09/20/2024
LONG-READ 🦢 Sundays have quickly become our favourite day of the week. We’ve been back at it for about eight weeks now, and we want to keep it going. Being open Sundays means more hours for our team, and more good vibes for our community. There’s only one catch: we can only continue being open Sundays as long as we continue being busy, so we hope to see our community getting out and about on Sunday mornings from 9-1 throughout September. If these hours become too quiet, we will reassess next month.
Heading into the cozy months reminds us of the Scandinavian philosophy that happiness is found in the simple joys: sipping coffee in good company, getting fresh air, and staying active. By getting together with our communities on Sundays, we all get a little closer to that feeling of hygge—a sense of comfort, contentment, and well-being. But it doesn’t happen without effort.
I read ’s newsletter this week, and it put into words something that’s been eating at me for the last few years, especially as busy and quiet seasons ebbed and flowed in the cafe, sparking ever-greater uncertainty. She wrote: “There is no community without effort. Community is tricky like that: everyone needs to contribute, but can’t—and shouldn’t—contribute the exact same way or on the same timeline. For most people, loneliness doesn’t stem from a lack of friends. It comes from not feeling connected to the friends you already have, while “peering in” on their lives via social media. It’s fixable if you are willing to work.”
Our community asked to see us open again on Sundays. We made it happen. So, here’s our ask to you: start a new habit. Text someone to go for a walk, to meet up after work or on Sunday morning. Don’t worry about a cloudy forecast, who initiated last time or who’s too busy. This is how it works: plan ahead and build your hygge before the darkness of winter. Be part of your greater community—like your little corner cafes and breweries—so that they’re there when you want them.
As we’ve read about crises of loneliness and the disappearance of “Third Places” over the last few years, it’s hard for us not to feel like we have the solution within grasp: if only we’ll take the first step. - Laura
