Written By Olena Riznyk
AILSA CRAIG – For years, Summer Van Deuren talked about opening a coffee shop. Like many parents, she kept telling herself she would do it when life slowed down a little–when the kids were older, when there was more time, when the timing felt right. But after talking about the idea for nearly seven years, she realized the perfect moment might never come.
“There never really is a right time,” she said. “There’s always going to be another obstacle.”
For Summer, the idea was about more than coffee. “Ailsa Craig needed it,” she said. “You could go to Parkhill and get a coffee at Tim Hortons, but local fresh coffee wasn’t really a thing here. I thought, what a way to bring the community together.”
The name itself reflects that idea. “Being rooted in the community was super important to me,” she said.
The business found its first home inside Locality Wellness Hub after Summer connected with owner Kathy Awad-Willemse and discovered they shared a similar vision of creating a welcoming place where people could gather and socialize.
Opening day coincided with Ailsa Craig’s community garage sale, and customers lined up throughout the day. “I had lineups to the wall literally the whole day,” Summer said. “I was hopeful there would be support, and people absolutely followed through.”
Since then, she has welcomed a steady mix of local residents, workers and commuters passing through town.
She credits much of her success to the people around her. Her husband, a local farmer, encouraged her to take the leap, while family members help care for the children during the morning hours, she spends making coffee. “Everyone in my family has been like, ‘Do it. Go for it,’” she said.
While The Rooted Bean is still in its early days, Summer already has her eyes on the future. She hopes to eventually renovate a horse trailer into a mobile coffee bar that could travel to markets, community events and weddings while continuing to serve Ailsa Craig.
She also hopes to combine the business with another passion–floral design. “Coffee is great, but my deep passion is floral work too,” she said. “If I could bring that all together, that would be my dream.”
Looking back, Summer hopes her story encourages others who have been carrying a dream of their own. “Just try,” she said. “Worst case, you can say you tried. You don’t want to spend your life wondering what could have been.”
