flavour explosions.
Bella confirmed that all of her ingredients come from local sources and everything is made fresh to order. On top of this, all of her dishes contain zero sugar, dairy, or meats in order to provide her customers with the “cleanest of dishes” that are all natural and made with love.
Of her time so far on the main Dundas corridor, she told us she “loves OEV. Everyone here is so supportive” and she’s finding herself so filled with energy and excitement that she often has trouble sleeping!
When menu items are made with this much care and passion, they’re dishes everyone needs in their lives. So, make your next local restaurant adventure a trip to Bella’s Acacia Catering inside Somerville 630! Bella also offers curbside pick-up, takeout or delivery so check out her website for details and visit her on Facebook or Instagram for daily updates!
Did we mention Bella accepts Construction Dollars? She sure does, along with all the other tasty establishments at Somerville 630. Check them out this weekend and don’t miss the London Artists’ Studio Tour group exhibition taking place at the same location!
Stay tuned to our website for next week’s instalment on what’s new at Somerville 630 and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest!