Nonprofit cafe that opened to fight food insecurity in KY is closing. What’s next?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Spark Community Cafe will close June 28 after six years combating food insecurity.
- Rising food costs and expenses forced shutdown despite strong volunteer support.
- Meal delivery program will resume in September through partnerships with churches.
A pay-what-you-can cafe that’s been open for six years is shutting its doors.
Spark Community Cafe, 175 N. Main St. in Versailles, announced on social media it will close June 29.
“This is a really hard decision,” Whitney Stepp-Gay, chairwoman of the Spark board, said Friday.
Spark was often staffed with volunteers serving farm-to-table goodness, sometimes for free, and funded by contributions from diners and the community, including many Woodford County businesses.
It also led to a prestigious recognition: Former chef Isaiah Screetch was named a semifinalist in the 2023 James Beard Awards.
Stepp-Gay said rising food costs and other expenses were “taking away from our food-insecure mission. We explored other models but ... it just wasn’t feasible any more.”
In 2019, when the cafe opened, about 11.5% of Woodford County was facing food insecurity. “I can promise you it’s grown now,” Stepp-Gay said.
She posted the news of the closing on Facebook Thursday evening.
“Since opening our doors in March 2019, Spark Community Cafe has been honored to serve more than 90,500 meals — not just to those wondering, ‘What should we eat tonight?’ but more importantly, to those facing the far more urgent question: ‘Will we eat tonight?’
“Thanks to your generous support — whether as donors, customers, or volunteers — we have been able to answer that question with a resounding ‘Yes,’” the restaurant posted.
Spark plans to continue direct delivery of home-made oven-ready meals for those facing food insecurity in Woodford County. Stepp-Gay said they are working with local churches to secure a commercial kitchen and plan to resume delivering meals to homes in September.
“Despite generous donations and grants, the financial reality remains clear: Maintaining the restaurant is no longer viable,” she wrote. “To be good stewards of our donors’ money, we must transition, and while our café doors will close, our mission lives on.”
All current catering commitments will be honored and Spark hopes to offer those again eventually.
The nonprofit cafe began in a 2014 capstone class at Woodford County High School, where Kyle Fannin was teaching. Seniors taking his social studies class wanted to have a real-world learning experience, so Fannin added a community activism course.
That launched a festival in downtown Versailles called “Spark,” which led to a pop-up shop and eventually a real cafe. The Grace Cafe in Danville, another pay-it-forward community cafe, inspired those in Versailles to try it.
The diners varied from locals in need to those who came for the great food. Many patrons were out-of-towners.
“We will dearly miss the joy of welcoming you through our doors — chatting with you over lunch, sharing local stories, recommending nearby sights, and introducing visitors to the rich hospitality of Woodford County,” Spark said. “Being a ‘front door’ to this community has been one of the greatest honors of our work.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 11:56 AM.
