The White Rabbit Cafe and Patisserie

People

Tommy Medley and Amber Kunselman never predicted that customers would beat a path to their pastry cases. “I thought: We’re a little coffee shop in Greensburg, we won’t be that busy,” Tommy recounts. So when they founded The White Rabbit, on a shoestring, do-it-yourself budget, they didn’t worry about traffic in their rented space suitable for 75 people. Four years later, though, students, retirees and professionals regularly lined up from the counter out the door. They’d worn out the laminate floor. And they’d made too many coffee-fueled trips to the dingy restrooms.

Progress

“No bank would even consider giving us a loan without collateral,” says Tommy. But he and Amber had already found a friend in The Progress Fund, which financed the launch of their other business, Rabbit Hole Records, in the café’s basement. Knowing Amber’s and Tommy’s staying power, The Progress Fund loaned another $79,000 to renovate The White Rabbit Café.

Impact

New, durable flooring. Smartly tiled restrooms. Increased counter space, with improved work flow. Those are the highlights of the renovation by a Greensburg-area architect and local contractors. The café shut down for a month, but when it reopened – with its regionally roasted coffee, local small-farm eggs and dairy, and made-from-scratch pastries – there was “a huge, mad rush” of business, says Tommy. “We’ve gotten into the psyche of Greensburg, I think.”

The Progress Fund is an equal opportunity provider and employer.