Free cake and radical tea towels
A great place for kids to ride their bikes to
I know I went quiet here for a while again. Honestly, I burned myself out on talking about things we were going to do. I needed to get a bunch of stuff done so we could tell you about that.
So here is what I get to tell you about:
After more than a year of … all of this … we have-soft opened the store. And I’m so in love with it, unfinished trim and all.
We had string of deadlines come and go, but I was so determined to be open before the end of the summer. So — even though we didn’t have permits to sell food or drinks yet — we committed ourselves to having an open house in the store the first weekend of September.
It was truly an all-hands-on-deck push to get that done. I wanna give a special shout out to:
Dotse Dunyo of Hundu Contracting for transforming the space.
Allan Hooey (who also saved us from floods!) for painting the whole shop.
Bailey Dunyo of Amaga Collective for project managing the final push.
Izzie and Max of Fruit Punch for helping us set up the store until 1am.
Thanks to this dream team, we were able to open our doors on September 2nd as planned. The record player was going, there were fresh flowers on the bar, and we gave away tea and coffee and a beautiful cake by Famous Town Pie Shop to a steady stream of happy people came in over the course of the weekend.
It was honestly just the greatest vibe. Here’s a mini tour of the shelves on the first day, courtesy of the luminous aforementioned Bailey.
Everyone who came in was so positive, it was wonderful. They all talked about how beautiful and welcoming the space was — and made a suitable fuss over our floors.
We had a nice mix of friends and strangers over the course of the weekend. I think Haritha’s favourite moment was when Bailey and Dotse’s four year old daughter Eyira (seen below with her sister Koko) came in and said “Uncle Haritha it all looks sooooo greeaaaat!” like a presenter on a TV show.
Look at these precious cuties!!
Having little ones in the store just makes me so happy. I feel like if we can make it a fun place for kids and teenagers, it will be the right vibe for everyone we hope to connect with. I have big dreams about making the backyard into a children’s garden, letting highschool students have open mic nights here, and decorating the whole place like a haunted house next Hallowe’en. We had a handful of families with kids come in during the open house, and I overheard one woman say to her partner “This will be a great place for the kids to ride their bikes to!” and my heart almost burst with joy. Truly what could be better than being able to make a spot that is a great place for kids to ride their bikes to?
I was also so happy that this wonderful piece in the Lunenburg Barnacle began with “Port Medway is one step closer to having a source for staples, cafe and all-ages venue as Rosefinch Mercantile and Tea Room prepares to open its doors.”
I remember how much all-ages venues meant to me growing up in Oshawa, and I’d love to think of folks from Queens County one day looking back as fondly on this place.
After the open house, we closed for a few weeks. I had to get my gallbladder out on September 6th, and then a week and a half later there was a hurricane that knocked out our power for four days. We also had our inspection to get our Food Establishment Permit, which is now hanging proudly on our wall (in the distance in this pic of our menu, held up with painters tape).
It was a busy few weeks, that’s for sure.
We re-opened for real on September 25th, just five days ago. Our first few days were taken up with Canada Post logistics (we have 30 years of addresses to verify and update now that the post office is up and running again here at the store), and we still haven’t sorted the timing of our first grocery order.
But even though all we have so far are our (mostly Nova Scotian!) gift store items and tea and coffee menu, the enthusiasm has been so lovely. And a huge part of that is thanks to Haritha’s hard-won expertise in knowing how to make a place feel welcoming and energetic. When I’m in the apartment upstairs I can hear music and laughing and chatting downstairs all day. It’s been so joyous and heartening and gives me so much hope for our future. I’m so lucky to be on a team with this man.
Note from The Billing Department: One of the the things that really helps us keep all of this going is when people who can’t visit in person support our online store! We have so many charming things on offer, including these Radical Tea Towels! They make amazing gifts, especially for yourself!
I’m not putting this newsletter behind a paywall (though the archives will be at some point!), but if you’d like to pitch in, you can subscribe at $5 a month! Every subscription helps!