In an exclusive conversation with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Dawn Chapman, Founder of Lazy Daisy’s Café, shares the inspiring journey behind her Toronto-based café. Rooted in the values instilled by her upbringing on a family farm, Dawn established Lazy Daisy’s Café in 2011 as a warm, inclusive community space offering locally sourced, homemade food.
Dawn reflects on the importance of supporting local producers, fostering inclusivity, and building a loyal community that embraces her café’s values. Her dedication to creating a space where people feel at home highlights the power of combining passion, purpose, and local connections. As a testament to her success, Dawn’s insights serve as inspiration for small businesses looking to build meaningful relationships with their communities while staying true to their roots.
Inspired by her upbringing on a family farm, Dawn founded Lazy Daisy’s Café in 2011, turning it into a beloved Toronto hub known for its locally sourced, homemade food and welcomingcommunity space. “This award celebrates everyone who has supported Lazy Daisy’s over the years, showing that creating an inclusive, local-focused space resonates with the wider community,” said Chapman.
Congratulations on winning the Food Industry Award presented by Skip! What does this recognition mean to you, and how does it reflect the journey of Lazy Daisy’s Café?
Being recognized for the The Food Industry Award, presented by Skip in partnership with the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) is an incredible honour. I believe one of my life’s purposes is to make a positive difference in my community, and receiving this award represents that purpose having been realized and only empowers me to continue to do more.
I opened Lazy Daisy’s in 2011, and since then we have grown through the support of our local community. In return, we have created a welcoming space that champions the shop local movement and have been able to use our platform to support multiple charitable causes.
Inspired by your upbringing on a family farm, what values did you bring into the creation of Lazy Daisy’s Café, and how have they shaped the cafe’s success and community impact?
Spending summers on the family farm made me fall in love with the countryside, as well as the peace and simplicity of nature. I’d help my uncle Howard milk the cows and work in the vegetable garden and bake muffins and cookies with my Grandma in the kitchen. Her door was always open to guests – there was no pomp and circumstance, just a simple, warm welcome, a cold glass of milk and some good old fashioned baking. We also never used any chemicals on the land. When I opened the café in 2011, I wanted to reflect that same feeling of being on the family farm. Our company’s pillars are: Local, Farm-Fresh, Homemade & Community. Everything we do focuses on these elements and I believe staying true to those ideals from my childhood has been the foundation of our success.
As a woman entrepreneur in the food industry, what challenges have you faced, and what advice would you give to other women looking to start their own businesses?
I started my career in the food industry at 13 years old and worked in restaurants both in Canada and the UK. Most of my bosses and the chefs were men. By my early twenties, I was tired of marching to someone else’s drumbeat, when I knew deep down I had the skills and the chutzpah to create my own food business. I started with a bagel shop in Camden Town, London UK, which in a few years became a small chain. Then, when I moved back to Toronto, I opened Lazy Daisy’s Café and the Biscuit Production Space.
My advice is to acknowledge your own strength, don’t shy away from your inherent power.
Marianne Williamson says it best in ‘A Return to Love’, ““Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
Women, we are often taught (either overtly or subconsciously) by society to be genteel and to defer to a higher-ups (often a man).
Don’t.
Be fair but be strong. Believe in your vision and hold fast to it like you would to the mane of a galloping horse….it will take you to the places you dream to go.
How does Lazy Daisy’s Café support the local community, and what role do you see it playing in Toronto’s food scene going forward?
Over the years, Lazy Daisy’s Cafe has supported the community by donating door prizes and sponsoring events at our local schools and hospitals. Modelling on McDonald’s ‘McHappy Day’, Lazy Daisy marks our yearly anniversary with ‘Rise Up Day’, donating proceeds from the sale of our famous breakfast sandwiches to local charities which have included: The Red Door Shelter, The Chanie/Wenjack Foundation, Native Child & Family Services, Glen Rhodes Food Bank and Michael Garron Hospital.
Each holiday season, Lazy Daisy’s also runs a ‘Cans for Coffee Food Drive’ where the community drops off cans for the food bank and in exchange receives a free coffee.
Daisy’s is also passionate about food security for those facing socio-economic hardship. During the COVID pandemic, we noticed how long the line was at the local food bank. Harnessing the power of our newly created online grocery store, we added an ‘at cost’ food bank option for each item listed on our site. For example, a customer could order a head of broccoli for $3 but then could order a head of broccoli for the food bank for $2. The community fully engaged with this initiative, resulting in carloads of fresh food being donated to the Glen Rhodes food bank weekly.
I want to continue to be a role model for women in leadership roles in the food scene, setting an example of how you can balance being successful in business while also making a positive impact by responding to the needs of the community.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals for Lazy Daisy’s Café, and how do you hope to inspire other small business owners through your journey?
During the COVID pandemic, our customers wanted to be able to enjoy our buttermilk biscuits in the comfort of their own home. In response, I created a wholesale line of frozen bake-at-home biscuits in six different flavours. Since launch in 2023, Daisy’s buttermilk biscuits can now be found in over 100 retail stores province-wide. We recently opened a 1200 square food production space to meet the incredible demand and are on a path to national distribution.
I hope to inspire other business owners to support local but also to think big. I’d also ask them the question, “what would you do if you had no fear?” Once you let go of the fear, you can really start to have some fun. Maybe that’s the sum of it–help others and have some fun along the way. For me, that’s part of the recipe to a happy life.
