THUNDER BAY – A group of concerned citizens engaged in saving their beloved new West Thunder Centre Cafe can claim a little victory as the Board of Directors have resigned. The move came after several days of active work to get answers after the closure of the new cafe that was set up in the centre.
The group started a petition to overturn the board of directors and gathered hundreds of signatures, over the past few days.
The situation started with a board meeting that the group stated they were asked to leave. It then escalated with the West Thunder Community Centre being locked up, and when members gathered outside, the Thunder Bay Police were called.
Sources tell NetNewsLedger that staff working at the cafe are still awaiting their pay cheques. As well, claims made by the board on the number of new members and the profitability of the new cafe were apparently not accurate.
Apparently for the first four weeks, the cafe lost money, but in week five and six the profits climbed quickly and erased any losses according to sources.
The City of Thunder Bay owns the building, but has left the running of the centre to the Board of Directors.
A new board will now be formed and the group of concerned members are seeking to get the centre re-opened, and the cafe back in business.
The Cafe generated over 700 members for the centre over the past two months. Members found the cafe a great addition to the facility and the affordable meals allowed members, many of whom are seniors to get out and enjoy the facility and a meal.
The group plans to attend a ward meeting on June 26th for the Westfort Ward and bring their concerns forward to Councillor Joe Virdiramo.
