Toronto’s Sisters & Co. brunch spot opened less than a year before COVID forced restaurants across the city to shut their doors. “Nobody came and it was really scary,” says co-founder Vivian Mac. “We would just sit there and look at each other.” The three co-founders started speaking to their lawyer about closing down. Out of desperation, they began handing out flyers for free coffee and delivering food through the apps. It worked.
Now, just three years after that make-or-break moment, and Sisters & Co. has opened a second location in Markham, will be represented in the Toronto Kitchen Party regional qualifier for a chance at the 2025 Canadian Culinary Championship through their head chef Hilary Lee, and was spotlighted by famed TikToker Keith Lee.
“It’s wild to see how far we’ve come,” says Mac. Since Keith Lee’s visit, which she says was completely unexpected, they have gained over a thousand social media followers and have welcomed celebrities like Bad Bunny and Bill Skarsgård.
Mac thinks his visit–and their great online reviews–can be attributed to two key aspects.
First, they offer brunch with a unique pan-Asian twist, with some recipes even being passed down through their families, including the spicy oxtail stew and the char siu benedict. Other fusion items, like the black sesame pancakes, gochujang chicken and waffles, and Mac’s favourite, the bulgogi beef benedict, were inspired by the co-founders’ high school days, bonding over cheap eats across the rich food scene around the Millikin Mills High School where Lee and Mac met their third co-founder, Michelle Ha.
The second aspect that gives Sisters & Co. an edge, says Mac, is the service. “The team of people that we have, have worked with us for a long time, some of them since we first opened. And we just try to create a really fun environment. They often go to karaoke and dinners and we just try to bond.” They look for staff that are respectful and willing to learn and improve. Mac, Lee and Ha themselves have “so much fun at work,” defying everyone’s advice against working with friends. Open, clear and frequent communication has been the key to overcoming obstacles and working well together.
Mac says Markham is an ideal location for their restaurant since it’s easy to shop and park at big grocers with diverse, fresh ingredients for Asian cuisine, including T&T, FreshWay Foodmart, and Sunfood. This ease and access means their Markham menu includes more offerings. And with Markham rent stretching further than downtown rent, they also have more space–1405-square-feet–to store, develop, and serve those offerings, including their homemade dressings, jams, and sauces. Mac says she is also immensely grateful for the support of the local councillor, who has visited often and helped them meet their business requirements.
While many patrons are local businesspeople, Mac says she loves seeing families come and bond in their restaurant, including Asian families like their own, who “bonded over food.”
It took a lot of grit, friendship and community support for the trio to get where they are, and now there is no turning back.
