What started as weekend gatherings with family and friends has grown into one of Martensville’s newest community food stops. Food I Like began with a simple love of cooking, sharing meals, and bringing people together around good food.
In 2022, the family-run business purchased its first pizza oven. Before long, weekends were filled with backyard BBQs, homemade pizzas, and new recipes served to the people closest to them. As the food kept improving, so did the encouragement from friends and family, who repeatedly suggested they start selling what they were making.
After moving from Saskatoon to Martensville, they decided to take that advice. Their first event took place during the Martensville city-wide garage sale, where they sold Roman-style pizzas from a family member’s garage while the sale was underway. The response was stronger than expected and gave them the confidence to keep going.
From there, Food I Like created its Instagram page, FoodiLike.ca, and began attending farmers’ markets, pop-up events, and community markets across Saskatchewan.
“Last year was all about learning and growing. We met so many great people through the farmers’ markets and pop-up events, and every event helped us improve our menu and build a loyal customer base. It was an incredible experience, but we eventually realized we wanted a place that people could consistently come to instead of us always travelling to different events,” stated a family member.
That opportunity began to take shape during a visit to the Martensville Slo-Pitch Diamonds last baseball season. After asking whether the diamonds had a regular concession, they learned it was only open occasionally during weekend tournaments. They shared what they were doing with their business and asked if there might be interest in giving them a chance.
A small trial followed during weekday league nights in the second half of the season. The feedback from players, the league, and the community was overwhelmingly positive. They were then invited to serve during the Cornfest tournament at the end of the season, which became a major success and helped lead to the business becoming the full-time concession operator this season.
The menu at Food I Like reflects both comfort-food favorites and family traditions.
When asked what some of their menu items they were most proud of was, they said, “Our biggest crowd favorite is definitely our thin-crust Roman-style pizza. We make our dough by hand and let it ferment for three days before baking, giving it a light, crispy texture we’re really proud of.”
Another popular choice is the Chili Frito Pie, made with Frito corn chips topped with homemade sweet, smoky, mildly spicy chili, fresh shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions.
“Our Chilean beef empanadas are especially meaningful to us because they’re made using our Abuela’s (grandmother’s) family recipe. We also love our Tater Tot Deluxe, which is topped with seasoned taco beef, nacho cheese, sour cream, and fresh pico de gallo.
Recent additions include Truffle Fries, along with chicken burgers, poutine, popcorn chicken poutine, hot dogs, and other comfort-food favorites.
They also occasionally offer tacos and birria tacos. Because everything is made fresh and in smaller batches, those items are offered when demand allows. They would rather prepare smaller amounts of high-quality food than waste ingredients.
Food I Like Concession is currently open Monday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at the Martensville Slo-Pitch Diamonds. During weekend tournaments, hours vary depending on the schedule. On some Saturdays, the concession opens as early as 8:00 a.m. to serve breakfast for tournament teams, while remaining open to the public.
For the family behind Food I Like, the goal is about more than serving food. They hope more people in Martensville will come out to the ball diamonds, even if they are not playing. It is a place to grab a meal, watch local slo-pitch, and enjoy an evening with friends and family.
“As a family-run business, we put the same love and care into every meal that we did when we were simply cooking for our own friends and family. That’s something we’ll never lose. Over the past year we’ve built so many great relationships with the players, families, and everyone involved with the Martensville Slo-Pitch League. Every week feels a little more like we’re cooking for extended family, and we’re incredibly thankful for the support we’ve received from the community.”
