A Bit About . . . Sarah Huckson

Around Sault Ste. Marie, Sarah Huckson is known for her cafe Scott Coffee Co. at 248 Northern Avenue (next to the Golden Dragon). Scott Coffee Co. went from the winning idea at an EDC competition, to a cozy corner cafe that will be expanding in June, next to its current location. Before I could even start asking questions, Sarah had an important question for me. 

Sarah: The first thing that I feel I need to ask you on the record after reading his concern online is…have you done one of these with Stephen Alexander of LopLops yet? I’m scared of what will happen if this goes up before Stephen’s does. 

Mindy: I actually have him next on the list!

Sarah: I just needed to make sure. 

Mindy: I had considered scratching him off because of his aggressive online demands, but he’s on a probation of sorts right now. We’ll see. 

Sarah: I just wanted it on the record that I said that, because I’m a new business owner and he’s a veteran business owner.

Mindy: I’ll contact a lawyer to make sure we have it all documented, don’t worry. 

Mindy: Alright, Sarah. This time I’d like to start with a serious question, as requested by readers. It’s apparently been a little too silly and lacking substance on here, and I like to work with the constructive criticism.

Sarah: Okay.

Mindy: What would you do for a Klondike bar?

Sarah: Um, I would literally do nothing. I do not like chocolate and mint together at all. Or is that a York Peppermint Pattie?

Mindy: A Klondike is just vanilla ice cream and chocolate I think. 

Sarah: The thing about Klondike bars is, I’ve never really been a fan of that crusty chocolate. Even when people go crazy for those dip cones at Dairy Queen, I’m out. Just give me the soft serve underneath. I wouldn’t give it a second thought for a Klondike bar. I would, however, do several thousand hours of community service for the last Oreo ice cream sandwich on earth. 

Mindy: Did not even know those existed!

Sarah: Here at Scott’s, in the summer, we actually take our oatmeal M&M cookies and slap some ice cream in the middle. They are delish. 

Mindy: That sounds amazing. 

Mindy: In my head, I already compare you guys to Luke’s Diner from Gilmore Girls because of the warm environment and name. Do you have a dream cafe or restaurant from any movie or T.V. show you’d like your cafe to be? 

Sarah: Oh, that’s a good one. I’d say the little chocolate shop from the movie Chocolat with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. It’s in this little uptight French village and she sweeps in with her beautiful dresses and her special chocolates and it’s all very scandalous. 

Mindy: I love that. 

Mindy: Grace or Frankie?

Sarah: I’d like to pretend I have my life together as much as Grace, but I am definitely a Frankie. 

Mindy: Wow, that’s almost my exact answer. 

Sarah: I could definitely see myself doing Peyote on a beach at 70 because I put my back out. 

Mindy: What are your top three musicians or bands?

Sarah: Dave Matthews band because I would follow them to the ends of the earth. Hmm . . . I’m a big music fan but I feel like people really judge you on questions like this. 

Mindy: Sometimes it’s just who you like to listen to the most, even if you wouldn’t say they are actually the best. So those answers won’t always be cool. 

Sarah: Led Zeppelin 100 per cent is in the top two. For the third I would say Carole King, because she also wrote a lot of songs she didn’t perform or get credit for. 

Mindy: Yes! Like how Carrie Fisher was a script doctor for a bunch of things but is mostly known for being Princess Leia instead. 

Sarah: Right. 

Mindy: If you could have anyone in the world, dead or alive, as a guest at Scott Coffee Co., who would it be?

Sarah: A lot of my nana’s recipes are in here and she just didn’t quite make it to see it. If she could come in and have one of my mom’s ginetti that she has been able to perfectly replicate, or biscotti, I would really love to have her.

Mindy: That’s so nice. I like when you can think of someone close to you and not just a celebrity, though I also get that. 

Sarah: Well I was thinking, John Lennon maybe but . . .

Mindy: Yeah, he might be a snob. 

Sarah: That, or him and Yoko would just take up residence on the one couch we have in here and never leave which is the nightmare customer for a coffee shop. I’ll go with Nana for sure. 

Mindy: I’d now like to do some basic word association. A tactic often used by professionals and myself. I’m nervous, but you shouldn’t be. How does that sound? 

Sarah: Good!

Mindy: First word - “Two”

Sarah: Teacher. Do you want me to unpack that? 

Mindy: Yes. 

Sarah: I had a teacher who would always talk about his daughter and say she was, *brings both index fingers together* two. It was constant. 

Mindy: “More"

Sarah: Consumerism. 

Mindy: “Weeks”

Sarah: Fast.

Mindy: Sorry, I was requesting an extension on my credit card payment when I wrote these. Next word, “Cafe”

Sarah: People.

Mindy: “Bliss”

Sarah: Vacation.

Mindy: “Plant”

Sarah: Fresh. 

Mindy: Okay, finish these sentences: “One of the drinks you absolutely can’t go wrong ordering is a . . .”

Sarah: A white mocha. 

Mindy: “Something that inspires me to keep going with my business is . . ."

Sarah: Seeing it through and seeing people connect in here. You can’t always get that at say, a Starbucks.

Mindy: It’s true! We need places like this that make our town unique. I always think about those cute little touristy fudge and ice cream stops in Sault Michigan and how welcoming they are in that way. 

Sarah: Yes, and there are so many people who will Google coffee as they’re coming through here, that was a part of the reason we included coffee in our name. 

Mindy: Oh, that’s smart. Actually, now that we are talking about it, where did the name Scott initially come from? 

Sarah: Scott is our cat. 

Mindy: This is the exact answer I needed. 

Sarah: He’s a grumpy twelve-year-old orange tabby. How it started actually, was with my sister and brother calling each other Scott based on a South Park sketch. Then we found the name Scott written in the concrete of our house. So when we went to adopt this cat, I saw this big indifferent blob of orange. He sort of looked at me like, “take me or leave me, lady” and that’s the one I wanted. Then I looked at the tag and his name was Scott. 

Mindy: Wow, it’s like a sign!

Mindy: “Three of my favourite things in the entire world are…”

Sarah: My mom’s chicken cutlets, live music and my ability to travel. My good fortune that all four of my limbs are good and working and able to do that also. 

Mindy: Great answers.

Mindy: Okay, say it’s my birthday and I notice I’m down one follower on Facebook since the night before, what’s the best method of determining who betrayed me?

Sarah: That’s actually a really good question because I never really paid attention to that until I started the social media accounts for this business. On Instagram I get that people do the follow for follow thing then unfollow or whatever, but on Facebook it is maddening. It’s like, what is it that you didn’t like, my picture of a cheesecake? 

Mindy: Exactly. I don’t usually notice, especially since I had to cut my number in half to cope with the American election, but I happened to notice the night before. Then I woke up to one less, on the anniversary of my birth. 

Mindy: Alright, you know what’s coming, the big one - what’s your favourite colour? 

Sarah: Turquoise, without a doubt. From Tiffany blue, to a dark turquoise, I love all shades of turquoise. My good friend Angela Caputo has The Breakfast Pig and that’s the main colour on her sign. Since we both don’t have kids currently, when she opened and used that beautiful teal, ugh, it was like taking my baby name. 

Mindy: I’m so sorry. 

Sarah: Yeah. 

Mindy: Well, I appreciate you meeting me with me today!

Sarah: You too! Should we shake hands?

Mindy: Sure!

Sarah: I feel like we didn’t need to do that. 

Mindy: We didn’t, but I enjoyed it.