Reshaping our food scene while proving that authenticity and risk-taking can inspire others
Age: 35
Job Title: Co-founder, Epic Market
In 2021, Jennifer Keith left her comfortable corporate HR job for an uncertain career in entrepreneurship. And not just any business venture — she chose hospitality, one of the riskiest industries — a decision she knew many people, especially her immigrant parents, would question.
But it had long been a dream of hers to create spaces that could change her city. “I wanted to work on cool, innovative projects that would create vibrancy in Edmonton,” she says. The idea of a food hall showcasing local, chef-driven stalls, breweries, distilleries and artists had been percolating in her mind since 2018, inspired by similar concepts she encountered while travelling to other cities. But she didn’t have the courage to pursue the dream until after some major personal shakeups — the end of a long-term relationship and the strangeness of the pandemic.
“It was like (I had) this renewed perspective on life,” she explains. “I finally got to ask myself, ‘What does Jennifer want?’”
What Jennifer wanted was Epic Market, Edmonton’s first food hall and events venue, now located in the equally unique Station Park in Strathcona. Keith is proud not just of the business she built, but of who she has become along the way.
“I had never dealt with setbacks as much as I had when I started this business,” Keith says, citing inflation and difficulty financing. “I’m so much better for this whole process and journey, and have been humbled by the forces that are outside of my own control.”
At a time when stability is elusive and economic pressures weigh heavily on the next generation, Keith’s resolve offers a different kind of inspiration to would-be entrepreneurs. After speaking about her business at an ATB entrepreneur event, a young woman who owned a boutique social media marketing company approached Keith and said she had been thinking about closing her business. But hearing Keith’s vulnerability and resilience, she decided to keep going and shortly after landed a major client. “She realized she was not alone, and it made me feel good to know that even though entrepreneurship can be a struggle it can also help me have this impact on people.”
This article appears in the November/December 2025 issue of Edify
