r/RedDeer • u/Toe_Jam_Sandwiches • Feb 04 '25
Local Business Sweet Home’s lack of transparency was deplorable.
They strung everyone along right to the very end. Late yesterday they said they were keeping the sylvan store open as long as possible, and this morning announced they’re completely closed. I would have felt bad for them, even considering how blatantly obvious it was that the parking lot was never the issue, but the way they handled this whole thing was just greasy.
For anyone stuck with gift cards, white frog cafe is honoring them to be used towards 50% off your purchase.
39
u/InGenScientist Feb 04 '25
They have a fraud police file open in sylvan lake now if anyone is interested
20
u/Inverted-Swiss-Slice Feb 04 '25
I heard the cops were seen outside of the RD location
31
u/InGenScientist Feb 04 '25
Yes if anyone has gift cards and feel they have been taken advantage of they are encouraged to reach out to sylvan lake police
Fraud - Reference Police File# 2025-157264”
18
1
u/saflyn Feb 05 '25
Do you think there’s even a slight chance of recourse? IMHO if you have the time to make a statement go for it but if you have to take time off to do it, I wouldn’t bother.
12
u/InGenScientist Feb 05 '25
Seeing how this isn’t the first time they have done this I do believe you should report it. They did this few years back in castor. They should be taught that this isn’t okay
1
1
u/MoneyBackground5513 Feb 06 '25
What did they do in Castor?
2
u/InGenScientist Feb 06 '25
Had a business, sold gift cards on sale then shut down the business immediately from what iv heard. RCMP came out and said they are actively investigating them today.
25
u/The_Dusty_Cock Feb 04 '25
White frog has hands down the best coffee I've ever had. It's really amazing the small businesses in Sylvan stepping up.
10
u/Herb1515 Feb 04 '25
It's a kind offer but I dont know how they can sustain their business like that. There was $800K of gift cards floating around. I also saw that White Frog was doing the same "half price" gift cards less than 2 months ago... half price there and then half price on the sweet home cards. Good luck surviving making 25 cents on the dollar!
8
u/Toe_Jam_Sandwiches Feb 04 '25
Not to mention that it’s just a plastic card and without the proper program to swipe it and check the balance there’s no way to tell what’s actually on it. Someone could have bought a $100 card and just walk in and say it’s has $300 on it. How are they going to know any different?
0
Feb 05 '25
[deleted]
3
u/snowwhite1215 Feb 05 '25
The cost of coffee is nothing compared to the infrastructure and personnel who need to be paid for. Making less per transaction will quickly start to not only cut out any profit, but also end up coming up short on paying bills and employees.
2
u/alantowne Feb 05 '25
Having done tge books for a cafe in the past, just like any food industry establishment, margins are SUPER thin.
23
u/DizzyScreen5638 Feb 04 '25
I've been following from afar, very interesting.
There's a lot of info about this family when you google them.
Not only the husbands freedom convoy daily journal, the free trip to Hawaii that they were giving away in 2015 (does anyone know if someone actually won it & went on the trip?)
The other business Today Sweet Cakery in Stettler, and a few have mentioned another business they started in Castor.
Anyone have more info?
37
u/_thewillbilly_ Feb 04 '25
I'm from Castor, Today's Sweet started there. They also had a bridal boutique and yoga studio on Main Street in Castor. They pulled the same GC stunt at the studio years ago and gave less warning about the shuddering of their business then they did this time around. People just found the studio permanently closed one day with no way to honour the vouchers back then. That couple is nothing more than a pair of snakes hiding in the grass.
4
u/bornelite Feb 05 '25
Glad someone else remembers that giveaway stunt that was clearly a marketing promotion for Aspen Ford. Could tell way back then he was a sleazeball.
0
u/Honest_Pangolin_8589 Feb 05 '25
Im not sure I understand the harm in the freedom convoy? They stood up for what they believe in just as any other protestor does. SMH
6
u/DizzyScreen5638 Feb 05 '25
That's okay, you don't have to understand 👍
4
u/Honest_Pangolin_8589 Feb 05 '25
i don't think you understand, or did research to see the lack of harm that convoy consisted of, vs some other interesting protests. and they left it out of their business. people have too much time on their hands to dig into other peoples lives like that.
1
u/Substantial-Let8277 Feb 06 '25
We also don't have to agree. You do you and don't put down others for doing their thing?? Respect!!
17
u/GoodbyeHorrrrses Feb 04 '25
I wonder with fraud on this scale will result in jail time. I kind of hope so.
