Our History
It all started small. We roasted for ourselves and friends. We were passionate about good coffee. This led to buying a 5kg Turkish roaster, which we set up in the back of an old Quonset hut in historic Old Town in 2017. We roasted the highest quality beans we could find and served countless pour overs to people who adventured down to find us. The Old Town space lacked heating and plumbing, but it did the trick. In 2019 we decided to relocate downtown in order to enjoy the finer comforts. We expanded operations slightly and began serving drip coffee and locally made baked goods in partnership with a number of Yellowknife businesses. The pandemic brought a close to our service operations, but we pivoted to online sales, doing hundreds of door drop deliveries in the early days. In the autumn of 2020 we reopened under the guidance of Jeremy Flatt (formerly of the Fat Fox) and expanded operations to include an espresso bar and in house baking program. Over time we have slowly evolved, hiring more staff, building our capacity, while focusing on a high quality/ low quantity menu.
Our Values
Coffee
A good cup of coffee should be a tasty embodiment of the region where it is grown. It should also have a clean back story. We pride ourselves on being a responsible company. We strive to source coffee beans that are grown in a sustainable manner that respects both the land and the producers. All of our coffee will note whether it is fair trade, organic, direct trade, or all. Please come and chat with our staff if you are ever curious about the farming, traceability, and our roasting. We procure the highest quality beans we can source and the coffee is always roasted to order on our new Diedrich IR-12. At our cafe, we focus on extracting the best espresso possible. This includes consistent dosing (weight), tamping pressure, extraction timing, and milk temperature. It may take a bit more time, but you can taste our diligence to perfection and consistency.
FOOD
We focus on consistent high quality local ingredient food that tastes good and will get people through the day. We strive to source local products.
staff
We focus on people over profits. We pay our staff higher wages, provide sick days, opportunities for additional benefits, and support with career and life goals. We want our customers to know that when they purchase our coffee beans or buy a latte at our shop that their money is being invested in the community. Our current goal is to have all full time staff paid a Yellowknife living wage ($23.28 before tips) and for BGC to be an exemplary business in Yellowknife. Our long term mission is to have all staff begin at living wage (before tips).
Investing
We strive to keep as much money in the North as possible, even if it costs us a bit more. It is important to reinvest in our partnerships and community and we work closely with a number of other Yellowknife businesses to help cross promote. We have offered a cross promotional products for sale that were produced in partnership in Yellowknife. Contact us if you are a small northern business with a coffee related idea!
community
We donate and have sponsored a number of local events (such as the Arctic Winter Games, Folk on the Rocks, Frostbite50, Yellowknife Pride, Slave River Paddlefest), fundraisers (Whatì Baskets for New Mothers), and organizations (the student run cafe at Mezi Community School in Whatì), and have sponsored a number of northerners (musicians, artists, athletes, and paddlers). We are supportive of a Downtown Shelter/Sobering Centre in Yellowknife. In 2021 we launched what will hopefully be an annual event: Grand Prix Yellowknife. We are always keen to donate coffee and merchandise to a number of events throughout the territory. Please contact us if you are interested in getting a coffee donation for your NWT/NU event or fundraiser.
OUR TEAM
ERIC
Co-Founder & CEO
Eric’s full time job is managing his three energetic children at home. On the side, he focuses on high level planning, sales, and staffing. He likes the idea of running a cafe.
JEREMY
Co-Founder & CFO
Jeremy is the bean counter. He handles all the bookkeeping. In his spare time he works full time in operational management for a credit union.
SUSAN
Co-Founder & Director of Quality
Susan focuses on cupping the fresh roasted coffee and sampling all of the fresh baked goods to ensure quality and consistency on a day to day basis. She also helps Eric raise their children and works as a linguist.
LYNDSAY
Barista & Baker
Lyndsay slings espresso on weekends along with the occasional floppy disc on the ultimate field. She is a fan of light roasts and funky syrups and recommends Carl’s ginger oat latte with Guatemala beans.
PAYTON
Barista & Bagger
Payton generally holds down Saturdays and bags coffee during the week. She loves all coffee, but her favorite drink is an oat milk latte with the Guatemala bean.
ZOE
Barista & Roaster Apprentice
Zoe is BGC’s longest employee (pre-pandemic 2019) and is Sunday’s anchor. She works as barista and has learned how to roast coffee. Her favourite drinks are definitely a dirty chai and the drip coffee with the Brazilian bean.
EMMA
Barista
Emma loves slinging and drinking oat lattes and hearing about your favourite baked goods. Outside of BGC, Emma is either with friends, trail running, or out of town doing climate change research.
EDYTA
Barista & Bagger
People call her Adida and she generally bags coffee for BGC but also fills in as a backup barista when needed. Her favourite drink is the drip coffee with Brazil beans.