Forest Hill Farmhouse is bringing its fresh, customizable salads to Liberty Village this April, strategically positioning itself at 39 E Liberty Street, directly adjacent to Starbucks. The newest location of this Toronto-born brand will be the first to offer extended hours, operating from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The expansion marks the fifth Toronto location for the health-conscious food concept that has rapidly developed a loyal customer base since founder Blair Bitove launched the brand in 2022.
During an exclusive interview with 6ixRetail, Bitove revealed the personal origins behind her increasingly popular salad concept.
“I make salads. I cook a lot at home. Dressings are what I’ve somewhat been known for between my friends and family,” Bitove explained. “I would be grabbing groceries and cooking for one or two, and throwing out a lot. When you buy Romaine, you buy the three-pack… but what if one day I wanted an arugula salad?”
That everyday frustration sparked a business opportunity, as Bitove recognized others faced similar challenges. “Even for an expensive salad, which I try to keep our salads under $20, I would be spending $30-$40 on groceries. Most of the time I was making one salad and I felt like there was a lot of waste.”
What began as a small 1,000-square-foot test concept on Lola Road quickly proved Bitove’s instincts correct. The brand has since expanded to Leslieville, Parkdale, and a high-traffic Brookfield PATH location, with Liberty Village now becoming their fifth Toronto outpost.
Forest Hill Farmhouse’s PATH location at Brookfield Place may have seemed like a counterintuitive move in the post-pandemic landscape, but it proved to be the catalyst that accelerated the brand’s recognition across Toronto.
“The PATH was a big turning point for us,” Bitove revealed. “I know a lot of people were a little bit weary with the crowds. But we have an office in the PATH – I frequent it. I live downtown, actually in the financial district. So I was more aware than anyone. I was like, ‘the PATH is back.'”
This strategic downtown presence did more than capture the weekday office crowd – it created a powerful cross-pollination effect that boosted Forest Hill Farmhouse’s profile in their residential neighbourhood locations.
“All of our locations, from opening at the PATH, have significantly increased year-over-year sales,” Bitove noted. “Our Parkdale location has significantly gone up, and Leslieville too. I think we’re seeing those people who now recognize the brand from the PATH.”
The choice of Liberty Village for their next location was deliberate, combining optimal demographics with strategic visibility. “We chose Liberty Village because we see a lot of young professionals. There’s Altea, the gym right across the street that brings in people not only from Liberty Village, but I think it’s just a great gym community wellness area,” she explained.
“It seemed to me a mix of our first location and the PATH in one because it has that community like our Midtown location, but it has that office crowd, but also just working people constantly throughout the day. It kind of seemed like the best of our two strongest locations coming together.”
The prime corner location serves multiple strategic purposes, with Bitove noting the importance of both visibility and delivery access. “When we look at sites, we do look at what is easy for delivery drivers to access. But I think we also are really focused on visibility. A lot of our growth is just because people haven’t heard of our brand,” she said. “Once people try it, we’ve had our customers come back daily.”
The Liberty Village location introduces extended hours, staying open until 10 p.m. compared to 7 p.m. at other locations. This decision directly responds to observed customer behaviour.
“We found that although people eat around eight o’clock on average, a lot of people sometimes go to their delivery apps at eight o’clock. And if you’re closed at 7:30-8, you can’t get your food,” Bitove explained. “Even for me, I’ve landed from a flight and I’m like, ‘I just want a salad or a healthy bowl,’ and it’s late and everything open is fast food. So that is another reason why we’re extending the hours there.”
The brand pays homage to its Toronto roots with menu items named after local streets, with Bitove revealing plans for potential Liberty Village representation: “We are actually in development of a new bowl specifically for Liberty Village. But it’s a debate whether it’s a staple menu item across all locations or location specific – leaning towards it being on the full menu.”
This neighbourhood-focused expansion strategy sets Forest Hill Farmhouse apart from competitors. Unlike many food concepts that target suburban areas first, they’re deliberately deepening their presence in Toronto’s core neighbourhoods.
“I view this concept similar to your local coffee shop. If you’re trying to eat healthy, people are trying to eat healthy where it’s quick and convenient for them,” Bitove explained. “If we’re not there, they’re gonna go to their local quick service, quick, easy salad place.”
Despite their rapid expansion, Forest Hill Farmhouse remains committed to in-house preparation – a distinctive approach compared to many growing chains.
“We prep everything in house. We prep every sauce daily. We roast the chicken, we roast the salmon, which you can taste in our food. And we don’t want to cut on quality,” Bitove emphasized. “The fact that we’ve been able to prove that in a thousand square feet doing the sales that we’re doing, we are able to be profitable. It can only go up from there and your purchasing power and everything can only get better. So why cut on quality when we’ve been able to serve that from the beginning?”
With their Liberty Village location opening at the end of April, Forest Hill Farmhouse continues to target strategic growth. While specific plans remain under wraps, both Yorkville and King West have been identified as areas of interest for future expansion.
“We’re looking at another two sites this year, hopefully, after Liberty Village,” Bitove shared. “We’re really focusing on that growth and expansion.”
The brand’s announcement comes amid strong momentum, with a reported 35% sales increase in 2024, suggesting Toronto’s appetite for fresh, customizable healthy options continues to grow across diverse neighbourhoods throughout the city.
Dustin Fuhs is the Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication. He has over 20 years of experience in the retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality industries, including with The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Dustin was named as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025.