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PK Coffee served Waterbury one last cup of caffeine and signature bubbles on Sunday before closing its doors in its Foundry Street location.
The company announced the decision on Friday via PK’s Instagram account. The post cited the challenges of maintaining businesses in both Waterbury and Stowe in the post-Covid economy.
They wrote on Instagram: “These last few years have been tough, and we’ve given it our all to keep the doors open at both locations. We can meet with our small (yet mighty) team at our Stowe location.
PK Coffee General Manager Linnae Horan said the decision came down to staffing and sales. “We have struggled to keep our stores open and operating while some employees have moved on and the summer help has gone back to school/etc., while hiring has been challenging,” she wrote to The Waterbury Round. “There needs to be a change,” Horan said, after relying so heavily on backup help and adjusting store hours to try and keep up.
Horan also acknowledged that sales at the Stowe store are higher than in Waterbury, partly because of the increased number of tourists visiting the area. “The Stowe store is busier than ever,” she said, “and while it’s good for business, understaffing is not good.”
The current plan is to focus on running just one cafe. “Our hope is that having more staff in our already busy store will allow us to keep up with the number of tourists and reduce the workload on our team,” added Horan.
Back to the beginning… again
PK Coffee is not alone in facing unique business challenges and difficult decisions, but their story is one of particular adaptability and resilience.
In the year After operating their original cafe in Stowe since 2016, PK opened in Waterbury in February 2020 – just one month before the Covid-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. In August of that year, circumstances forced them to close their store at Gale Farm on Mountain Road in Stowe. as if An interview with the Waterbury Circle In the year In October 2020, owner Katrina Verman expressed her focus on “getting back to basics” at the Waterbury store, saying, “Bring[ing] After months of pandemic isolation, fear and closure, return to the joy of community.
But in February 2021, PK Coffee reopened in a new location on Mountain Road near Galle Farm in Stowe, and for more than a year, the company has served both communities as a staple of the local coffee scene.
Now, PK Coffee is experiencing a typical 2020 scenario, but in reverse. Although not mandatory closures, they are among the many businesses in the service industry struggling to keep up with growing demand from both locals and tourists at the same time as staff shortages, rising food, supply and labor costs, and when everyone returns. Some new version of standard.
Nicole Grenier, owner of the Stowe Street Cafe in Waterbury, just a few storefronts from PK Coffee, expressed her sadness and disappointment about PK’s closing nearby. Responding to PK Coffey’s Instagram ad, Grenier wrote: “Someone came in today to tell us and it looks like he expects us to be happy to hear it, unless we’re not. We are all struggling with the current state of things and it does not bring us joy to see another well-loved institution making these tough choices. Honestly, it could be any of us.
Grenier wished PK Coffee the best of luck and expressed hope that one day they will return to Waterbury.
future sweet (bitter)
For now, PK Coffee is going back to basics. Back to Stowe. Get back to focusing on nurturing their team and bringing joy to their customers.
Horan described the current situation as “very day-to-day.” The timing of finalizing details such as the lease for the Waterbury location has yet to be resolved, “because we need to make this decision quickly to keep up with our staff’s schedule,” Horan explained.
Before the decision to close, the Waterbury store had eight employees, including bakers and baristas, Horan said. Six of those employees will transfer to the Stowe store and two have decided to stay on. The transition should allow the company to focus on meeting demand at Stowe Cafe at a time of need. “We hope to be able to expand our Stowe hours with our current team during the busy ski season,” she said.
Still the action hurts. “We are heartbroken to close a place that is such a part of the Waterbury community,” Horan said.
Fans can still get their PK Coffee fix at the Stowe store at 1940 Mountain Road.
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