Kekuli Café is a fast-casual Indigenous Cuisine Café. We are a unique concept with a full kitchen and a line of Espresso & Coffee Beverages. We source locally, support local, and make and bake everything in-house in our locations. Our freshly made Bannock is what makes us unique. We’ve created a safe space for our guests to eat, sip, visit, or relax. We are located in the unceded territory of the Syilx Peoples in the Okanagan, Tsinstkeptum 9 (Westbank BC).
How do you take your coffee?
Seriously. Every morning! Coffee is my spirit animal—fresh shots of spirit bear Raven espresso, hot water, and only 18% Coffee cream. Coffee is not the same without having genuine coffee cream. And using a unique coffee cup that means something to you and fits into your hands perfectly when taking that first sip. Our java jackets have the words joy, love and freedom which we hope will brighten our customer’s day.
Tell us about some of the challenges (and joys!) of being a coffee entrepreneur/member of the coffee community.
Serving good coffee every day brings me joy, love & freedom. When you serve the best coffee, the people will come. I love people and making sure our Kekuli Café Coffee is their go-to local community coffee shop.
How has being part of the BIPOC community strengthened or challenged your experience in Canadian coffee?
We continue to contribute to the BIPOC community by providing a culturally appropriate space for everyone, by inclusivity, friends hanging out with friends. This creates relationships in the community. We are ever-changing, growing, and learning every day. Every human being that comes to Kekuli is always respected and acknowledged because that is the Indigenous way of knowing and being as a people, very kind, loving and open and respectful.
If you could work towards ONE thing to increase diversity & inclusion in Canadian coffee, what would this be?
My twelve-year old niece spoke these amazing words regarding the significance of inclusion: “by learning about truth and reconciliation we can appreciate people's true colours.” That is how we can learn to be more inclusive and accepting of other’s differences.