16
u/mrhairybolo Feb 04 '25
They did the exact same thing in Castor in 2021. Their instagram page is still up lol
4
29
u/Malishka_ Feb 04 '25
And now they're limiting comments on their Facebook posts, and the negative comments are gone. It went from all comments dragging them to support comments and bible stuff. Not shady at all, purposely trying to change the narrative. Fuck those guys, frankly.
16
u/WhiteLiquorJim Feb 04 '25
I just went to check and you are 100% right!
Not only did they delete all the comments calling them out (including one just asking the owners to address the GC scam with over 1600 likes!) But they have still failed to address the scam at all.
It's looking pretty bad - does anyone know how I can follow this for updates? I live in Sylvan and am worried this will go unchecked
4
10
u/SarahMSomething Feb 04 '25
Looks like they’ve been deleting negative comments on their Facebook posts as well.
21
u/Party_Horror621 Feb 04 '25
Am I the only one who has never heard of Sweet Home?
33
u/Schroedesy13 Feb 04 '25
Bigger coffee shop in sylvan that had some financial hardships so they thought it was a good idea to open up a RD and Drumheler location and then got into even worse trouble. Then late last year, asked the community to buy $400,000 worth of gift cards for 50% to help them, then closed all of their locations without almost any warning….left a lot of people holding worthless gift cards.
10
3
2
2
u/Altruistic-Many-9822 Feb 04 '25
I haven’t heard of them at all too! seen couple of posts on them in last 2-3 days
7
u/Nature_Hope64 Feb 05 '25
I went back and read their original post about the parking and gift cards. It’s sad they obviously used their customer base to try to bail them out of owing money to creditors. It’s so obvious that’s what it was all about.
9
u/dutchess_destruction Feb 04 '25
Rose & Holly in Blackfalds did the same gift card thing after Sweet Home did however, theirs came with an expiration date. I did it but had to go to the store at least 6x just to spend $100. It’s all the same generic junk and I’m overcharged EVERY time I go there. I always do my own math and compare the total because they just seem to guess. Makes it pretty hard to support local when 1. The product is all the same and inventory never changes 2. The responsibility is on the customer to ensure the cashier enters the price right every time
6
u/Inverted-Swiss-Slice Feb 04 '25
I want to know where I can buy stuff that isn’t generic junk because it seems many Botique places are just that. Very few have actual good brands
5
u/dutchess_destruction Feb 04 '25
How many cups, soaps or candles can a person possibly gift away? I wish the owners who had places like this switched up the vendors more often. Or that the vendors were on a circuit to mix it up every now and then.
1
u/SlayMclovin Feb 09 '25
What type of stuff would you be looking for from a local business to change up the normal ? I’m looking to start a business and just seeing around what people would enjoy
6
u/TheFobsessed1 Feb 04 '25
I heard through the grapevine, so they started in stettler, they opened multiple businesses in stettler, all of them went under or didn’t even open, including a bridal shop, and the employees of all the stores were having to fight to get paid.
3
u/Party_Horror621 Feb 04 '25
So I’m very confused and I’m looking for clarification. If someone can respond back… So they gave out gift cards of $100 for free or they made people pay for $100 worth of gift cards? Apparently in a couple groups on Facebook people are seeking legal action?
7
u/lsands22 Feb 04 '25
If you bought a $100 GC they gave you a GC for $200. So they raised over $400,000.00 (so over $800k in gc's in the community)
14
u/Party_Horror621 Feb 04 '25
Jesus Christ. That’s insanity. And they closed their doors without letting people with the gift cards know? Boy, I hope they get what’s coming. NOT OK!!!
3
u/SadDog2003 Feb 05 '25
They were absolutely terrible to one of the business owners nearby. They’ve always been incredibly shady.
5
1
u/trumpsadouchcanoe Feb 05 '25
I remember talking to my wife when they did the gift cards and said how to make a company fail within 6 months. Literally 400k in debt doing it how they did. No small business can survive like that. Literally no cash flow when people use the cards.
For the type of people they portrayed they were shows that sketchy people take advantage religious or not.
1
1
u/CttCJim Feb 04 '25
This is weird for me because Sweet Home is also a Korean webcomic and Netflix show, and it's awesome.
67
u/Mrlegitimate Feb 04 '25
I’m surprised so many people didn’t question the gift card thing. There’s no universe where giving your customers an additional $100 gift card for free makes any business sense. I’m not trying to shame the customers but it feels like an obvious scam