Corner Brook coffee shop establishes first franchise in Burgeo
When Wayne and Mamie Keeping moved back to Burgeo from Western Canada 12 years ago, they had an idea to perk up the place by opening a proper coffee shop — so that's what they brought to the small town of 1,400 people, on Newfoundland's south coast.
The Keepings own a store in Burgeo that used to be the Variety Quik Shoppe, now called Huntsview Market. Earlier this summer, they opened up the very first franchise location of Corner Brook-based coffee shop, Brewed Awakening.
"We wondered how we could add some value to this store here, and set us up to serve more of an eclectic market," said Wayne Keeping.
Keeping says business since their opening on June 22nd has been "fabulous". He says they had no way of knowing it would be so good.
If we brew it, they will come
The couple attribute the shop's early success to summer travellers, and he says that was the intention with opening the coffee shop when they did.
However, Wayne says he's developed a loyal local following, too. Keeping says people now travel more than they used to, and they've developed a taste for high-end freshly-roasted and freshly-ground coffee as a result.
He's considered his options before entering into business with Brewed Awakening, and admits to reaching out to another coffee shop chain, although he won't say which one.
Logistical challenges
Keeping says one obstacle is that getting products delivered can be a challenge, considering that Burgeo is at the end of a 147-kilometre road that winds through remote wilderness, and where motorists are warned to fill up before heading out on the drive.
Despite that, when Keeping contacted Brewed Awakening, however, he heard back right away and received a piping hot response.
Grounds for a good business
Peter Ollerhead is the founder and owner of Brewed Awakening in Corner Brook, which started with one coffee shop on the city's West Street, and has expanded to include a Brewed on Bernard shop and roastery (on Mount Bernard Ave.), along with a Brewed kiosk at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University.
"For me, it's been a really great pilot project," he said. "It's been a real opportunity to learn how to do this, so it's all around been excellent."
The Burgeo Brewed Awakening is the company's first foray into franchising, and Ollerhead says when the Keepings contacted him about a Brewed in Burgeo, he was intrigued and wanted to find out more.
Over time, Ollerhead says he visited Burgeo, got to know the Keepings and their business model, and ultimately cooked up a deal.
Freshly brewed
Ollerhead says there's been a learning curve, with both parties to the franchise arrangement learning to trust each other and work together to make it a reality.
He says training is key to ensuring that a Brewed customer in Burgeo has the same experience with taste and quality as a Brewed customer in Corner Brook has come to expect.
"It's just a matter of going down there, spending time down there, training staff. It's been fairly easy for us to keep things on a consistent level," he said.
Keeping says sandwiches are made daily and coffee is ground on demand, so nothing remains on the shelf long enough to not be fresh.
The Brewed Awakening in Burgeo is tucked in a corner of Huntsview Market, in an 18-foot by 12-foot space that catches your eye as soon as you walk in the store. Keeping says the coffee takes up about 12-percent of the square footage of his store. It's a big step to take, but Keeping says it's worth it.
"Now we're relying on our local business, because the summer is over, but we have local traffic," he said. "We have consistent regular folks that depend on that good cup of coffee every morning."
For his part, Ollerhead says the Burgeo operation is a good way for him to learn the ropes of franchising, and to see if more Brewed franchises could be in his future.
