Juniper Cafe hosts close-out sale, selling recipe book to continue legacy of community
Edmontonians lined the street outside a south-central cafe Saturday for a chance to purchase baking, furniture, and small wares and say farewell to the popular community gathering place.
Juniper Cafe & Bistro hosted a sale selling everything from baking, mugs, cups, wall decor, to tables and chairs as a final fundraiser to help owners Kenny Dario and Enid Dufresne-Dario.
The cafe announced earlier this year that it would close its doors for good after the property owners initiated plans to redevelop the Strathearn Centre strip mall.
"It's just been seven years of amazing stories and lots of emotion," Enid told CTV News Edmonton. "We visioned that this would be a place where neighbours would meet other nieghbours, and it happened on a daily basis.
"There were neighbours who lived by each other for years and never gone for coffee before," she added. "And they had their first coffee together here."
Enid shared how the cafe helped create new social bonds between community members, with several having first dates or getting married at the bistro — with even one woman starting to go into labour while enjoying her breakfast.
"We love community," Enid said. "We are just so grateful for the support."
Kenny shared how the local coffee shop had several years of difficulty, starting with LRT construction disruptions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have decided (now) to just step back and regain our composure if you will," Kenny added. "Just going to breathe for a minute."
"Now, we just need to sell some things, get some debt paid off, and see what the next chapter looks like," Enid echoed.
The cafe is creating a recipe book that shares stories and how to make its signature dishes.
"(It will have) the recipes, the exact ones they cooked with, and pictures of it," said Tanni Cyr, who is helping with the project.
"There's so many things that have happened at Juniper," Cyr added. "We want to keep this community going. We may not have a location, but we still have the community."
Visit Juniper's website to share a memory from the cafe or pre-order the recipe book.
Cyr said she was surprised to see the large turnout for the final sale of the bistro's wares.
"The support has been amazing," she added. "We have people wanting to buy little bits of Juniper just to remind them and remember the feeling of community when they would come here."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.