Business friends are Pinch hitters
The astonishing rise of Hamilton’s most out-of-the-box eatery is a story of a community rallying – twice – around owners Stefani Dubbeldam and Amanda Wright.
Sitting with small business owners Stefani Dubbeldam and Amanda Wright, surrounded by greenery and the scent of fresh-baked cookies, it’s easy to be inspired. It’s not every day an out-of-the-box idea proves to be a success. But that’s the story behind Pinch Bakery and Plant Shop, a unique fusion of pastries and plants built on shared passion.
It’s a story made all the more engaging by the shop’s humble beginnings and the ardent community support that has rallied twice around it.
“We've been best friends for a long time,” says Dubbeldam, “and we’d find ourselves on weekends going to get a coffee and a treat from one place and then going to a greenhouse to look at plants. I'm from a horticultural and a pastry chef background. And Amanda just needs to put treats in the world… it's a gift.”
But inspiration for the unique mash-up also came from an emerging awareness about the value and mental health benefits of bringing more plants indoors and caring for them. But, she says, “there aren’t too many smaller options that don’t involve driving to a greenhouse.” So, alongside coffee and treats, “we saw a need for some place that was going to offer a decent selection of plants.”
The idea to combine their respective passions bounced back and forth for a number of years until, as Dubbeldam says, “we started looking seriously at what our vision and priorities would be, and what kind of space we'd want together. And then we just kind of took a leap and started moving.”
Although both Dubbeldam and Wright had prior business experience, the early seeds of Pinch came together at an Art Crawl pop-up in 2019. Despite the pandemic and consequent financial downturn, the duo continued to work on their brand. Finally, in April 2022, they launched a fundraising Kickstarter that turned into a wild success. “We were fully funded in four and a half days, meeting two additional stretch goals,” recalls Dubbeldam.
Unfortunately, soon after the fundraiser, they lost their intended location, and “it became a long journey trying to find space,” says Wright. Luck would eventually come via a friend’s text, leading them to their current home at Barton and Sherman. After endless renovations, and without a kitchen for a time, they soft launched in late 2023 as a retail plant store.
“We rented out of Willard's Coffee,” says Wright, “and ran a bake sale pop up on the weekends; we would go there, bake all the treats and bring them here to sell.”
This ability to pivot quickly has been essential, shaping Pinch into something bigger than either had envisioned and giving them real momentum. “We do meal service, lunch service and breakfast service, of course. But with a larger space, we also host a lot of workshops and community events.”
Beyond the retail experience, the pair provide a range of associated services including wholesaling, catering, and horticulture consultation. Says Dubbeldam, “There's many versions of how our business is out there in the world.”
Although hurdles are par for the course, the pair admit their principled vision has meant being much more accountable in business decisions. For example, says Dubbeldam, “the Kickstarter was targeted at making the building fully accessible so we needed a local location, while prioritizing accessibility. That limited certain places for us.”
Nonetheless, this transparency, which carried into the business’ social media and e-newsletters, has become a central tenet of Pinch, one that reflects a commitment to inclusivity and community investment.
As Dubbeldam recalls, identifying their core values was a consequential step in their business model. “We came up with four guiding principles: sustainability, accessibility, community and joy.” More than a mission statement, these principles offer practical metrics for their operations.
“A lot of times we'll see a great idea,” says Dubbeldam, “but it might not be sustainable. So we always make sure whenever we're setting up systems or outreach, that we’re also asking what does it look like down the line?” In this sense, sustainability isn’t just eco-friendly practices – although that’s crucial as well – but encompasses financial stability, work-life balance, and making a welcome space for everyone.
Pinch’s location, in the heart of Ward 3, also represents those core values, tying back to serving the community. “We really tried to find a space where we could make a positive impact,” says Wright, “while trying to limit our gentrification of the community.”
Acknowledging the challenge, the duo have leaned into priorities around accessibility. “It's not just like physical accessibility,” says Wright, “but accessibility in terms of our pricing. So, yes, we have fancy desserts, but we also have $2 cookies and $2 coffee. Everything is up for grabs.”
The choice of Ward 3 as their home was also a conscious business decision, coming from a need “to focus on the community that’s already here versus drawing people from other communities to come in here.” What’s more, with the nearby Cotton Factory and neighbouring Playhouse Theatre and Epic Books, “there’s a lot of creatives around who don't have many lunch options or gathering spaces. We repeatedly heard about how it's a bit of a food desert here.”
