After spending a long time away from family living in Toronto, Jessica Shute and Jol Smith moved back to the Fort Frances area. One of the big things they missed was specialty coffee and something they saw a market for was high quality men’s and short hair grooming, so they set out to remedy the situation.
Shute says that travel back and forth was one of the ultimate drivers behind the move back to the area.
“Family was the biggest motivation for coming back here, this was a very family-centric decision,” she said.
“Candidly, we got tired of moving or coming back for weddings at funerals, so we wanted to make more of a conscious effort to be around our family and just spend time with them. So it was definitely not a decision that was made lightly to come back for myself.”
Shute was well established in Toronto working for a national bank, living in downtown Toronto and enjoying what the city had to offer.
“I was uprooting my life after 20 years and being in a very chosen place, like I chose to live in Toronto,” Shute said.
“It was a very intentional move to live there. Took some time to live around elsewhere as well, but kind of my centre home base was always Toronto. But yeah, family was the biggest part of this decision to come back here.”
Some might know Smith locally from his time working in the kitchens at La Place Rendezvous and Neighbours. After years of working as a chef, he pivoted to train as a barber.
“I really needed a change as far as careers went, and I was ready to try something new,” he said.
The dual café and barbershop model was something they’d seen in southern Ontario and other places, so they were confident it could work in Fort Frances. Shute says opening a café really came from a personal desire for better coffee after leaving the big city to return home.
“The lack of coffee here, candidly and selfishly, I was a barista throughout university and it kind of was a career that I took in addition to tutoring. But I have a passion for coffee and coffee is something that I integrate as a part of my everyday [routine] and moving back here, having that vacancy was a bit of a struggle,” she said.
“There are other convenience-type businesses that have coffee here but we didn’t have the coffee side here, so it was my expensive indulgence but I really wanted to have coffee here.”
In addition to a lack of good coffee, they also saw an opening in the market for barber services.
“For Jol it was very natural,” Shute said.
“He was a barber in Toronto, he was transitioning his career from being a barber there versus here, but there wasn’t a barber here either, so it wasn’t easy for him to join an existing barber shop. So there was a vacancy in the market, something that we both feel passionate about, whether it’s him and hair or myself and coffee. But there were two large vacancies and we ideally wanted to fill that.”
The name Turtle Island comes from the couple’s ties to local Indigenous communities.
“Turtle island is an indigenous creation story. It’s also used as a reference to North America which is shaped similar to a turtle,” Shute said.
“Jol and I are both indigenous, he has ties to Naicatchewenin and Couchiching, and I have ties to Couchiching. It was important for us to have ties to community integrated with our shop. We have a book in our shop that is written by Dr. David Anderson that explain the creation story of turtle island in addition to Dr. Anderson’s other books for individuals to learn about sacred medicines, the grandfather teachings and more.”
Some coffee lovers might be worried that their latte could come with a side of clippings, but the couple have laid out their facility to ensure that’s not the case.
“We’ve been very intentional in designing this space and making sure we minimize cross contamination,” Shute said.
“It wasn’t uncommon in southern Ontario in general, it’s not Toronto-centric, not everything is about Toronto,… but around southern Ontario you are seeing that businesses are expanding and having multiple income streams. It’s not uncommon to go to a barber and have a coffee or go to a barber and have a beer.”
They did run into issues with the local health unit in setting up a business that had never been seen in the region before. There are some perceived potential health risks with having a café and barber shop in the same space, but they were able to get things approved.
“We did run into some barriers with the health unit, and I’ve been very up front, very candid about that as well. But part and parcel of that was starting up a business that has a hybrid barber shop and a café, and being the first ones to do it in northwestern Ontario, right?” she said.
“So we did run into some barriers with that, or I would say hurdles with them, not necessarily barriers, when it came to even getting this up and running and getting the approval from the health unit, because realistically, we’re the first ones doing this here, and so we did have to refer to and show [the health unit] other small businesses in Ontario that weren’t just in Toronto, but were in other regions that have similar business plans and have similar concepts, so that the health unit had something to use as a guide as well, in making their decision with the space.”
