The Reach Café is a specialty pop-up coffee shop with a cause. The café’s committee works alongside the United Church in Oxbow and Alameda to create a welcoming space for all.
The Mercury spoke to the Reach committee and the baristas about the café’s success, mission in the community and future plans.
The Reach Café, a non-profit, has been operating using grant money from the United Church of Canada since February 2019. The café is located in the basements of the United Churches in Oxbow and Alameda, where they welcome the community.
Recently, the Reach Café was closed for three weeks due to increased COVID-19 cases in the area, but is excited to have their doors open once again.
“This is our second week open. It was a good week back. We’ve had some pretty good traffic. We have some new drink items, so there have been regulars in to see what’s different,” said barista Megan Andersen.
The café’s goal has always been to build connection in the community, so all items are pay by donation. Committee member Anita Warner explained that when the grant money was initially received, they wanted to meet a need within the community. Together, the committee agreed that it was missing an accessible specialty coffee shop.
“Now more than ever, people need ways to connect, and this is a way that we can offer our building because otherwise, it would be sitting empty right now. I think we are called to share with the world,” said Warner.
With the help of Michel Ellis of Michael’s Coffee Shop and Bakery in Carlyle and Estevan, Penny Lasy and Megan Andersen became trained baristas. The Reach Café also sources its coffee beans from Michael’s. Reach feels that they are creating a demand for specialty coffee all across the southeast corner.
“When we started, there were many people who had never had a latte or a cappuccino.”
It is also a value of the Reach Café to source local items, with almost everything they use and sell being Canadian-made.
The committee recently received its last year of funding through the grant from the United Church. This means that eventually, they may have to set menu prices. However, they emphasized that there will always be an option to pay by donation.
“I want people to know that there is a place to gather. If you have no money, you can still come here and have a drink. We’re not looking at how much people donate, but we’re hoping that people who can put in money and can be generous will, so that the café can continue. It’s kind of like a community trust in that we share as we are able,” expressed Warner.
A notable priority of the Reach Café is to be an inviting space for people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, nationalities, and religions. Rev. Jackie van’t Voort shared how this value aligns with the mission of the café.
“One of the things that we aim to do with this is to break those barriers and stereotypes down so that people can feel welcome coming into the building. Sometimes I think that people see a church and they go, ‘Oh, I can’t go there.’ What we’re saying is yes, you can. Come have a coffee,” van’t Voort said.
Van’t Voort said the Reach Cafe is part of a larger vision for the community and is the foundation of other potential initiatives in Oxbow and Alameda.
“The mission and the goal of the Reach Café is to be a place where people can reach out to one another, they can be in touch with one another, and it’s a safe space. The fact that the church has this space available and is willing to give it so freely is our way of saying to the communities, we’re here, and we support you. We want to give you what you need, but we also need you to tell us what you need, so here’s a space and here’s an opportunity to do that.”
The Reach Café would like to acknowledge the hard work of all committee members, including Kathleen Rae, Heather Tober, Mike Meyer, Margaret Pool, Sara East and Rayanne Freitag.
The Reach Café is open on Tuesdays in Oxbow and Wednesdays in Alameda from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Oxbow on Thursdays from 6-8 p.m.. You can view their full menu on their Facebook page and follow their Instagram, @the_reach_cafe to receive updates.
