Have started Kickstarter campaign to fund the move
After only seven months in business, Peaks Coffee Co. in Nelson is expanding its business and moving to a larger space in the building next door to its current location. In fact, it is going into the space where the new Circa restaurant was slated to go before the deal fell apart last month.
The move will not only mean more café space and the addition of a bakery to the business, but also the need to raise $15,000 to make it happen.
“We’re bummed about Circa not coming in because it would have brought great food and lots of foot traffic to Nelson, but when they said no, Nancy [Demyttenaere, building owner] approached us and said we had first dibs on the space,” said Kelsey Ball, co-owner of Peaks. “Obviously we never thought about that space because we knew Circa was going in … we looked at it and it’s a great space … it was a blessing in disguise.”
Ball and her partner Sam Bender founded Peaks Coffee Company, a micro-roaster, in October 2015 in a 300 square-foot space at 3256 Route 20 East. They offer fresh roasted coffee from countries across the globe, public cuppings, coffee brewing classes and various events. Their coffee is beginning to be served at restaurants throughout the Cazenovia area and Central New York region, and their popularity as a café has been steadily increasing.
In fact, the limits of their small location is one reason Bender and Ball have decided to take the leap and move next door.
“It’s a big move, a little intimidating,” Ball said. “We’re almost quadrupling our space from 300 square feet to 1,100 square feet.”
The new Peaks, at 3256 Route 20 East, will have room for more tables, a space for a couch and chairs and a coffee bar. The roaster area will be open-air so customers can still see — and most importantly smell — the coffee being roasted.
The biggest change, however, will be the addition of a full commercial kitchen so they can offer freshly baked pastries and custom wholesale baked goods made to order — and possibly expand from there to sandwiches and soups. The chef will be Siobhan Hoye, a baker from the Fayetteville-Manlius area whom Ball previously worked with in another coffee/kitchen business.
“She’s a really talented chef, and she makes the best macarons ever,” Bender said.
Other changes on the way for Peaks with the move will be expanding their hours from six days a week to seven, and hiring more full-time and part-time employees. Peaks will continue to offer its many public events as in the current space, like public cuppings, brewing classes and craft shows, but now will have more space to do it.
The catch to all of this, of course, is the cost. Bender and Ball estimate they need to raise about $15,000 for the move — to purchase all the kitchen equipment, a new commercial-grade espresso machine (the current one they have already worn out because of their popularity. “Yeah, we kind of killed it already,” Ball said), and hire and train new employees.
To do this, Ball and Bender have started a Kickstarter fundraising campaign that runs until May 31. They have raised nearly $3,000 so far, but still have a long way to go. To encourage donations, they are offering various “rewards” to donors at certain monetary levels, such as free coffee, T-shirts, invitations to private events, the opportunity to hold your own private event and various coffee club memberships. The big prize, to those who donate $1,000 or more, is a permanent place in Peaks with a café table dedicated to the person or business who donated, along with free coffee once a week for a year.
The scary thing about the Kickstarter campaign is that the website is an all-or-nothing venture. If Bender and Ball do not reach their $15,000 goal, they do not get any of the money pledged to them.
“It’s terrifying,” Ball said. “But we do have some backup plans.”
Peaks will be moving at the end of May, so their doors will close on May 21 and reopen in the new space on May 30. Once all the kitchen equipment is installed, probably in July, they will host a grand re-opening event, Bender said.
On their last day open in the current space, May 21, incoming Peaks chef Hoye will be giving away her favorite pastries to thank customers for their support and hopefully entice people to donate to the Kickstarter campaign and want to come back for more at the new space, Ball said.
“There’s been a lot of people excited about our move, especially the bakery aspect,” Ball said. “We’re very excited to be in the new space.”
To help with the Peaks Coffe Co. Kickstarter project, visit their Kickstarter page at kickstarter.com/projects/peakscoffeeco/peaks-coffee-company.
For more information, call Peaks Coffee Company at 708-2862 or visit peakscoffeeco.com.