For the time being it’s just the couple working at the shop, with Jol behind the barber’s chair and Jess behind the coffee bar. If business merits they may eventually bring on some additional staff, but there are no plans just yet. But that’s not to say they haven’t had help getting started. Their families have played a big role in helping them get up and running.
“Our families are, I would say, the pillar of everything for both Jol and myself,” Shute said.
“We both come from very, very strong, rooted families. Between my mother, my sister, Jol’s dad, mom, step-dad, everybody’s really just dove in head first on this entire project with us and has been very, very passionate about it, which has been really exciting. I don’t think anybody really thought twice about it either, with helping. So most of the space was done with their help, and probably a majority of their help… Jol, is very handy, I’m not at all, but yeah, they really brought this space to life, and they helped us create what it is. And I think it’s really exciting to come back here, and although I feel slightly displaced coming back here too, I’m still getting my footing about being back at Fort Frances, which is very weird, but coming back and coming back for family decisions, and having them be such an integral part of this has been exciting.”
Since opening they’ve seen great uptake in the market but it hasn’t been without its challenges as well. They’ve had deaths in their families, as well as a pair of watermain breaks which closed the café for the better part of three weeks.
Their espresso machine, imported from Italy via Toronto, experienced some complications which required installing a new part themselves, because there are no qualified technicians in the area as well.
After they acquired the space, which formerly held Living Arts and was occupied by another business before Turtle Island moved in, Shute and Smith started to think about their menu before anything else.
The café offers drinks that coffee lovers in the Fort Frances area have not had access to since the closure of the Starbucks at Safeway. Lattes, mochas, and other espresso-based drinks, as well as teas, and matcha-based options and drip coffees, with many flavourings people have come to know and love from big chain cafés. Pumpkin spice has been popular so far this fall. They source their beans from a Toronto roastery.
They’ve worked with local suppliers to add fresh locally prepared food for their grab and go fridge and cases.
One of their early partners was Good Habits Catering, which supplies the café with sandwiches, they’ve also featured sweet treats from a variety of local bakers including Rainy Lake Micro Bakery and Batter & Cream Baking Co., and they recently partnered with the Penalty Box Canteen to sell wraps from the canteen as well. They’re open to partnering with other local brands who would like to work with them as they don’t have a kitchen space and can’t make food on site.
On the barber shop side of things, Smith is looking to offer beyond a standard hair cut for men and other people with shorter hair.
“We’re not going for that short, really quick experience,” Smith said.
“We want it to be that someone sits in the chair and it takes 45 minutes. Most guys around here aren’t used to getting their hair washed after a service, which includes a hot towel, which is nice.”
Shute adds that it’s been nice to see men have a space to come and take care of themselves.
“I can’t recall the last time [there was a dedicated barber shop in town]. I think there was a barber open when I left Fort Frances 20 years ago. But I don’t know how long it was open after the fact,” she said
“I think it’s really cool to create a space where men have and they can come take care of themselves, or maybe short haired individuals as well too. Like, it’s not gender exclusive in that sense, but like, there isn’t really a space like this right now for somebody just to come and unwind. I think we’re trying to break from the tradition of, like, what a barber was considered beforehand too, like with having longer services. We get asked a lot about squeezing people in for a quick cut and that’s not our style. That’s not what’s happening here. It’s very intentional, things are created to take time. Jol takes his time and is very proud of his practice and making sure he’s doing everything in a very detail oriented way.”
The care has been popular and bookings are currently a couple of weeks out, but not too far. If you want to book an appointment with Jol for barber services you can log on to turtleislandff.ca. Prices and time slots are included in service descriptions. You can book anything from an all-over buzz cut to a full shave and many other options as well.
One of the options they’ve also been able to offer in the men’s grooming space is having groomsmen parties come in to prepare for weddings. They have options which can include closing down the café to the public and obtaining a liquor license for the requested period so a groom and his wedding party can prepare together there including having their hair perfectly coiffed for the big day.
The café also offers online ordering through their website and you can earn reward points with your purchase.
For more information on any of their offerings you can also check out their Facebook and Instagram pages or better yet, stop by the shop at 244 Scott St. right across the street from Rainy Lake Square.
