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“We’ve seen a definite growth in food sales — more than half of the transactions now include food,” says Clark. “People are getting their breakfasts, they’re getting their lunches, and soon they’re going to be able to get their dinner.”

When Bridgehead started, the baked goods came from other area shops, such as Thyme & Again and the French Baker. Now, everything from soup to nuts are made in-house by a keen team of 40 bakers, cooks and even juicing experts.

The energetic Clark, 51, who cycles from her Beechwood-area home to her office off Preston Street most mornings, has been driving the growth.

In 2002, she opened a central kitchen just off Wellington Street West for making everything from chorizo-studded breakfast wraps to quinoa salads, with deliveries made to the coffee houses overnight. In 2012, she opened the Roastery just off Preston Street. Last year, Bridgehead started baking its own breads at the Roastery.

Photo by Wayne Cuddington / Ottawa Citizen

And just last month, she nabbed Rob MacDonald, one of Ottawa’s top cooks, to become Bridgehead’s executive chef. Dinner served on pottery plates and with beer or wine are expected to be on the menu within weeks.

“We have this strength in food,” says Clark, who started working for the Ritz group of restaurants when she was just 20, before going on to study sciences, get an MBA and work in international development. “How do we flex that muscle more? I think we delight customers by changing things up more often and offering more new things.”