2022 was by most accounts, a good year for SITM.
Remember how it began? The last Covid Lockdown happened just at Christmas, 2021 and ran into the New Year. That lockdown had a direct effect on my family. My dad turned 90 in late December and we had to cancel The Big Event. The Evans fam was unable to re-schedule until this past October and I joked, indelicately, that at dad’s age the guest list shrinks with every passing month 😳!
For SITM, 2022 was a year of growth in our wholesale business as well as in the cafe. That was one of the Ups but there were also downs as we said good bye to a couple of long-serving staff when Bob and Linda retired. Linda had been here 14 years and Bob, 13. They are already missed - The Stick would not be what it is without those two. I hope they might cover the odd shift here and there…Actually, Linda already has!
The Stick’d be nothing without a few things…Namely, my staff, managed adroitly by Garrath in The Stick and Alanna in The Treat Lab with Kate and I doing our best in The Roastoreum. But we also have great customers - those of you who come through our front door, those who get beans via the website or the phone and those who serve our coffee in their business.
If you’re hankering for an SITM coffee fix check out one of these places…Here’s the full list of where our coffee can be found as beans or as brew as of December 27, 2022 - in no particular order and not including places closed to the public like lodges, BnBs, offices:
17 Mile Pub in Sooke,
Route 14 in Sooke,
Stickleback Westcoast Eatery in Sooke,
Lazy Gecko in Sooke,
Road To Sooke Cafe in Sooke,
Wild Mountain in Sooke,
Stoked Pizza in Shirley,
RC Legion in Sooke,
Sooke Sweet and Pop Shoppe in Sooke,
Sooke Oceanside Brewery in Sooke,
Dumont Tirecraft’s waiting room in Sooke,
Westshack Auto’s waiting room in Sooke,
WestCoast Grill in Sooke’s Prestige Hotel,
East Sooke General Store in East Sooke,
Cold Shoulder Cafe in Jordan River,
Point no Point in Jordan River,
Dagwood’s Cafe in Langford,
Poncho’s Cafe and Catering in Langford,
Mountain Market in Langford,
Jack’s Place in Langford,
Malahat Skywalk on the Malahat Nation,
Owly’s Cafe in Victoria,
SaltChuck Pies in Victoria,
Olde Farm Market in Oak Bay,
Tomi’s Homestyle Cookin in Port Renfrew,
Pacheedaht Pit Stop on Pacheedaht land in Port Renfrew,
Pacheedaht Campground on Pacheedaht land in Port Renfrew,
San Juan Market in Port Renfrew…
Who did I miss?!
Happy New Year, Stick Fam! Thanks for everything over the past 15 and a half years :)
David
Post Script:
The pre-Christmas snow storm that hit the entirety of North America also wrought havoc at The Stick. The week before December 25 is typically one of the top 3 or 4 weeks of the year for sales here. Gift cards and bags of freshly roasted beans FLY out the door by the dozens. Our baking sales increase, our in-shop dining goes up as people share simple pleasures in a complex time.
This year? We had to essentially shut down for 2 days. We managed to open on those 2 days but only just. Our Big Top tent came down as the amount of show that fell between 3AM and 5 AM was not something we could have stayed on top of even if most of us could get to the cafe.
I shouldn’t reveal too many details of this business, suffice it to say that it was a record breaking week….Just not for profits!
D