PK Coffee gave Waterbury the final blast of caffeine and signature foam on Sunday before closing its Foundry Street store.
The company announced the decision on Friday on PK’s Instagram account. The post addresses the challenges of keeping businesses in both Waterbury and Stowe in the post-COVID economy.
“The last few years have been tough, but we’ve done everything we can to keep our doors open at both locations,” they wrote on Instagram, adding, “By closing the Waterbury Shop, we’re It gives us time to organize and focus on what we do.At our base in Stowe, we have a small (yet strong) team.”
PK Coffee general manager Linnae Horan said the decision hinged on staffing and sales. “We struggled to open and run the store during a very difficult time for hiring, with some staff moving and summer support back in school,” she said. “We need to make changes,” Horan said, relying heavily on backup help and adjusting store hours to catch up.
In addition, Horan acknowledged that the Stowe store has higher sales than the Waterbury store, partly due to the increasing number of tourists visiting the area. “The Stowe store is busier than ever,” she said, adding, “It’s great for business, but it’s not great for understaffing,” she admitted.
Our current plan is to focus on running just one cafe. “Our hope is that by adding more staff to our busy stores, we will be able to accommodate increased tourism and reduce team burnout,” Horan added.
back to the beginning…again
PK Coffee isn’t the only company facing extraordinary business challenges and tough decisions, but their story is one of particular adaptability and resilience.
After running the original cafe in Stowe since 2016, PK opened in Waterbury in February 2020. This was just a month before the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. By August of that year, circumstances forced him to close the Gale Farm shop on Mountain Road in Stowe.and Interview with Waterbury Roundabout In October 2020, owner Katrina Veerman explained that the Waterbury shop focuses on “back to the beginning.”[ing] Bringing joy back to our community after months of pandemic isolation, fear and closure.
But in February 2021, PK Coffee re-opened at a new location on Mountain Road, right next to Gale Farm in Stowe, and has been serving both communities for over a year as a staple of the local coffee shop scene. .
Today, PK Coffee faces a familiar situation, just like it did in 2020, but vice versa. But instead of a forced shutdown, they’re one of many in the service industry, facing staff shortages, rising food, supplies, and labor costs, and a flood of locals and tourists as everyone returns. Struggling to keep up with the simultaneous increasing demand for both. Some newer versions of the usual.
Nicole Grenier, owner of Stowe Street Cafe in Waterbury, just a few stores away from PK Coffee, expressed sadness and frustration after learning that PK had closed nearby. In reply to PK Coffee’s Instagram announcement, Grenier wrote: We are all struggling with all the current circumstances, and it’s a shame it doesn’t bring us any joy to see yet another beloved establishment have to make these difficult choices. Honestly, it could be any of us.
Grenier said he wished PK Coffee the best of luck and hopes to one day return to Waterbury.
(Bitter) sweet future
For now, PK Coffee is going back to its origins. Return to Stowe. Taking care of my team and getting back to focusing on bringing joy to my customers.
Horan described the current situation as “doing a very day-to-day thing.” A timeframe for sorting out details such as the lease of Waterbury space “has not yet been addressed as this decision needed to be made quickly in order to keep up with staff schedules,” Horan said. explained Mr.
Before the decision to close, Horan said the Waterbury store had eight employees, including bakers and baristas. Six of these employees have moved to his Stowe shop, and two have already been transferred. The shift should allow the company to focus on meeting demand at Stowe’s café during critical times. “We hope to expand Stowe’s time with the current team in time for the busy ski season,” she said.
Still, movement hurts. “We are heartbroken to close a space that has become part of the Waterbury community,” Horan said.
Fans can still pick up a PK Coffee fix at the Stowe shop on 1940 Mountain Road.
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