Local roaster Barren Ground Coffee celebrated its one-year anniversary on Sunday.
Meaghan Richens/NNSL photo
SA国际影视传媒淲hen we first started it was pretty interesting, we didn't really know what was going to happen, it was a little nerve-racking,SA国际影视传媒� said co-founder Eric Binion.
SA国际影视传媒淲e bought I think four bags of green beans and for us, we were like this is the biggest order ever, it's thousands of dollars and the guy we were buying it from was like this is the smallest order I've ever filled,SA国际影视传媒� he said with a laugh.
At first, they'd come in and roast 16 or 20 bags for the weekend, not knowing if they would all sell, but hoping they would.
SA国际影视传媒淚n our first couple weeks a lot of people came in and business kind of picked up right away,SA国际影视传媒� said Binion.
They eventually started working with retailers such as Down to Earth Gallery, YK Co-op and other small business around town to sell their coffee, he said.
SA国际影视传媒淲ithout them and people who are willing to try new stuff and support businesses, it would have been a tough year.SA国际影视传媒�
Binion estimates they've sold around 10,000 bags of coffee in their first year in business.
SA国际影视传媒淚 can't say enough about Yellowknife, everyone was willing to support us, like they would any other businesses that start up,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
When they first started out they focused on their Old Town-based roastery in Yellowknife and building a specialty coffee culture in town, he said.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd getting our education out in town explaining what kind of coffee we sell, and we've been trying to get out in the communities here,SA国际影视传媒� he said. Barren Ground Coffee currently retails on and off in several communities in the territory, including Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope and Inuvik.
The next steps for the business will include expanding beyond the territory's borders. In September they added labels in the Inuktitut and Tlicho languages to their packaging to set that plan in motion.
SA国际影视传媒淲e're slowly getting into Nunavut, we just sent coffee up to Cambridge Bay, they're going to do some retail and then we'll just go from there,SA国际影视传媒� said Binion.
In the meantime, they're focusing mainly on selling in the North and attracting tourists to their business. A key element in their first successful year was the support they received from the community, said Binion.
SA国际影视传媒淚 feel like Yellowknife's a very special place where we wouldn't really have been able to start something like this down south like in Ottawa or Vancouver,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
SA国际影视传媒淲e would have been crushed by competition whereas up here, even in the beginning maybe there was some times when it was not as good or things weren't going well but people still supported us and still continued to come back.SA国际影视传媒�
