TOLD TO VACATE – Brioni Connolly, the owner of The Poor Creature, says the planned eviction from the Yukonstruct building will be a death-knell to her popular business. She has to leave the Second Avenue premises by Oct. 31.

Eatery owner feels ‘blind-sided’ by eviction Plant-based eatery The Poor Creature will likely close its doors at the end of this month after the business’ lease inside the Yukonstruct building was not renewed. By Gabrielle Plonka on October 15, 2019

Plant-based eatery The Poor Creature will likely close its doors at the end of this month after the business’ lease inside the Yukonstruct building was not renewed.

“I felt very blind-sided; it came out of nowhere,” Brioni Connolly, the owner, told the Star this morning.

Connolly said she was handed a letter by Glenn Piwowar, the president of the Yukonstruct board, and Lana Selbee, the staff executive director, last Friday afternoon.

The letter informed her that The Poor Creature’s term of lease would be expiring on Oct. 31 and would not be renewed.

Up until the delivery of the letter, Connolly said, she was under the impression she would be keeping the space.

Two weeks ago, she was put on the waiting list for new signage on the property.

She has a standing catering order with the organization every Wednesday, and they had recently discussed repairs to her sink and her terms going forward.

The letter – which gives less than a month’s notice of her business’ forced closure – has left Connolly grasping for answers.

She said she was told by Piwowar and Selbee that Yukonstruct would be “going in another direction,” but wasn’t given specific reason for the non-renewal.

“It seems pretty callous; it would be nice if they even had a good solid reason to hang on to, so at least I’d understand what’s happening,” Connolly said.

“They’re not even giving me that courtesy at the moment.”

Connolly said she reached out to the Yukonstruct board for clarification by email over the long weekend, but has not received a response.

“It’s very unfair for an organization that’s been mandated to serve entrepreneurs and support entrepreneurship,” she said.

Connolly opened the community-minded café last November.

The Poor Creature’s bill of fare comes from whole food and plant-based, ethical ingredients. The menu items do not include palm oil or refined sugar and the coffee is fair-trade organic.

The operation is also eco-conscious, with zero-waste policies. The café serves salads, bowls, hot food and baked goods.

Connolly said her business has been successfully received by the Whitehorse community and she’s been busy since opening.

“I feel like this business was something Whitehorse really wanted and enjoyed having,” she said.

Since she publicized the notice of her lease’s non-renewal last Friday afternoon, Connolly says the community has come forward in support.

Yukonstruct members themselves have expressed “dismay,” and told Connolly they hadn’t been informed of her business being ousted.

Connolly said she was surprised that so many members were unaware of the decision, because Yukonstruct has historically taken a collaborative approach to decision-making with members.

A number of people have reached out, she said, offering to help in the search for a new location for The Poor Creature. Connolly said she struggles to see a future for her café even if a new location is found.

“To be honest, I think if they go ahead with (the eviction), my business is dead,” she said.

“I’m sure (Yukonstruct) can understand that – that’s what they do, the support entrepreneurs. They know how delicate cash flow is.”

Connolly speculates the eviction might be due to complaints of the café’s noise level.

The space she occupies is open-concept. As a result, she was informed earlier this year that The Poor Creature was too loud for those working in the Yukonstruct spaces.

A previous board member told Connolly last February that the Yukonstruct board only realized the open-concept design was an issue after the café started operating.

She was told at the time that they would work together to solve the problem of the noise, and Yukonstruct members would be informed that working co-spaces were not necessarily quiet spaces.

Since then, Connolly has spent time researching how to solve the issue of the noise.

Last week, she invited Yukonstruct staff to meet so she could present them with solutions. Just a few days after she requested the meeting, she received the letter informing her she must vacate.

“That kind of compounded the surprise, because I thought we were working together,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Early this afternoon, Selbee told the Star in an emailed statement they are firm in their decision, but are willing to discuss a time extension.

“We as an organization have decided that this business is not the right fit and have chosen not to renew their lease,” Selbee wrote.

“We provided notice to the tenant as per the terms of our lease agreement and have offered to enter into discussions of additional time and transition support if requested.”