Community Rallies Around Kit Coffee After Trying Two Years

Kit Coffee, a locally owned coffee shop on Hunter Street, is reaching out to the community with a GoFundMe in hopes to keep the café open.

Kit Coffee is located at 144 Hunter Street. Photo by Luke Best.

Helen McCarthy started Kit Coffee in 2018 with a business partner. Initially, they operated out of the Peterborough Regional Farmers Market, and did pop-up shops at Hello Baby on Charlotte Street.

As the business grew the two were faced with the decision of opening a brick and mortar shop. After contemplating, it was decided that McCarthy would carry on with Kit Coffee alone, and she opened up shop on Hunter Street in July 2019.

“This had been something I wanted to do since I was 15,” said McCarthy. “This spot came available and it was already a coffee shop so it really was serendipitous that it was available then and I dove in.”

Since opening, Kit Coffee has faced many hurdles, while still providing downtown Peterborough with fresh coffee and handmade, baked goods.

In January 2020 McCarthy broke her ankle, which prohibited them from working in the shop, meaning she had to pay more employees.

Shortly after that the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Kit Coffee and the local business world took a great hit.

In July 2020 McCarthy broke both of her ankles, sidelining them from her own business yet again.

“It’s a combination of COVID and the fact that I was off work for the better part of two years. 2020 was a terrible year.”

@ptbo_canada hanging out at the lovely @KitCoffeePtbo today! Check out the gofundme in the comments to help the coffee shop with 🤌🏻 vibes out #localbusiness #CoffeeShop #LocalCafe #GoFundMe ♬ As It Was - Harry Styles

Facing lockdown after lockdown, then loosing product after the Derecho that caused power outages all over Peterborough, McCarthy says Kit Coffee is now struggling to stay afloat.

“With the price of things right now everyone is feeling scrunched and I totally get that.” she said. “That being said I have such amazing regulars.”

She launched a GoFundMe on Monday in hopes to gather support from the community.

“It’s so hard to ask for help and to ask for money to support your dream,” she said. “I don’t feel entitled for people to donate, I don’t expect people to donate but people have told me they would like the opportunity to help.”

Since its launch, the GoFundMe has raised over $3,000. McCarthy says the money will go to paying off debt that accumulated over the last two years, and to completing some much needed repairs.

“It hasn’t even just been money. People have offered their time, people have made a point to come in and buy a coffee, they’ve offered kind words, it’s been great.”

To donate to the GoFundMe click here.

Kit Coffee is a safe space for the queer and BIPOC communities of Peterborough. They host music during Peterborough’s ‘First Friday Art Crawl’. McCarthy says in the future they hope to be able to host more events to showcase local talent.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Kit Coffee, Taso's Restaurant And Pizzeria & More!

PTBOCanada is delighted to to be running StooNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…

Last year Swish Maintenance and their Charlotte Products division introduced a camera that can identify invisible pathogens. Called OptiSolve, the camera can reveal invisible contamination on surfaces. It might look clean, but is it really clean? It’s an amazing technology that can help your company or institution perform an audit and establish cleaning systems that can not only elevate your standards, but give you a competitive edge. Diane Richard of Diatom Consulting has been contracted by Swish to bring Optisolve to market. If you are in the healthcare, food, office, or hospitality sectors, check it out at diatomconsulting.ca or optisolve.net.

Lots of recent activity in Peterborough’s Downtown core with the opening of several new businesses, including Taso’s Restaurant and Pizzeria. A family owned Greek and Italian restaurant, you’ll find their Homemade Signature Pizza, Pasta, Gyro, Fresh Ground Burgers, an eight-layer lasagna and lots more. Daily Specials, Gluten-Free and Vegan options are also available. Located across from Showplace, you can find Taso’s on Facebook.

Taso’s 8-layer lasagna

Illume Room Cosmetic Teeth Whitening owner Emma Pineo was one of the DBIA's Win this Space Top 10 contestants. Her new shop is located at 414 George Street in the former Spill location. Emma offers laser teeth whitening, spray tanning and a complete retail product line as well. Call 705.768.5130 or go online at illumeroom.com.

Illume Room owner Emma Pineo

At Kit Coffee Espresso Bar & Bake shop at 144 Hunter Street, owner Helen McCarthy offers an espresso bar and bakeshop in a cozy, bright space, serving everything from traditional cafe eats and drinks to Vegan, gluten free, dairy free, plant based, and kid friendly options. Go to Kitcoffeeptbo.ca for more info.

Kit Coffee owner Helen McCarthy

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