Buzz Coffee House has reopened after being closed for over one month when Eric Kutzner, employee and grandfather to the owner, was killed in the cafe.
The shop closed on Feb. 12, and Philip Baker, owner and Kutzner’s grandson, says his grandfather would have wanted to see the cafe reopen.
“My grandfather and I put a lot of work into this place in a very short time last year and it just didn’t feel right to kind of walk away,” Baker said. “There’s too many things left to do.”
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Baker says many of the staff returned to work at Buzz Coffee House, but he understands why some felt like they didn’t want to return.
Snuneymuxw Elder Lolly Good held a ceremony for the re-opening where she called for prosperous thoughts for the employees, which they could then pass on to the customers who came to the cafe.
Baker says he is grateful for the community support throughout the closure.
“The community support was really amazing. We received a lot of encouragement from them to continue on, which was a big help,” Baker said. “And it really just reinforced for us like, why we do what we do and that’s the people, it’s the community. We’d be nothing without them.”
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