Photo: Facebook
Kelowna’s Canoe Coffee Roasters has opened its first permanent location – sort of.
Fans of the speciality coffee company know if for its little white trailer, which is parked each week at Kelowna’s farmer’s market.
However, as of this week coffee lovers can now visit the trailer on off-market days, at the new space Owner Dave Upshaw has created at his roastery, on 1176 High Rd.
The space, Upshaw explains, is a handmade “hangout space” that sits about ten people. He says it’s sort of an extension of the roastery, with the trailer parked right outside the door, and space to sit and chill inside.
“Basically it’s a space to hang out. You can talk to me about coffee, learn about coffee or just sit with friends and enjoy coffee just like a cafe,” he says.
The trailer will still travel to the market every Wednesday and Saturday, but for a while each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday it will stay open at the roastery.
Upshaw said he already spends most of his time at the High Road location, roasting the beans and packaging his coffee, so he figured he might as well open it up and let people stop by and be part of the experience.
He says he hopes people will come by, grab a drink from the trailer and hang around to learn a little more about the coffee-making process.
“I really like sharing the experience of coffee, and that’s not just drinking the coffee. It’s about explaining to people where the coffee comes from,” he says.
He opened the space up to the public Monday, but he says it’s already been “fantastic,” with more customers coming in on that first day than his busiest day at a winter farmer’s market.
Photo: Facebook
Upshaw says he will probably get a traditional storefront “eventually,” but that for now he’s happy with his mobile/permanent shop hybrid.
“At this point in my business and my life I don’t really want to step into the whole brick and mortar, huge cafe and huge expenses, big operation,” he says.
“Obviously I want to make a living off of this, I want to make money, but I also just want to live my life. I want to go home to my wife and spend time with her and cook dinner and spend time with my kid [when he arrives].”
“I don’t really care about making millions of dollars. I just want to make good coffee with people and have conversations,” he says.
For more information check out Canoe Coffee Roasters on Facebook, or visit the company’s website.
All Biz Releases Stories
