Prince Albert’s Elim Cafe has closed following the death of founder Steven Timothy Kember, but one part of the work he began will continue.
Kember, known as Steve, died April 25 at the age of 82. The cafe served customers for the final time on June 27 after his family concluded they could not continue operating it without him.
His daughter, Lisa Kember, said the decision brought “a lot of tears” because the cafe reflected her father’s faith and his desire to make people feel valued.
“He was a man that wanted people to have peace, peace in their heart and in their lives,” she said. “He lived full out for other people.”
Photo courtesy of The Elim Cafe/Facebook
The Elim Cafe in Prince Albert closed June 27 following the death of founder Steven Timothy Kember.
Kember and his wife moved to Prince Albert in December 2010. Before opening the cafe, he was involved in a street outreach trailer that provided coffee and food to people across from the downtown bus station.
Lisa said that outreach continues every Wednesday. Volunteers who worked alongside her father have taken it over and have no plans to stop.
Kember had owned businesses earlier in his life and remained entrepreneurial into his late 70s. When the former Rusty Owl location became available, he saw a chance to combine business, community service and his Christian faith. Elim Cafe opened there in January 2023.
The result was a place designed to offer more than coffee. Lisa said he also saw it as a way to create local employment and give people a welcoming place to gather.
Customers could sit with calming music, read positive messages and reflective booklets, and take a break from the pace of everyday life.
The cafe was managed by Cass Guise, who greeted customers and helped create the welcoming atmosphere Kember wanted. Behind the scenes, Lisa said, her father remained responsible for running the business.
Photo courtesy of Lisa Kember
Steven Timothy Kember, left, stands with his daughter Lisa Kember, right, and a family member in Mississauga, Ont., in August 2025.
One of Lisa’s strongest memories came during a visit from Toronto, where she lives and operates a marketing firm. She watched her father approach a customer he did not know, begin a conversation and eventually sit down with the person.
“He had a way of making people feel important, valued,” she said.
That same impression came back to her during her father’s final days and after his death. People in Prince Albert approached her with stories about Kember stopping to help them, offering encouragement or simply making sure they felt noticed.
The family initially hoped the cafe could remain open. Lisa said her mother is also 82, none of Kember’s children live in Prince Albert and efforts to find someone else to take over were unsuccessful.
“It just didn’t seem possible to keep it going,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Lisa Kember
Steven Timothy Kember sits with his wife during a family visit in Tillsonburg, Ont.
The closure announcement drew hundreds of calls, messages and comments, adding to the response the family received after Kember’s death. Lisa later reflected on LinkedIn that the value of a business is not limited to growth or profit, but also includes its daily effect on workers, customers and the wider community.
“It is also about the everyday impacts that you’re having on the people around you,” she said.
For the Kember family, that impact is now part of Steven’s legacy. In an email, Lisa shared the message her mother believed he would want remembered.
“Steve Kember spent his life echoing one truth, that God so loved the world that His grace is for everyone, no exceptions.”
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
