Fledgling business booted from Whitehorse 'innovation hub'

A Whitehorse business ownersays she's being cut adrift by an organization that's meant to support entrepreneurs.

Brioni Connolly got a letter on Friday, saying the lease for her caf in Yukonstruct's Whitehorse headquarters won't be renewed. The letter from Yukonstruct's executive directorsays Connolly's caf has to be out bythe end of the month but it doesn't say why.

"At the moment, I'm just a bit unmoored," Connollysaid. "I think my business is effectively dead.

"This is a place that's supposed to support entrepreneurship, and foster creativity, and foster the growth of those businesses, and yet they very callouslybasically kind of throw me out,after a year knowing what that means to a young business."

Connolly says moving to a new location is not an option. She has business loans to pay off, and can't afford to shut down for the time it would take to find and renovate a new space.

Connolly opened thePoor Creature cafnot long after the Northlight"innovation hub" opened last year as a home for Yukonstruct and cospace, a shared working space. The caf occupies an area adjacent to the main entrance, with a small kitchen behind the counter and a few tables.

On Tuesday, the tables were decorated with flowers and hand-written messages of support from customers. "Entrepreneurship in action," read one.

Noise may have been a factor in Yukonstruct's decision but Connolly doesn't know for sure. She says sound travels through the building, and some cospace members have complained in the past.

But Connolly says she was coming up with solutions, and thought that Yukonstructwas supportive. Thenshe got the letter about her lease.

'Not a fit for our space'

A separateletter sent to Yukonstruct members over the weekend informed them of the decision, giving no reason beyond saying "this business is not a fit for our space."

Lana Selbee, Yukonstruct'sexecutive director, wouldn't offer any more than that but did acknowledge that noise has been an issue in the building.

"I'm not going to comment specifically on the decision, but I can definitely say that we moved a whole bunch of people into one space, and it's definitely come up over this past year issues of noise, issues of what's proper use for the whole space," Selbee said.

"We're really trying to work on thatas an organization and figure out what works here, what works for our members, what kind of environment are we trying to foster ... but I think things are going really well."

Selbee couldn't say what Yukonstruct plans to do with the caf space.

She said Yukonstruct is willing to give Connolly a bit more time to vacate, if necessary.