If you find yourself roaming around Queen’s University’s historic campus on a Kingston Creative Walking Tour and want to refuel with a sandwich or soda, stop by Café Union.
Bringing in the best in the region
As the name suggests, this campus café in Goodes Hall (143 Union Street) brings together Kingston’s businesses, offering drinks and food items made from locally sourced produce, dairy, and meat products.
Café Union works with local partners such as White Buffalo, a coffee provider that supports Indigenous farmers across Canada, aligning themselves with the Anishinaabe grandfather teachings. White Buffalo rotates their coffee beans seasonally, offering customers the freshest and tastiest brews year-round. You can enjoy your beverage in Café Union’s outdoor seating area on a hot summer afternoon or behind their sweeping glass windows on a cold winter’s day.
The café also offers house-made refreshers, teas, and all-natural sodas from The County Bounty Artisanal Soda Co., boasting eclectic flavours like raspberry & lime, strawberry & basil, and cherry & vanilla.
Quick artisanal meals and exciting flavours
Beyond cold drinks and hot lattes, Café Union serves delectable food options from a savoury chorizo breakfast warp with eggs, roasted red peppers, pico de gallo, and warm pepper cheese to a focaccia panini stuffed with ham, maple bacon, fresh arugula, whipped goat cheese, and cranberry jalapeno jelly.
For a lighter lunch option, you can order the blueberry, apple, and walnut salad topped with a honey balsamic vinaigrette. If you’re in a rush, pick up some egg or energy bites, a cheese croissant, an Allergy Smart cookie, or the café’s specialty, an apple cinnamon loaf, perfect for a cozy fall day.
True to the café’s mission, food ingredients are sourced locally. Their honey is procured from Queen’s Bee’s Honey, and milk is acquired from Limestone Organic Creamery.
Bringing local businesses together
Other local partners include Juniper Cafe, Wilton Cheese, Wilton Wheat Kings–Dream Come True Kitchen and Patchwork Gardens. Café Union also has vegan, vegetarian, and halal options. They serve an assortment of salads excluding gluten-containing ingredients with an option to add chicken or other protein; if you have any allergies, you’re encouraged to ask before you eat.
At the end of the day, when the café’s kitchen closes its doors, untouched and unused food is donated to local Kingston and Queen’s campus community partners committed to addressing and mitigating food insecurity.
By ordering a coffee or wrap, you’re supporting a network of local businesses, all linked through the café’s charming spot in the heart of Queen’s University’s campus. Café Union is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 am to 9 pm, Friday from 7:30 am to 6 pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm.
