On The Coffee Grind In Saint John: Java Moose
Over the next couple of weeks, Huddle is curling up with a hot drink and sitting down with Uptown Saint John’s coffee shops to learn about the industry and business of coffee. Stay tuned for more stories like this from your favourite Saint John java slingers.
Java Moose celebrated its silver anniversary in 2021, having evolved and adapted across 25 years as coffee grew into a big industry in North America.
Co-owner Glen McLean says he got the idea for opening a coffee shop when he was a tour escort in Kenya and sampled the country’s local coffee. He and Randy Pedersen decided to purchase a small kiosk in McAllister Mall.
“We decided that it would be smart to roast our own coffee instead of just buying from another provider and putting it in our cup,” says McLean.
He says Java Moose was the first indoor coffee roaster located in a mall or a shopping center.
“By doing it ourselves, we could control the quality, we could control the taste, and we’ve had a great time doing it.”
Today they have three locations in the Saint John area and a 2,500-square-foot factory “world headquarters,” which opened nine years ago. There, they make their coffee products for wholesale clients and daily regulars.
They currently produce and sell a total of 15 different blends, cycled seasonally, and do a lot of fundraisers for schools, church groups, and sports teams across Atlantic Canada.
Java Moose’s location in the Saint John City Market closed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has remained closed for upgrades while waiting for foot traffic to pick up once again, with plans to begin construction after Christmas.
“That’s going to be spectacular, it’s going to be a modern industrial look to it, very high tech and industrial,” he said.
He added they are getting new equipment from Monaco and the U.S. and have new signage ready to go.
“Quality is, of course, the epitome for us,” he said.
Java Moose was impacted like most uptown businesses by the lack of cruise ship tourism and people working remotely, but its online presence, which was established and grown over the years, helped sustain it throughout the pandemic.
They have even seen a gradual increase in business, coming out ahead of where they were in 2019.
Plans for 2022 include further developing the Java Moose mobile app for early 2022 and purchasing more factory equipment and another coffee roaster.
“It’s a point system that we’re using the app as, but it also allows us to do mass emails, mass texts, and also push out more branding,” he explained.
He added some of Java Moose’s locations are introducing an online ordering system for pre-paid drinks and lunch.
“We want to keep that price point pretty firm at that $10 mark, but it’s got to be good quality and it’s got to be something that people can rely on.”
McLean says the coffee industry was nowhere near as large as it is today when Java Moose first opened.
“Now the industry has evolved and now we’re providing something that is required by 99.9 percent of the population by eight o’clock in the morning,” he said, noting uptown Saint John’s coffee shops appeal to multiple customers.
“There’s a market for all of us, we all have our demographic that we try to service – as long as you’re providing the best quality and the best experience, then you’re bound to survive.”