Two women connected to Niagara-on-the-Lake are being recognized as leaders in the world of business, specifically in entrepreneurship and the trades, with big wins at this year’s Women in Business Awards.
Kimberly Legros, owner of Brunch Beverages Inc. and NOTL resident, and Rachel Schalk, head chef at Bricks & Barley, were announced as the winners of two separate awards at the annual ceremony on Friday, Nov. 6, hosted by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce.
Legros won the Entrepreneurship Award, while Schalk won the Excellence in the Trades Award.
They were two of five finalists in this year’s awards connected to NOTL, alongside Alexa Spione, owner of Plumbing In Pink Solutions and a lifelong NOTLer, Antonia Mantonakis, another NOTLer and Brock University professor, and Katie Houghton, executive director of the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts.
Legros said she was excited to be up for the award and was not used to being recognized on such a big stage.
“It’s been overwhelming,” she said.
The born-and-raised resident of St. Davids has been part of the wine industry for 30 years, working at the LCBO and in sales for several Niagara wineries.
During her time in the industry, she recalls discussions with winemakers about what to do with Vidal grapes as icewine wanes in popularity.
Legros also noted a gap between the few and far between 20-year-old wine drinker and the 30-year-old wine drinker.
“How do we get younger people to drink wine where it’s not so intimidating?” Legros asked herself.
During a trip to Costa Rica in 2016, Legros wanted to enjoy a mimosa but found herself thinking, “This is a pain,” she said.
She thought about how much easier it would be to have a mimosa in a can. In 2020, she had the time to bring the idea to reality.
Brunch Beverages has evolved over the past six years and now offers six canned beverages at grocery stores across the region.
Flavours including strawberry, grapefruit and pineapple will be available at all Sobeys locations by the end of next year.
Regarding her win of the Entrepreneurship Award, she said her work in the region has helped her business thrive and that she is grateful for the community’s support.
“It’s been an amazing experience. I’m super happy with the brand,” she said.
Over in Virgil, Schalk has worked at Bricks and Barley in NOTL for the past five years and has been in the culinary industry since graduating from Niagara College’s culinary management program in 2014.
She says hearing her name called as the winner at the ceremony on Friday was a shock.
“It was really unexpected, but I’m super glad and proud that I won,” she said.
“Being in that room, there were so many people for young girls and people entering the workforce to look up to, and to be included in that, especially in the trades and kitchens, where it’s usually male-dominated, it’s nice.”
Looking ahead, Schalk hopes to teach culinary arts at the college or high school level.
“I also would like to be able to branch into community service, whether that’s giving back, like a breakfast program at the school or some sort of volunteer type stuff,” she said.
When Schalk began her culinary career, she was the only girl in the kitchen, she said. Today, the kitchen she runs at Bricks & Barley has a lot more fellow women and girls.
“It’s really nice to see that there’s all these women being nominated and there’s so many more women in the cooking programs.”
