There’s a good vibe going on at Coastal Coffee near Kintail. It’s a kind of hippy, West Coast, vibe which is what owners Ben and Bri Gingerich are trying to cultivate.
    There are two Volkswagon vans outside the former Presbyterian church, now home to the Gingerich family of five. Ducks, chickens and Guinea hens wander through the heirloom vegetable and flower gardens. There are little outbuildings here and there in a random formation. Plus, people are driving and cycling in and setting themselves down on picnic tables and chairs with their cups of fresh brewed, fresh roasted, Coastal Coffee. 
    “We are seeing more people come to the cafe than we ever dreamed,” says Ben. “We have become known as a culinary experience destination.”
    More than that, he believes how Coastal Coffee has created a home-based business by maximizing Huron County Business grants, renovating existing architecture, creating value-added products, and promoting organic markets while capitalizing on the Ontario’s West Coast theme is an important example of a business model that can be successful in rural Ontario. 
    Much of Ben’s belief system was formed growing up on his parents’ organic mixed farm which became known for Gingerich Eggs. He headed to British Columbia for university and while there, fell in love with both his wife Bri and the specialty coffee that seemed to be available everywhere. 
    The couple returned to Huron County and missed the coffee scene so, as a hobby, Ben started roasting his own coffee in their home. At the time, Ben worked at the Bluewater Detention Centre and Bri managed a salon. When Bluewater closed, Ben was “forced” into following an interest he had already developed and scaled the coffee roasting business into a commercial operation, supplying restaurants and retail businesses. 
    During this time they travelled to countries like Colombia and Costa Rica to search for premium, fair-trade, coffees. Ben said they looked for coffee beans that were sustainably produced, sweet, well-processed and with a good body. “People artificially sweeten their coffee to make it enjoyable but our coffees do not need sugar,” explains Ben. 
    Ben and Bri started selling coffee and brew out of the back of their Volkswagen Westfalia at local farmer’s markets. They opened a roastery in Zurich in 2014 and a few years later, decided to sell their property and search for a unique home to house Coastal Coffee and their three children -- Avery, Maeva and Boden.
    This was a critical time because the family was asking a lot of one place. It had to be a home for the five of them with a small acreage (because they didn’t want to waste time mowing) but large enough for a garden and roastery. The place needed a good septic system, a paved road and had to be close to a highway so they could build a destination culinary experience. Plus, they wanted the location and/or building to be unique.
    Not expecting a lengthy search, they set up home in an Airstream camper and started looking for their dream home. Two years later, they were still looking. When the Presbyterian church came on the market, the family fell in love with it on sight. It was listed on a Friday and offers were already coming in over the weekend. Determined to have it, the Gingerich family wrote a letter explaining their intention for the church, offered over asking price and were the lucky bidders. 
    Then the work began. The existing septic system and heating system had to be replaced. The church had knob and tube writing and scanty insulation. Plus, since it was a church, it had to be redesigned to create a living space. Before any of that could happen, the property had to be rezoned from a community facility to residential with a home-based business which required both an environmental and an archeological assessment. Setbacks were laid out because of the church’s proximity to a naturalized area, wind turbines and intensive agriculture. Consultations with municipal staff, engineers, architects, builders and plumbers took months. The Gingerich family did not have a building permit in hand until November of that year.
    Once work began, Ben and Bri wanted the renovations to align with their health-focused, organic, lifestyle. Natural products were chosen including sheep wool for attic insulation and hemp batts for wall insulation. The walls were made with natural lime plaster versus drywall (except in the commercial space where drywall was a requirement). They chose densified concrete to reduce chemical use.
    All the while they rode the balance between functionality and honouring the church’s heritage features, such as the stained glass windows and interior lights. “This is a building that was open to the public for over 100 years,” says Ben. “We wanted to be considerate of the affinity the community has for the building.”
    The actual roastery was set up in a shipping container beside the church. Termed a small-batch roastery, the actual roaster was imported from Turkey and roasts five kilos of beans per batch in a 12-minute roast profile. Small batches means there is more control over the roasting process, explains Ben. He prefers light and medium roasts so that people can really taste the bean when drinking the coffee. Dark roasting can create a “roast” taste that overpowers the bean taste.
    By the summer of 2020, the couple was selling coffee at their home/business, creating kitchen gardens, adding chickens and homeschooling their three children. Coastal Coffee continues to sell to restaurants, cafes and retailers while selling direct from the business and opening the cafe on Fridays and Saturdays. Light pastries and coffee-related gifts are also available for sale and they get about 300 people per week over eight hours in the summer months. They are especially excited about a new product called the Traveller, which is an eco-friendly solution to plastic coffee pods. Ben is hoping to market these in grocery stores across Canada.
    With the stress of renovations largely behind them and a year’s experience at the new location, the family can pinpoint what they really enjoy about the business and their location.
    “It’s important for us to support the farmers where the coffee comes from,” says Bri. Obviously, the coffee beans are imported so the Gingeriches travel regularly to Colombia and Nicaragua to meet the farmers that grow beans for their roastery. One of their favourite farms is owned by Chalos and called Chalos Coffee.
    “This church was a community building for so long. If people can meet here and have coffee with a friend, then it is still a community space and that’s important to us,” says Bri. Last year, the family kept a campfire going during their open hours and people would come in their snowsuits to have a coffee outside during the pandemic.
    The Gingerich family make a good living selling coffee! Should anyone want to establish their own specialty coffee business, Ben says it takes time and while the cafe turns a profit, selling the roasted beans wholesale is the most profitable part of the business.
    Looking to the future, the couple wants to grow the business to a “sweet spot” where revenue supports their lifestyle. They hope the Traveller pods will really take off and are excited about their social media presence. 
    “We also chose this location for quality of life for our family so our goal is to keep that balance, and not open the cafe full time,” adds Bri.
    Still, it’s meeting and having fun with their customers that reminds them how this all got started in the first place -- wanting to create a West Coast vibe in Huron County by serving excellent coffee. ◊