What started out as a side hustle for Kassandra Yun and Dan O’Brien on Saturdays at Soo Market has now become a full-time Monday to Friday business in the Sault’s downtown core.
Kass and Dan - while still maintaining their presence from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday at Soo Market - opened the doors to their Kasdan Co. coffee shop and bakery at 792 Queen St. E. on Nov. 7.
While customers can enjoy cups of regular or espresso coffee at the cafe, it’s the donuts baked by Kass that are drawing a great deal of attention from customers walking into the cafe for the first time.
Creations by Kass include:
- The 5-spiced orange donut, with chocolate and a Chinese 5-spice glaze (cinnamon, clove, star anise, Sichuan peppercorn and fennel seed), garnished with candied orange
- The Blueberry Mojito, made with non-alcoholic rum, mint and lime, glazed with a mint leaf and blueberries
- The Tiramisu donut, topped with espresso glaze, filled with mascarpone cream, dusted with cocoa and garnished with a coffee bean
- The Choco Peanut Butter Burst (filled with dark chocolate pastry cream, topped with a peanut butter glaze and garnished with dark chocolate)
- The Strawberry Matcha
“I like to challenge people to try something new. I like to make my donuts look a little bit more elevated and three-dimensional. I like to make them look pretty. I want them to be enjoyed visually as well as being enjoyed as a dessert. I really like it when people come in and try the different flavours that they didn’t think could be put into a donut. They try them and for the most part we’ve gotten good feedback,” Kass told SooToday.
All Kasdan Co. baking is done on site and includes not only donuts but also scones, muffins and cookies.
“I lived in Quebec City for a while which is where I learned about donuts and coffee. I wanted to learn the French language so I just applied to a cafe down the street from where I was living. I started off as a cook in the kitchen and I enjoyed it so I worked my way up to kitchen manager. That’s where I started designing donuts,” Kass said.
Both Kass and Dan have had a highly-skilled and educated journey on their way to becoming the owners of a coffee shop and bakery.
Kassandra studied at Queen’s University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in geography, a master’s degree in environmental studies and a Bachelor of Education degree. She taught a Kindergarten class at East View Public School last year.
Dan studied digital film production at Sault College, marketing at Fanshawe College and creative writing at Humber College.
With his marketing expertise, Dan maintains the Kasdan Co. website and social media presence.
For Kass, the food industry runs deep in her family’s history.
Her grandparents Ken and Joanne Yun were the owners of China House Restaurant at the corner of Goulais Avenue and Wallace Terrace from 1975 to 2019.
Her grandfather and great-uncle once operated Yun’s Restaurant in the building located at 819 Queen St. E. that is now home to Skeggs Paciocco Lawyers.
Another uncle owns Sun Kwong Restaurant at 368 Queen St. E.
“My grandparents would be in the back cooking and on busy nights both of my uncles would be there. My mom, my sisters and I would be out there serving and taking phone calls,” Kass said.
Encouraged by the positive feedback they received for their coffee and donuts on Saturdays at Soo Market, the couple decided to open their business on Queen Street in the downtown core.
“When I lived in Kingston and Quebec City I found that in their downtown cores you could start at one end and meander down and discover all these different shops, places you didn’t know were there. We know they want to revitalize the downtown here in the Sault and get people coming down here and we want to be a part of that,” Kass said.
Kass and Dan are getting to know their downtown neighbours and are already acquainted with regular customers at the cafe, operating from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday.
“I like connecting with the people who come in. For Kass, she can look out the window and remember her grandfather came from China and started a business across the street,” Dan said.
Kasdan Co. has a cozy space for six customers to enjoy coffee and donuts created with an artistic flair.
Kass and Dan said they want to engage customers with a patio space and block parties in the summer months, adding they enjoyed being part of Thursday’s Moonlight Magic event.
“We want to make it a gathering place,” Kass said.
