Another View Magazine Barrie Summer 2014 | Page 13

The Vidya Centre for

Yoga & Wellness
By Kim Vidya, RHN

...a yoga and wellness centre with a great vegetarian restaurant attached.

You may nothing, you tiny town of happy.
Judgehave passed through thewill be Thornton.

Located on Hwy 27 just south of Barrie, in a place known
more for it’s ice cream parlours, hockey arena and a formerly great steakhouse. And now, the old Queen’s Hotel
Forgive everything, yoga andwill be happier.
has come back to life as a you wellness centre with
a great vegetarian restaurant attached. You might just be
making Thornton a new destination!

Love everything, you will as a yoga studio
What began for proprietor Kim Vidya be happiest.
in South Barrie in 2008, expanded into a full-fledged
wellness centre and restaurant when the Queen’s Hotel
- Sri Chinmoy
became available. Known for decades as The Village Inn,
Vidya’s Veggie Gourmet Restaurant serves exclusively organic and gluten-free food, mostly vegan with the exception of organic free-range and pastured eggs for Sunday
brunch.

Chefs Dave Howie and Laurie Tester use a panorama of
fresh herbs and spices and some great local organic produce to craft a menu that borrows from ethnic vegetarian
dishes, like Sita’s Chana, organic chickpeas simmered in
a tomato pomegranate curry, or Maria’s Pierogis, black
trumpet mushrooms with red potato and caramelized onions. The gourmet isn’t just in the name. With an Elixir
Bar that serves fresh pressed juices, smoothies, and health
tonics, there is something here for every health-conscious
guest. (www.veggiegourmet.ca)
The Yoga & Wellness side of the venture boasts a retreat
centre that sleeps ten, three practitioner offices, two yoga
studios (one with a radiant heated floor) and an infrared
sauna room with private shower. They are still seeking a
naturopathic doctor and a registered massage therapist to
compliment the existing team, so contact them if interested! (www.yoga-wellness.ca)
Q