Healthy dining

Delicious organic and raw food is featured at Sleep is for Sissies in Winlaw, B.C.

This light-filled atrium is the main dining area of Sleep is for Sissies. — Photo courtesy Sleep is for Sissies

As coffee shop names go, this is a good one! Sleep is for Sissies started out in 2003 as a teeny coffee bar on the highway through Winlaw, B.C. The name was coined by owner Tracy Anderson’s stepfather in his college days, when he and his friends existed on coffee and adrenalin during long nights of studying.

Building a reputation for delectable organic and raw-food creations, the little coffee bar was so successful that it outgrew its first location and moved down the highway into a larger premises; it now seats 50 in the light-filled atrium and an additional 35 on the park-like patio. Anderson brought the original building with her, though, attaching it to the new café, and it became the eatery's bakeshop. Sissies is fully licensed and open every day from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.

In the 2012 Kootenay Business magazine Reader's Choice Awards, readers gave Sissies high praise for its great breakfasts.

“Our breakfast specialty is eggs Bennie,” said restaurant employee Annette Kinsella, “with homemade hollandaise sauce from scratch and fresh eggs. We do a few different versions: Florentine—tomato and spinach—lox, and traditional ham. We buy from local suppliers as much as we can.”

Passion and creativity

Anderson’s passion for her business is obvious.

“My chefs are fantastic,” she said, “and they make fantastic food with fantastic organic ingredients. We make almost everything from scratch except for ketchup and vinegars."

The restaurant focuses on organic and local fare, said Anderson, with options that include raw, vegan and gluten-free.

"We’re a busy little place,” Anderson said. “We have a big menu with daily and weekly specials featuring organic meats and fresh local produce.”

Anderson said the community is more health oriented than a lot of places.

“People tend to eat fairly well here," she said. "We grow our own sprouts and we compost everything. We take our compost material next door and it’s available to anyone who wants to come and pick it up, for their animals or their gardens.”

From the earthy to the sublime 

Anderson was as enthusiastic about their food as she was about their earth-friendly practices. For a sweet treat, she suggested raw chocolate pie or raw lime pie with a crust of blended nuts. Equally tempting are the energy bliss balls made from apricots and cashews, and the amaretto truffles.