UNITY – More than coffee beans were being toasted on Aug. 29 at Rise + Grind, which was celebrating six years of business. What could easily be the ‘Cheers’ of Unity, regardless of who is behind the counter, everyone knows not only your name but your coffee order as well.
The coffeehouse first opened in 2018 under the ownership of Kaitlyn Wallace. She built the business alongside her entourage of baristas, known as the Bean Team. In November 2023, Wallace made the decision to put the business up for sale. Brittaney Herbertson, who had been a part of the Bean Team six months after initially opening, knew she needed to see the coffee shop continue.
“I woke up one morning and said I needed to buy the business. It was a hard no for me for a lot of years, because people joke, like ‘Oh yeah, you should take over.’ Then suddenly it was a hard yes.
“I sat down in the office with her [Kaitlyn] and told her she should sit because I needed to talk to her. She immediately asked if everything was OK and I said everything was fine, this was not bad. I told her I think I want to buy the business, and she asked me if I was sure, which I was not completely sure, but I wanted to do it. From that conversation, we transitioned in only four weeks, it was wild,” said Herbertson.
For the new owner, Herbertson had found a sense of community within the four walls of Rise + Grind. She said after seeing the challenging era of the pandemic and people showing up consistently, she felt she had a community.
While the transition seemed to go smoothly, it was a busy time for the new entrepreneur. Herbertson also helps her partner Daniel run a fly-in fishing camp, Crystal Lake Lodge, which meant she would need the Bean Team to run the show in her absence. After hosting a hiring fair with another Unity business, Herbertson encountered what she says is one of the biggest challenges so far.
“I went home afterwards, sat back on the couch with my two piles of resumes and put my feet up. Normally, I would hand over my recommendations to Kaitlyn and she did all the work, but I realized that I was the one who had to make those phone calls,” she laughed.
While the Bean Team misses their original leader, Wallace’s presence will always be an inspiration to all the staff that work at the shop.
“I think the inspiration will always sort of boil down to her, like is this something I would want her legacy to be a part of? I like to think she still keeps us in line, if Kaitlyn were to come in what would she say,” added Herbertson.
Since taking ownership in March, Herbertson has seen some major and minor changes throughout the business. While menu options are always being rotated for the seasons, Herbertson was quick to expand on the hours of operations. Now being open seven days a week for a few months, the coffee shop is looking at staying open in the evening on Thursdays.
“We will continue to explore tea-based drinks and for the first time ever, we are going to brew decaf coffee. I would like to get into more spritzer style drinks. Then we will also have simple snacks as well, like veggies and dip or nachos and salsa,” she said.
Herbertson was overwhelmed with the support of the community she received when she took over the enterprise. One coffee aficionado, George Bozak, presented Herbertson with a three-foot tall wall art, with lyrics Bozak wrote down each time he stopped in for a cup of java.
“He wrote that song over a period of a couple weeks, he would have a couple lines, go home and come back. He started to sing it, expressing his gratitude for having a place to go, a place he feels comfortable,” said Herbertson.
For the time being, the comfort of Rise + Grind will remain the same but for the new owner, she has plans for the future.
“I would like to ride out the changes of hours to see how things turn out and for the team’s sake. I’ve thought about doing trivia nights, game nights and more event hosting.
The day of celebration included fun cupcakes, a message board for customers to write notes on, the first evening hours and a visit from Clayton Kroeker of Saskatoon, best known for his content on TikTok on everything food, beverage and sports. While Herbertson appreciates grand gestures to celebrate, she requested anyone who wanted to show their gratitude over the week to bring non-perishable breakfast and lunch items to be donated back to the Unity Food Bank.
