Prince Albert painter Lindsay Sorell exchanged her brush and aisle for cups and mugs with her new business.
Sorell recently started Kiyam Coffee in Prince Albert. The company, which serves espresso and other gourmet coffee drinks, had a soft opening with their coffee at the Come from Away production by Broadway North on Saturday in the foyer between the EA Rawlinson Centre and the Mann Art Gallery.
Sorell said that she is an artist primarily but also has a background in food service and coffee. She said the two are not so different.
“It is a form of art too,” she said. “It’s a culinary art and I’ve always loved that and I wanted to do something that I can kind of take out into the community.”
Sorell said having a cart makes the business mobile and operates in a way that she can take it anywhere.
“It fully collapses and fits in my car so I can take it anywhere,” Sorell explained. “It’s also battery powered so I can take it onto a street corner or to different events and things.”
The name Kiyam Cofffee is also inspired by Sorell’s heritage.
Lindsay Sorell posed with the Kiyam Coffee cart at the EA Rawlinson Centre on Saturday, Sorell recently started the business that serves gourmet coffee.
“I wanted to also honour like my family as well,” she explained. “On my mom’s side I’m Metis and so I wanted to name it after (her). I was looking into Bungi Michif, which is now considered extinct. But one of the words that was used in Bungi Mitchif was Kiyam, which is a Cree word meaning ‘just let it go. It’s okay.’”
She said name matches the general attitude of the business.
“(It’s) a positive place where you can just relax and sit back and sip your coffee and work on your drawings or your ideas. (It’s) just kind of a positive thing to put out into the community.”
Sorell is also employed as the Gallery Operations Manager for the Mann Art Gallery and was able to use the time with Broadway North’s Come from Away and an adjoining popup with Lovey’s Bread as a soft launch point. There was also a Free Art Day in the Mann Art Gallery running concurrent to the production on Saturday afternoon.
“They gave me permission.to do that today. (It’s) a great to mix all these communities.”
Sorell has been working on the idea since the beginning of 2026. She has received grants and support from the Clarence Campeau Development Fund for Metis entrepreneurs and Community Futures Prince Albert Side Hustle grant. The Gabriel Dumont Institute also helps with training.
Kiyam serves espresso-based drinks using a coffee from Indigenous Roots Coffee Co., which is based in British Columbia but has roots in Prince Albert.
“It’s really delicious. We’re using a dark roast up from them, it’s very rich flavour,” Sorell said.
“But we have some traditional Italian recipes we’re doing. (It’s) just like an espresso, traditional macchiato,” Sorell said.
“(The price) is a little bit lower than some other kind of like artisan coffee shops just because we don’t have to pay rent. It’s kind of nice.”
She said being portable is an advantage. They do not have costs like utilities. Sorell is also using the business to give back to Prince Albert. Ten per cent of all the businesses profits are going towards non-profits in PA.
“It’s really important to me because I think a project should be giving back to the community,” Sorell said.
Sorell was assisted on Saturday by her cousin Reina Wishart and the entire business would not be possible without friends and family.
“My friends and family have been a huge help in making this and couldn’t have done it without them,” Sorell said. “It’s just kind of like a family venture. It’s really special, personal to me. It’s a big excuse to make art and do cup designs and stuff like that too.”
For more on Kiyam Coffee visit kiyamcoffee.com or email sayhello@kiyamcoffee.com.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
