Interview with Andrew Hayes, Owner & Roaster at Roasti Coffee Co.
What made you decide to start a coffee company?
When we first started this, I was struggling pretty heavily with post-concussion syndrome. Every day, I would be dealing with different migraines, dizziness, and nausea. I needed to find some sense of what I could do on my own time and without the timeline of a boss.
Then, it just happened in that timeframe. We had met Henrique Cambraia, a Brazilian fourth-generation coffee grower, and his team, so it just seemed like both worlds collided at the right time. That’s when we ended up ordering a little five-kilo roaster out of Montréal, hooked it up in my garage and just started to try to learn as fast as we could. I had seen my father tinkering around when I was a little bit younger. I didn’t really understand why he wanted to do that until I started to learn a little more about the differences and different kinds of coffees and how beautiful they can be. I really got into it, and I was like, “Yeah, this could be pretty interesting and fun.”
How many years has it been since you started Roasti?
It has been almost eight years since we started roasting in my parents' garage, and it is really crazy to take a step back and think about how much we have grown since then.
What do you love most about your job?
My favourite part, aside from playing with coffee all day, is the people we get to work with. Our staff is a group of some of the most genuine and talented people, and it is so great to be able to grow with such an amazing group.
Looking ahead into the future, what does success look like for Roasti?
If we can continue to provide a warm and welcoming space—not only for our staff, but also for our patrons and partners—that is success to me. I think it's easy to get caught up in numbers and competition, but in the end, if the people we interact with on a personal or professional level are comfortable and happy, that is success.
What are you most proud of in your journey with Roasti?
What I’m most proud of is the community we’ve built in our area. It’s something I never could have imagined when I started this little business in my garage. But, over the past eight years, seeing the personal growth in our employees and the amazing interactions we get to witness every day with our customers has been incredibly rewarding. We have the honour of being a bright spot in people’s days, and it means so much to be on the giving end of that. A hot coffee and a little conversation can go a long way, and we’re fortunate to be able to offer that to our community.
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