For Soo locals looking to support Canadian, there is a pizza shop for you. Freshslice was founded in Vancouver in 1999 and has since grown to over 100 locations across Canada. One of these is in Sault Ste. Marie, the second-ever Freshslice location in Northern Ontario.
Sault Ste. Marie Freshslice Pizza manager Vignesh Pandiyan says that since his store opened in November, they’ve developed a core group of regular customers. Something that all these customers comment on is the quality of the crust, which is always made from delicious —and healthier— multigrain dough. They even have a gluten-friendly cauliflower-based crust available for medium-sized pizzas.
Freshslice offers a variety of pizzas to suit all tastes, including traditional styles like pepperoni, veggie, and Hawaiian, on their ‘classic pizzas’ menu. More adventurous options can be found on their ‘feast pizzas’ menu, like BBQ chicken bacon on a creamy white garlic sauce base; butter chicken with an authentic butter chicken sauce drizzle; and ‘Fiesta Pesto,’ which includes red pepper, corn, jalapeno, green olive, and pesto drizzle as toppings.
Vignesh’s personal favourite is butter chicken pizza and says that popular menu items are the BBQ chicken and meat lovers pizzas.
In addition to their pizzas, Freshslice also offers sides like chicken wings and cheesy bread. They offer meal combinations every day, including chicken wings with an extra-large pizza for $29.99, or wings with a medium pizza for just $19.99. Whereas other chains often have topping limits for their deals, you can get an extra-large pizza with unlimited toppings at Freshslice for only $23— or $13 for a medium unlimited.
As for slices, Freshslice Sault Ste. Marie is currently offering a huge deal of $5.00 for any two slices for the next two months. They’re also offering 15% off to students (with a valid student ID), and free delivery within city limits, available until the end of August. Looking ahead, the business plans to introduce new pizza meal combinations for their customers as well.
In 2018, Freshslice launched an initiative called ‘Freshslice Cares,’ to help families don’t have the financial resources to pay for their children’s sports activities. Sports associations can provide Freshslice with the details of who they can help within the areas of their restaurants.
If Vignesh learns of a local kid who’s interested in sports but can’t afford to take part, he can submit a form to Freshslice’s head office to get the child the financial support they need. The brownies that are sold at Vignesh’s Freshslice location go right back into the Freshslice Cares fund. He says that he’s making a point to spread the word to teachers who come into the store. “Giving back to the people we sell to is a good thing.”
Vignesh runs his store with his cousin as assistant manager, who studied HR and business at Algoma University. Vignesh moved to the Soo after living in Mississauga for 7 years and says he’s enjoying the natural beauty of the area and the warmth of the community. “People are friendly here, they have more time to talk with me,” he says.
Vignesh says that some people have come in to ask for donations to local causes, and he always supports by donating gift cards when he can. Being new to town and busy with setting up the new store, he’s still getting to know the area. “But recently I got some time to go out. I’m working on finding out what’s happening here and what I can do for the local community.”
For more information, visit online.