‘Feels like home’: Edmonton’s DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen cafe hosts grand opening

It was a celebration when DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen recently opened the doors of its new cafe on Fort Road in Edmonton, serving authentic Ukrainian dishes made by refugees of war.

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“We are so excited. I mean, a little scared,” said DON’YA co-founder Janice Krissa, adding, “I think every business owner needs to be a little bit scared. But super excited to have DON’YA open, and it’s real now.”

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What started as a donation centre for Ukrainian newcomers fleeing from the Russian invasion has become a hub for Ukrainian food, family, and a source of employment for the new arrivals. Three years since the volunteer beginnings of the donation centre, DON’YA now specializes in authentic Ukrainian food that’s handmade by the people who’ve had to leave their home. Making food from Ukraine hasn’t just fostered a strong community within the kitchen, but also a thriving business with ambitions of bringing Ukrainian food to the masses.

“You can get really good pizza, you can get really good donairs on every street corner, but you can’t get really great Ukrainian food, and we have that, so we’re gonna keep growing,” said Krissa.

DON’YA’s grand opening was on Jan. 30 when a group of roughly 20 people packed tightly into the small eatery, having braved the blowing blizzard outside to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. With representatives from all levels of government, the ceremony kicked off with Ukrainian newcomer Lilia Vovk who, as a singer from Ukraine who is still learning English, sang O Canada.

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Next to Vovk stood Svetlana Sukhovych, who landed in Canada last March with her two children. Sukhovych helped with the opening ceremony by delivering her first land acknowledgement. She said the DON’YA kitchen gave her a level of comfort that others have previously likened to home.

“First of all, it feels like home. Most of the ladies in the kitchen like speaking Ukrainian. Mostly when they don’t have to speak English,” said Sukhovych.

“The entire day they’re talking. And the ladies are loud in the kitchen with all the cuisine. It’s warm here, it’s safe here, and it makes me, I would say, calm.”

The bustle in the kitchen was invigorating as the group of cooks worked diligently — giving a tutorial on how to make DON’YA’s signature varenyky, which most Canadians know as perogies. The pace is especially refreshing for Sukhovych, who this time last year wrestled with the decision to move her family out of Ukraine as the missiles hit the country.

“At some point the strike was like less than 400 metres from our place,” she said.

For some time, Sukhovych held out in Ukraine after the war broke out, working in a rehabilitation centre in the western city of Lviv. Her parents lived well outside of the city, not far from the Polish border, so she sent her two sons there and expected they’d be safer. But even outside of the city, Sukovych soon found that her family still wasn’t safe.

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“At some moment, we realized that, you know, missiles can reach everywhere.”

Sukhovych said she feels safe in Canada and is comforted by the distance from Russia.

“You’re able to pack your life into backpacks. That’s it. And the only thing that matters are the people who hold your hand.”

Krissa’s daughter and cafe co-founder Jorgia Moore takes pride in the community that the kitchen has fostered.

“I never imagined that we could help like this, where it’s self-sufficient. It’s creating these jobs, and it’s fuelling the economy, but it’s helping these people who need work, who want to share their culture, who want to feel like the people that they’re working with understand what they’re going through — what’s happening back home,” said Moore.

“It’s also just nice to have a place where they do the work that they’re good at. They have the resources that they’ve wanted for a long time, they’re able to create more products.”

With the opening of the DON’YA cafe, customers can now eat at the business, located at 12153 Fort Rd., but the food can also be found at a variety of grocery stores and eateries around the city, including the Italian Centre Shop, multiple Co-Op grocery stores, Cooke County Saloon, and several others. A full list of locales carrying DON’YA products can be found on the website.

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