Atlantic Baking Company
The Atlantic Baking Company joined the Suspended Coffees movement on January 2, 2014. Hope Percy, the Retail Manager, shared with me that she and the General Manager had seen Facebook posts about Suspended Coffees so they talked about it. Since the bakery already donates all of their leftover breads and pastries to the local soup kitchens and benefit suppers, they felt that expanding with Suspended Coffees would be a perfect fit. Hope said, “We liked the idea of doing something here, inside the bakery/café. Coffee shops, bakeries, eateries – we’re all small luxuries and how lovely for everyone to extend a caring hand to each other; sharing a treat!”
Not only do they offer Suspended Coffees, they also offer Suspended drinks and food. Hope explained that they use rechargeable gift cards and assign a card to each suspended category, making it easy to contribute, keep track of and use.
When I asked how it was working out for them, she told me that both the contributing customers and the recipients are thrilled. “The outpouring of support has been amazing. In the summer we get cruise ships, bus tours and festival goers that come from all over the country and world. The joy and generosity people are expressing over the program is outstanding!”
I asked Hope what she would say to other establishments that were considering joining the Suspended Coffees movement and she said, “You’ll be glad you did! There are so many ways to manage the Suspended Coffees it won’t take long to figure out what will work best for your business. We figured it out in less than an hour”. She recommends that new cafés contact their local newspaper, hand out flyers at soup kitchens and place flyers at their local library.
To close, Hope shared, “The Suspended Coffees motto, ‘it’s about more than the coffee’ is correct. The Suspended Coffees movement is bringing a sense of community back to the community!”
You can visit the Atlantic Baking Company at 351 Main Street, Rockland, Maine; call them at (207) 596-0505; email them at [email protected]; find them on Facebook at Atlantic-Baking-Company; on Twitter @AtlanticBaking; and on Instagram at ABCbread.