Located in the historic Grain Exchange Building, Plowshare Artisan Diner is a farm-to-table diner that specializes in simple old-school comfort foods made with regionally sourced ingredients. “Plowshare” is a nod to the restaurant’s agricultural roots and approach – but is also a term lifted from the Old Testament, where it was used in reference to rebirth. It’s a very fitting name for a restaurant founded on culinary “rebirth” and putting a modern twist on the old-school.
“My philosophy is we will never sacrifice quality. The quality is number one,” says Plowshare head chef Michael Scarcelli. “We’ve had fun doing the old-school techniques like braising and cooking a steak on a flat top and making our own stocks. Everything’s from scratch.” Featuring a modernized menu of comfort foods and a space with rich historical roots, Plowshare is also an important rebirth for restaurateur Witold Twardowski, who’s no stranger to the Grain Exchange Building. The space that Plowshare now occupies was formerly occupied by Divino, which has since relocated further down Stephen Avenue. The space became Gypsy for a time, and now serves as home to Plowshare.
“[Witold] actually took it over back at the start, when it was the original Divino,” Michael explains. “After the Gypsy went under, he was asked if he wanted to take it back. And that’s where the name Plowshare has come about." Enlisting the help of Michael as head chef and David Carruthers (formerly of Last Best and the Ship & Anchor) as operating partner, Witold conceptualized the restaurant as a casual and unpretentious culinary safe haven in the heart of downtown Calgary.
