Our story
In the heart of every city is the story of its people.
The land
Riverdale is one of Edmonton's oldest neighbourhoods, and a place where First Nations people met and traded for thousands of years. It lies within Treaty 6 territory, the traditional and ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux and Métis. We are grateful to the First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have lived on and cared for this land, known as Amiskwacîwâskahikan.
The original Dogpatch
In the late 1800s a small settlement grew between the JB Little Brickyard and the North Saskatchewan River. First called the Dutch Settlement, it filled with newcomers to Edmonton living in tiny brick houses, often built from discarded bricks, and became known as Dogpatch. The brickyard and the D. R. Fraser lumber mill gave people work, and it was a cheap place for new arrivals to live.
Without running water or sewer lines, residents grew their own vegetables, raised families, traded among themselves, for a time with their own currency, and were quick to help a neighbour. In 1984 the City closed the area over health concerns, and in 1985 it was covered with clay from the Canada Place excavation, more than a hundred years after its first houses went up.
We named Dogpatch to keep that independent spirit alive on the riverbank, in a brick building of our own.
Little Brick
In 2014 our partners bought and restored the house of JB Little, of the brickyard. It opened as Little Brick in March 2015 and has since hosted concerts, private events and weddings, as well as a lot of breakfasts.
The Umphreville Block
Our second building, at 10158 90 St NW, is home to Dogpatch and bread + butter.
90 Street NW, Riverdale
Where everything is
Dogpatch and bread + butter share the Umphreville Block at 10158 90 Street NW. Little Brick is a few minutes' walk down the street, in JB Little's 1902 house beside Riverdale Park.
What we care about
- Care for guests, for each other and for the work.
- Collaboration: stepping in and succeeding together.
- Culture: a healthy, welcoming place to work.
- Community: places where people feel welcome and connected.