A couple weeks ago at their weekly Friday night music event, Gaia Java co-owner Paul Jay announced that he and Paul Melsness will not be renewing the lease on their coffee shop when it expires at the end of 2015. A deal with a prospective buyer fell through.
The closing of this local coffee shop would be a huge loss for our community. The two Pauls have created a cozy cultural centre that’s a favourite meeting place for so many local groups, big and small. (We profiled the shop back in January.)
The good news is that since they announced the closing, they’ve had two more parties step forward with interest in taking over the cafe. So the cup may not be empty yet. Stay tuned…
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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
About a dozen local business owners and operators from across Stittsville met on Monday night to hear about what it would take to start up a business improvement area (BIA) for Stittsville.
Councillor Shad Qadri has said he would like to see a BIA established during this term of council, and there has been interest in the past year from the local business community.
BIAs are funded through a special levy based on a property’s assessment value. All the money collected is pooled to support things like marketing, market research, streetscape improvements and special events.
Any local business who wants to get involved should reach out to Councillor Qadri. A follow-up meeting is planned for early in 2016.
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BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY
The Stittsville Village Association has a call out to volunteers to join the organization’s executive board. Elections will be held at the AGM on Thursday, November 26, 7:00pm at 8B Sweetnam Drive.
This is the group that organizes the annual Parade of Lights (November 28) and Canada Day in Stittsville, and advocates on development and civic issues in our community. I’m on the board of directors and encourage you to join!
We love Gaia Java and will be sorry to lose the two Pauls…best wishes to them.