“If you want to do something, now’s the time. Just jump on the wagon and go, like I did. I felt so supported,” said Sanderson. “You’re just going to have to dig in and do what you have to do.”
Sanderson said opening a café wasn’t something she had thought about prior to her son’s passing, but she became inspired, in part, by the feasts she cooked to bring her family together after he was gone. Her husband helped with the renovations at the shop, and Dwight’s former partner Keeshia Ray and their daughters are helping to run it when they aren’t in school.
“It’s heartwarming. It brings us all together, since we lost the girls’ Dad,” said an emotional Ray. “My girls have been working as hard as they can every day.
I really want all of our Indigenous people to know that it can happen and we’re just exactly like everybody else.”
Just a few days in, Ray and Sanderson said they’ve been getting good support from the public, eager to try a new local spot. They have bigger plans in the future to include board game events and more menu items. For now, the family will focus on building their clientele and sharing the story of how Dwight’s Coffeehouse came to be.
“I just want people to break free of themselves and go for your goals. You know…do it. You have a vision…do it,” said Sanderson.
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