Cafe in Summerland shuts down due to staffing shortage
A busy, quaint café in Summerland was forced to close its doors due to a lack of staff earlier this month.
Just Hazel Café opened in July of last year at 13229 Victoria Road North.
“Running the café was the best experience of my life,” said owner Tracey Savage.
While the café was open every day serving the community fresh quality food like ice cream, bunwiches, gourmet salads and soups, it also served a deeper, more poignant purpose.
It was a place for the community to gather around Savage after her son was murdered almost a year ago, and a place for her to stay busy while processing her devastating loss.
“People came to support me when I lost my son,” she said. “They needed a place to gather and process too. I felt a connectedness to this community in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
Savage’s son Taig Savage, 22, was found unresponsive in a school field near Penticton Secondary around 6 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The case is still under investigation.
READ MORE: Details of homicide outside Penticton high school paint a blurry picture for mother of victim
After over a month of dealing with ongoing staffing issues at the cafe, Savage made the decision to shut down the business and leave “on a high note”.
She said employees were not showing up and calling in late at night to cancel their next day shifts resulting in five days in July where the cafe couldn’t operate.
“I couldn’t operate with a business that was going to be closed five days per month,” she said. “We were open every day and producing very good food and service until July. I didn’t want to risk crumbling into a bad business.”
A province wide staffing shortage is having an effect on many industries.
READ MORE: Worst of Thompson-Okanagan worker shortages are behind us: economist
While the business was helpful in getting Savage through the initial stages of loss while it was in operation, the closing of its doors has opened a new opportunity for Savage to continue the healing process.
“I haven’t properly grieved the death of my son because I was so busy,” she said. “Now I need more self-care after actively trying to solve his murder. I’m happy with the help and energy I’ve put toward the police investigation.”
Savage said her son’s murder case is with the judicial system where a whole team is working on what she calls a long, arduous process.
“I don’t know where they are in the case at the moment, it is not for me to know right now,” she said. “But they are in the process. It takes a long time to get to the end of these kinds of cases.”
Savage has smaller businesses she is running on her own and hopes to study in the area of addiction and trauma in the future.
“I don’t know what my future holds but I know it will be interesting,” she said.
The café was being leased on a month to month basis so Savage will not be able to sell the business. She is unsure what the next business will be going into the location.
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