“We don’t have all the answers and we don’t always get it right, but we show up every day with passion, commitment and focus.”
Amy Ferris
White Rabbit Coffee Co/Black Rabbit Kitchen and Attic
Phone: (250) 268-8246
Website: www.whiterabbitcoffeeco.com / www.blackrabbitkitchen.com
In 2017, my partner Adrian and I left the comfort of our salaried jobs and our cheap cozy apartment behind in the prairies for a shot at life on the West Coast. We had the same goal, freedom. Freedom to create, to build and to manage our futures. Dead set on making a name for ourselves in our new home town of Nanaimo, we began designing a business that would allow us to use all of our skills in one place. I am a graphic designer and photographer, Adrian is a woodworker and lifelong sports coach. Together, we turned our creative problem solving skills, team building and tolerance for risk into a local community coffee shop.
Our first battle was funding. We first had to convince people that our idea was worth investing in. A scary thing to do when you’re first starting out, when you don’t have all the answers, when your data is imaginary but your hope is high. We learned pretty quickly that owning a business is one part managing expectations and two parts risk management. Whether we were dealing with the city, contractors, suppliers, were constantly kept on our toes. The day finally came when we opened the doors and then the real game began.
We knew year one would be rocky, we knew our vision would evolve and change as we understood our community better. The vision we had for our small coffee shop grew as our demand did. We finally got our groove in early 2020. Cash flow was good, staffing was dialed in and our systems were in place. You can probably guess what happened next. Covid came crashing down like a ton of bricks. We had two options, crumble under the uncertainty or double down on our systems and our people. We did the latter. Within 3 weeks of closure, we found ways to be open safely, continuing to provide small joys for our community and to give our staff purpose. We took it slow and found ways to better our systems. We knew that when this was all over we wanted our cafe to be a pillar of consistency and kindness.
Our struggle breeds deep confidence. When presented with the opportunity to expand our vision and open a sister restaurant Black Rabbit, we proceeded along with assistance from Community Futures Central Island. We felt scared but primed to meet it head on. Instead of asking “are we ready for this”, we asked “do we have the support to accomplish this?” After three years of building knowledge, community and resources we found ourselves opening a restaurant on the tail end of the pandemic. We don’t have all the answers and we don’t always get it right, but we show up every day with passion, commitment and focus.
