Stopgap Coffee offers a place to gather in historic Edmonton home
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Stopgap Coffee has set up shop in the John T. Ross Residence, a historic home in the Oliver neighbourhood that gives the café's owners a chance to "nestle within a community."
Caleb and Stephanie Kan had dreamed of opening a coffee shop for seven years, but it never seemed like the right time. The pandemic helped the duo slow down and prioritize creating a spot where people could gather.
"Over the years it's changed and evolved and really shaped itself into opening a coffee shop to engage with community, to connect with people, and for people to connect with each other," said Caleb, who used to work at Brown Butter Café. "Coffee is a meeting point."
The one-and-a-half-storey brick residence at 111 Street and 97 Avenue was built around 1909 and designated as a municipal historic resource in 2007. It was smaller than many of its neighbours, but "still designed to reflect the wealth of the neighbourhood," says the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
The building was temporarily moved onto the street in 2014 by Edgar Development to make way for the Hendrix building. Along the way, the 113-year-old structure was refinished and returned to its former glory.
The Kans were initially hoping to buy the house when its previous owner put it up for sale, Caleb said, but it was snapped up by a local business. So when an opportunity to lease the first floor came up, they knew they couldn't say no.
"It's pretty cool to be part of the history of this house. I think that's really a draw to being here, but also to meet the community around it and to hear their stories," he said.
Visitors can walk around the main floor to check out the residence and some of the elements that have been preserved. In the coffee shop, the Kans aimed to honour the home's original character.
"We really just wanted to make it feel like someone's coming into our living room, so that's how we designed the place — to make it homey and cozy," Caleb said.