Reflecting on the ups and downs of the last year and a half, the duo are pragmatic. "We'd love to pay ourselves," says Dubbeldam. "I mean, small business life. It's a fight every single day. We easily work 70 to 80 hours a week – completely unpaid. You've really got to sacrifice everything to make it work. So, we're looking forward to stabilizing, and leaning into that idea of sustainability. There's so many businesses out there that, once you get on this train of seeing that demand and seeing those profits come in, you keep growing and you keep scaling. And I think we've reached a point where we're saying, I don't know if we want this to get too much bigger."
Photo: Plant Bakery and Plant Shop
Wright echoes this sentiment. "We were headed on a trajectory of growth, but it was completely unsustainable for us. It's tempting to want to do all these things that bring in income, and expose your business and grow your business. But is it always worth it? It's not sustainable if we're burning out.”
Dubbeldam agrees. "A big part of that is our joy, and protecting those joyful things in the business. And if we're constantly saying yes to things that are not actually giving us joy, just to make a couple hundred extra bucks? I'm going to tell you the answer is no.”
One area where Pinch doesn’t check itself is its politics. Dubbeldam and Wright openly support progressive politicians like Matthew Green, Sarah Jama and Nrinder Nann and their front window calls for an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire – the store being one of the first Hamilton businesses to do so. Dubbeldam acknowledges such advocacy is rare in small business.
“There’s this idea that if you speak up about where you stand, it will badly impact your sales (yet) it's the absolute opposite for us.” For every few followers the duo lose from a particular post, they often gain many more.
This visible advocacy speaks to the larger obligation of cultivating a community of care. “The more we can take messages like that, and believe that when businesses get involved in local politics, when they get involved in community care, when they get involved in speaking up and advocating for those that don't have the same voice in those rooms, it creates a more intimate relationship with the consumer.”
This emotional buy-in is critical, says Dubbeldam, because “people don't have that much money to spend right now. They aren't shopping the same way they used to. So, if I only have a finite amount of money to spend, where I spend it matters more to me.”
That said, it’s an unorthodox model, one that the two owners still admit is finding its feet. Nonetheless, they view their efforts as part of a larger business movement, testing what’s possible while inviting others to join in proving that ethical, sustainable business models can succeed. “We've always wanted to do things differently, and prove that you could model it for other business owners. Not necessarily running a ‘successful business’ but maybe more like ‘you don't have to do it just one way.’”
Recently, that commitment was put to the test.
Shortly after the interview for this story, the duo faced daunting news as the final quarter of 2024 brought unexpected financial strain. Successfully navigating the holiday season, while keeping their commitments to community and staff, meant Dubbeldam and Wright faced a serious financial shortfall, one that threatened to shutter their doors for good.
Nonetheless, in the face of the bad news, they held fast to their core values. In a post across social media, they thanked their partners, neighbours and customers, while remaining transparent about the issues confronting Pinch. Although they asked for support, the duo also made clear the choices that they’d made had always been and would ever remain in the service to the wider community.
And the community answered.
Donations poured in, new product orders were placed and scores of new and returning customers flocked through the door. Days later, when Dubbeldam and Wright announced that Pinch would remain open, it was clear it wasn’t just the donations that made the difference – it was what that support represented.
In a follow-up email, Dubbeldam wrote: “Many folks sent notes with their donations, referencing things like our commitment to our staff, creating a safe space in a toxic culture, our levels of accessibility, and our kid-friendly approach, all things that we’ve had to push back on at one time or another.” The outpouring from the community, at a time when it was needed, confirms that this quirky fusion between greenery and coffee grounds has become more than a simple homegrown business; it's a vital space that Hamiltonians want to protect.
Indeed, just as the community was rallying behind them, Dubbeldam and Wright also learned that they’d won the Award of Excellence for Business/Community Partnership from their local BIA. It’s just further proof that when you build with passion and integrity, good things grow. And as they work towards further sustainability and success, Dubbeldam and Wright can do so knowing they truly aren’t in it alone.
Be sure to check out the spring issue of HAMILTON CITY Magazine coming out in mid-March! It’s our food issue and it’s jam-packed with stories you don’t want to miss!
