Did you hear the one about the vegan cafe that moved next to a butcher shop?

John Wildenborghad just settledintothe new home for hisdecades-old shop, Master Meats.

He'd found a great locationanairyspace with room for both his stock and keepsakes, which includesmementosfrom when he taught actors on the TV crime drama Fargo how to handle a cleaver.

Then the phone rang. It was Wildenborg'sleasing agent with some news.

"He said, 'There's a restaurant that's looking at moving in beside you,'"recalledWildenborg. "'It's a vegan restaurant. Would you have an issue with them?'"

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Now, if life wereanything likeFargo, this would bethe inflection point in a troubled tale the opening round of someHatfield-and-McCoy-style strife.

T-bone versus tofu, perhaps. Bacon versusfacon.

But sinceHearts Choices Cafe Market moved in next to Master Meats more than a year agonear the corner of 41stAvenue and6thStreet N.E.,the relationship has produced morefood than feud even after the cafe'sveggie truck accidentally backed intoWildenborg's car.

This seemingly strange pairing has resulted in plenty ofdouble-takes, funny photosand even customers who actually shop at both places.Thisis still Cowtown,after all.

"It is quite funny," saidEahly Shirley, who co-ownsHearts Choices with his wife,Nan Thammanatr.

"Sometimes it will be a couple and you'll see them kind of split off and get their meat, and then afterwards, they'll come [here] for lunch, which is pretty cool."

Unlikely business situation blossoms into friendship

6 years ago

Duration 0:36

Did you hear the one about the vegan cafe that moved next to a butcher shop?

'You'll never make it'

Just adecade ago in Calgary, it might have seemed silly to suggest such a scene.

When Shirley andThammanatrfirst moved to the city from Vancouver seven years ago, they saw few vegetarian options.

"We were walking around the Calgary Farmers' Market one day and we saw a little 10x 10booth empty," Shirley said.

"We were like, 'Hey, we could maybe start a business here selling vegetarian products.' And so that's how we started, with a tiny little freezer and a tiny little boothmaking, like, $30 or $40 a day.

"People weretelling us, 'Oh, you're going to be vegetarian in Calgary? You'll never make it.'"

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But as time passed, interest grew.Their booths got bigger. They opened up their first restaurant, a Thai vegan cafe on Macleod Trail, andadded a food truck.

Mr. Bacon vs. Monsieur Tofu

It was Hearts Choices' second Calgary locationthatopened next toMaster Meats, which has beena food scene staple since 1976. Wildenborg's father-in-law, Mike Mortl, and a partner helped start the business,which became a wholesalertosome of the city'sfinest restaurants.

Wildenborg was brought on board not longafter meeting his future wife.They both workedatSafeway, where she was a cashier and hewas a produce manager, ironically.

"After marrying [Mortl's]daughter, it didn't take me too long to work my way to the top," jokedWildenborg, who bought the business in 1999.

As a way of easing the impact of Calgary's boom-and-bust cycles, Master Meats increased focuson their retail efforts, which is now the bulkof their business.

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Wildenborgconsidershis staff to begenuineartisans, notmeat cutters. Some have called his store the "hipster" butcher shop, which draws a chuckle.

"I'm very, very proud of what I do," he said.

Wildenborg also likes to havefun.One corner of theshop is dedicated to bacon in popculture, including a bacon costume and a "Mr. Bacon vs. Monsieur Tofu" action figure set.

But there is no "versus" in the relationship between Master Meats and Hearts Choices.Indeed, they now consider themselves to be friends.

Mutual respect

Thammanatr, who is committed to avegan lifestyle, said theirrelationship with their neighbourhas given her a broader perspective.

"Through staying here... I personally changed," she said. "I learned to accept the way things are, the way people want to be, and respect that."

The respect is mutual.

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Wildenborg, who has a daughter who is vegetarian,can quickly list a half-dozen favourites off of his neighbours' menu, includingcauliflower "wings" that he calls "amazing."

"But I feel badI can't reciprocate," he said.

Visitors seem to like the pairing, too. Many take photos to post on social media. But the two busy businesses see the relationship as much more than a novelty. And, with 10-year leases, they expect it to continue to flourish.

"Like I've always said, if a butcher and a vegan cafe can get along, why can't the rest of the world?" Wildenborgsaid.