Fairhaven’s Cafe Blue started a pastry subscription box for the month of May in response to COVID-19. The box is delivered with a different mixture of savory and sweet goodies once a week.
Married couple Kyle Hooper and Lily Lovell co-own the cafe which opened Sept. 29, 2019. Since the opening, the cafe has become a favorite amongst many.
“The amazing thing is, I’ve never seen anybody walk in there that they don’t know,” said Howard Siegel, a customer of the cafe since its opening.
The couple took a break from the cafe once the pandemic hit. Lovell said doing to-go drinks and pastries didn’t seem exciting at first, so they decided to enjoy time off. As time went on, they started to plan for the changes to their business and demands that COVID-19 brought. “I really miss having people in the space,” Lovell said.
Lovell and Hooper began the cafe’s reopening with the pastry subscription box. The pastries are made fresh by Hooper in the old Rustic Coffee & Wine Bar location. The subscription cost $90 for the month of May with one box each week. The assortment is “whatever we feel like,” Lovell said in an Instagram post.
Subscribers have received bread, jam, granola, cookies, bagels and fresh-squeezed juice. Lovell said they set a limit of four subscribers a day and sold out of subscriptions within five hours.
Siegel said he subscribed to the pastry box because he wanted to support the cafe. He is a member of a coffee group that has been meeting at the cafe since its opening. He said he enjoys the bright environment as well as the good food and coffee.
Cafe Blue is now open for drinks and a select few baked goods Friday through Monday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cafe also opened orders for a Mother’s Day peach-raspberry galette, baked by Hooper.
Lovell created a weekly zine to be included in the box and up-for-grabs at the cafe. “They’re free and will go nicely in your quarantine scrapbook,” Lovell said in an Instagram post.
She said she likes to create things and wanted to include something that had Cafe Blue personality. Lovell said she is a ceramicist in her free time. She makes the ceramic plates in the cafe and will sell excess things she makes, including mugs and cups.
“They go above and beyond to bring smiles to everyone! It’s nice to eat delicious food prepared by caring people and to know you’re connected through that,” said Lisa Collander , a pastry box subscriber and customer of the cafe. “I’m not big in eating out and spending money, but they provide things I cannot replicate [at] home, including the cozy environment they’ve created.”
Lovell said she has felt lucky and appreciative of the support and community the cafe has generated. “We are wildly excited to see you all again,” Lovell said in an Instagram post.
