A Cape Breton entrepreneur and coffee connoisseur is brewing up a business he plans to take on the road.
Steve Smith buys specially-selected coffee beans from all over the world, which he then roasts in small batches on a barbecue in the backyard of his home.
“Bungalow Beans is the name of my business. I live in a bungalow on Bungalow Road, so it was pretty much what we had to go with,” says Smith, who lives in Coxheath, N.S.
He plans to operate his business out of a 1968 camper he and his wife have gutted and refurbished. They hope to sell their special blend of freshly-brewed coffee at festivals and farmers’ markets all over Cape Breton this spring and summer.
“It’s a vintage camper. I’ve completely redone it,” says Smith. “It’s going to be on the road selling coffee.”
He says his experiences in other countries while serving overseas for his native United States is what inspired his love for a great cup of joe.
“I never got into actually drinking coffee until I was in the Navy several years, and I was stationed in Greece, and that’s when I had my first cappuccino and I was hooked ever since,” says Smith.
“I was also stationed in Italy and you’re talking espresso and cappuccino and all that stuff. It’s really good coffee and that’s where I got addicted.”
While Smith acknowledges there are plenty of other independently-run coffee outlets around town, he’s confident the combination of quality coffee served out of a vintage camper will offer customers a unique experience.
“People like a really good cup of coffee. It’s kind of universal, wherever you go, and our coffee is so fresh. It’s so unique,” says Smith. “The coffee kind of speaks for itself.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
