Craft Beer Pub Owners, Brazilian Barista To Open Specialty Coffee Shop in Bathurst
BATHURST – Michael Petrovici and Katherine Lanteigne, the owners of craft beer bar Au Bootlegger, has teamed up with Vinicius Tomé, a barista from Brazil who recently immigrated to Canada, to open Kaffeine Espresso Bar.
The coffee shop on 145 Main Street is set to open in the next few weeks, says marketing director Pascale Loisier.
“It’s going to be a specialty coffee shop. We want the atmosphere to be very cozy and elegant and something that you can’t find in the Chaleur region and even in the north of the province,” she said.
The coffee shop will offer specialty beverages with coffee beans that are roasted by Atlantic Canadian craft roasters, like Anchored Coffee in Nova Scotia. It will also serve craft teas, including the colour-changing butterfly pea flower tea, and some pastries, sandwiches and soups.
“We really just want to bring a coffee shop with specialty coffee to the people of Bathurst and the Chaleur region. It’s greatly needed in downtown Bathurst. There are no coffee shops really, so that’s really the experience that we’re trying to bring,” Loisier said.
Tomé and his wife, Sarah Nivea, had studied under Isabela Raposeiras, a Brazilian barista who is among the world’s best. With them in the barista team, Kaffeine Espresso Bar wants customers to encounter and discover various brewing methods.
Customers can still walk in a get a quick cup of coffee, but they can also sit and learn more about the coffee they’re drinking.
“We’re going to offer a variety of brewing methods, ranging from drip coffee to siphon coffee,” Loisier said. “[People are] also going to be able to sit down and choose their method of brewing and have the barista come to their table and explain and show them how it works.”
Tomé and his family moved to Newfoundland two and a half years ago. When Petrovici and Lanteigne heard about his barista skills, they approached him and convinced him to move to Bathurst and open a coffee shop.
“We have a one of a kind addition and he has a lot of knowledge about coffee,” Loisier said.
Tomé, who co-owns the cafe with Lanteigne and Petrovici, will be the general manager and head barista at Kaffeine Espresso Bar. He will work with his wife and up to eight more employees in the coffee shop that seats around 25 to 30 people.