While the Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park has been a landmark for great food and drink on Peterborough’s waterfront for more than 20 years, with the help of Community Futures Peterborough, its expansion is sure to put the café on the map on a national scale.
The Silver Bean will open its second location at the new Canadian Canoe Museum on Monday (May 13), when the museum officially opens to the public following a weekend grand opening community celebration.
Located at 2077 Ashburnham Drive just steps away from Little Lake, the new Canadian Canoe Museum houses the world’s largest collection of paddled watercraft and will give locals and visitors alike access to workshops, canoe and kayak rentals, and educational opportunities.
“The Canadian Canoe Museum was one of those organic opportunities,” says Silver Bean Café owner Dan Brandsma. “It checks a lot of boxes in terms of who we are as a café. It’s on the water and serves our local customer base, and there’s some symbiotic connections with the Canoe Museum and the culture where I think we will benefit each other.”
Born and raised in Abbotsford, B.C., Brandsma was living in Toronto in 2018 when he received a text message from his wife after her first interview for a job in Peterborough. It was a photo of her drinking coffee from a patio that overlooked the Otonabee River. A year later, he would come to Peterborough to own that very café, alongside Michael VanDerHerberg, after buying out founder Andrea VanDerHerberg.
“That’s just the way connections and the Peterborough community works — it doesn’t take long to feel a part of something cool,” Brandsma says. “Silver Bean was above and beyond what I thought the café could be, in terms of tapping into the cycling community, the dog-friendly community, the arts community, and the music community. The foundation is the espresso machine, but there’s so many cool pieces on top of that.”
All of that and more will be at the core of the Silver Bean’s new location in the museum’s atrium, where 30 seats will be spread among tables and leather couches, with additional seating for 32 people available outside on the terrace surrounding an outdoor fireplace overlooking Little Lake.
The location will serve up the same menu available at Millennium Park — breakfasts, light lunches, smoothies, locally roasted coffee, and fresh-baked desserts — as well as some exclusive canoe-themed items, like the “charcuterie paddle” and the “canookie”.
“Being on the water is a natural connection, and we have customers who just have an affinity to the outdoors like those who visit the museum,” Brandsma points out. “This bolsters tourism in Peterborough, giving more reasons for people to enjoy a nice visit and enjoy the waterfront and these facilities that we have.”
“I think it’s great that it’s more than just a museum — it’s more like a community hub, with that front atrium requiring no admission so we can invite locals and tourists to enjoy the space.”
The Silver Bean’s expansion into the new Canadian Canoe Museum was made possible with support from Community Futures Peterborough, a not-for-profit organization that helps develop local businesses with funding from the federal government through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
One of the more than 1,300 businesses in Peterborough City and County who have been supported by the organization, the Silver Bean had previously worked with Community Futures Peterborough even before Brandsma became an owner, so it was only natural he would seek them out when planning the expansion into the Canadian Canoe Museum.
“With the high cost of appliances and all the wares just to get things rolling, Community Futures Peterborough helps with finding different funding,” says Brandsma. “Having a loan through them that is spread out in bite-size amounts makes it manageable for businesses, and it was helpful to get things going while also being given accounting support, and just sitting down to look at the numbers together.”
“A good portion of our loans end up supporting start-ups, but we are also available for established businesses within the community who are looking to expand and grow their business,” says Braden Clark, Loan Manager with Community Futures Peterborough.
Along with providing financing for business growth, the organization also offers advisory programs for business owners, including the ScaleUP program which is designed to help businesses grow sustainably through expert consultation and classroom sessions. The advisory program, delivered in partnership with Scotiabank, helps select business owners with expansion planning, people management, operations, and the development of a concrete and actionable business plan.
“Entrepreneurs don’t always need the money; what they need is the advisory support,” says Clark. “We’re taking existing businesses from the community and providing them with the expertise and tools to expand and take their businesses to the next level.”
By providing financing to support the Silver Bean’s expansion into the new Canadian Canoe Museum, Community Futures Peterborough is also furthering the development of other small businesses in the region.
At the Canadian Canoe Museum location, Brandsma intends to showcase local musicians, serve locally roasted coffee, and purchase microgreens and ingredients from regional suppliers — including Kawartha Dairy, whose ice cream will be part of the Silver Bean’s exclusive “canookie” available only at the new location.
“Our catchment area is Peterborough City and County and it’s great when we can invest these dollars locally, and in turn those business owners stay hyper-focused by using existing businesses in the area,” says Clark. “It’s great to see businesses like Silver Bean and Kawartha Dairy supporting each other.”
Another aspect of the Silver Bean’s expansion that will contribute to local economic growth is increased employment. Not only has Brandsma hired new employees to staff the second location but, unlike the Millennium Park location which is only open from May through to the fall, the Canadian Canoe Museum will be open year-round.
“Our mandate is to grow the economy and create jobs within the community and those two prime factors are considered desirable in successful applications,” says Clark, noting that the tourism industry can often be profitable within a short period and “susceptible to abnormal seasonal patterns such as weather.”
“Being a local small business that operates only in the summer, the Silver Bean is now going to get a more steady revenue stream to offset seasonality challenges, and drive visibility on the national stage by attracting people to Peterborough from across Canada and internationally,” adds Clark. “So many other businesses will also be able to take advantage of that.”
Brandsma notes the support from Community Futures Peterborough, unlike other lenders, goes far beyond financing.
“Community Futures has that Peterborough touch,” says Brandsma. “They not only understand the business, but they would come and buy coffee here too. They want us to succeed and they’re trying to help something grow, with a degree of mentorship and a degree of accountability which are important. They have the business in mind, but also the growth of the community.”
As for staff at the Canadian Canoe Museum, Brandsma says they have been equally welcoming and encouraging for the growth of the café — reminding him of why he fell in love with the community of Peterborough and the Silver Bean years ago when he first moved to the city.
“The relationships have always been at the forefront,” says Brandsma. “It’s important that the project didn’t swallow up the relational side. We’re doing this together, and I appreciate the partnership with Community Futures and what working with the community at the Canoe Museum will look like.”
Beginning May 13, the Silver Bean Café at the Canadian Canoe Museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday, except for Thursday when it will be open until 8 p.m. An admission ticket for the museum is not required to visit the café.
To view the Silver Bean Café’s menu at the Canadian Canoe Museum, visit canoemuseum.ca/cafe.
For more information on Community Futures Peterborough’s financing options and advisory programs, visit communityfuturespeterborough.ca.
This branded editorial was created in partnership with Community Futures Peterborough. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
