Community Spotlight: Knifewear
Welcome to the Community Spotlight blog series! We have customers in over 400 communities, for which we are incredibly grateful, so we know how special your neighborhoods are. We thought it might be a good idea to introduce you to the place we call home; the historic community of Inglewood in Calgary, Alberta. With the recent hardships small businesses have had to face, our goal is to highlight some other local businesses in Inglewood with whom we are proud to share the community.
Despite the bevy of delicious restaurants to choose from in Inglewood, if you’re opting to stay home and make yourself something to eat you better have the right tools to do so. A knowledgeable team of chefs and foodies have helped make Knifewear Canada’s best source for handmade Japanese kitchen knives for the last 15 years.
Knifewear started with Kevin Kent’s fascination with handcrafted Japanese knives while he was working as a sous-chef at St. John Restaurant in London. In July of 2007, Kevin got his hands on a small shipment of knives and started selling them, along with a batch of weird tee shirts, out of his backpack on his bicycle. A couple of months later in November, Knifewear had graduated to a single display case in the back of fellow Inglewood staple Bite Grocer & Eatery, which later grew to three cases. Then, in 2009, Knifewear opened the doors on their Inglewood location and have been serving the city ever since. Knifewear has grown to include additional locations in Edmonton, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
While Inglewood looked much different when Knifewear set up shop all those years ago, they credit the culture, the people, and the diverse business community as reasons why they love this neighbourhood. They credit the surrounding restaurants, breweries, and retail businesses with creating meaningful friendships and shared customers.
The pandemic forced Knifewear to close its doors at its physical location for a little while, but the support their customers and the community kept pouring in. The fact that Knifewear also maintains a robust website (www.knifewear.com) that could offer the same experience offered in-store was crucial, as it helped accommodate curbside pick-up orders. During this time, the focus shifted heavily to social media and started to frequently produce live videos which allowed them to stay connected to local friends during a tough time.
Big things are in store for Knifewear in 2022. They’ve amassed a truly talented team of former culinary professionals and food lovers, and are proud to be paying a living wage, offering benefits and profit-sharing, as well as opportunities for growth. In addition to being a great place to work, Knifewear also uses its work for good, donating half of its proceeds from its knife sharpening services to local charities. A new location is in the works to be opened in Toronto that has the team extremely excited. The Knifewear team is running classes again, with many precautions being taken to be mindful of health and safety, and a lot of exciting products are on the way as well; they just launched their own Japanese style charcoal grill called ‘Akachan’, and are thrilled to be working with new blacksmiths in Japan on an even greater selection of knives.
And don’t worry - as soon as it’s safe to do so, Knifewear plans to bring back its famed hot dog and beer customer appreciation parties!
Knifewear’s Inglewood location is located at 1316 9 Ave SE. Their website can be accessed here, and they can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.