After eight years of concerts and poetry readings, cribbage rivalries, a wedding and countless friendly faces, Higher Grounds espresso bar will shut its doors in the new year.
Founder Crystal Terhorst announced through an open letter, published in the Morinville News last week, that the coffee shop would be serving its last cup of coffee on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Although not an easy decision, Terhorst said the timing was right.
“We are run by volunteers and some of us are aging, so we’ve come to the decision that it’s time to close it up,” she said.
Higher Grounds, originally established as New Beginnings, is a not-for-profit. All profits are donated to local charities and the shop is run entirely by volunteers.
Terhorst and her late husband came up with the idea for the social enterprise ten years ago. As people of faith, they wanted to give back to the community of Morinville, but didn’t want to compete with established charities or churches.
“Rather than start something and possibly lead funds away from them, we decided to get behind them and back them,” she said.
Over the years the shop has been able to contribute thousands of dollars to organizations like the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation, Victim Services, the food bank, Midstream Support and the Boy Scouts.
JMMF founder Lynne Rosychuk thanked Higher Grounds for years of support.
“I have been truly touched and blessed by Crystal and all the beautiful volunteers from Higher Grounds,” she wrote on Facebook. “Not only are they huge supporters of the JMMF, but myself as well. I truly appreciate all the times I was in and there was someone there that just knew I needed a hug.”
The coffee shop was also a venue for local talent. Crafts were sold, art adorned the walls and once a month, artists and comedians would take the stage during the shop’s Hot Dogma events.
“That’s been close to our hearts, being able to promote youth activities in town,” said Terhorst. “We can’t do a lot of things, but that was something that we could do to get behind them and support them.”
Some even learned how to organize and advertise concerts thanks to a partnership between Smith Music and Higher Grounds.
In addition to hosting concerts and open mikes, the coffee shop has been used for town hall meetings, informal gatherings and even a small wedding.
“We’ve made many friends,” said Terhorst. “That’s the thing we’ll miss most of all: the customers that came in everyday and we formed friendships with.”
Terhorst is thinking of hosting a final open mike night for musicians, as well as one last charity cribbage tournament in the month of January.
