Monday January 22, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Back in December, the Serious Coffee long-time Vancouver Island retail coffee shop chain was sold by Steve Brown to Wayne Procter of the Wayne Procter Group.
Brown and his buddies had built the Serious Coffee chain from the ground up starting in 1994, noting that all beans were roasted at the main Nanaimo/Duncan location and distributed fresh around the island. The sale was a significant business move and possibly a cafe-culture shift for the Vancouver Island-based chain. Strict adherence to coffee quality, customer offerings and marketing was maintained.
Unique Serious stuff:
They carved out a taste brand by not using flames to roast our coffee but rather using an air roaster, similar to a hot air popcorn popper. By choosing to air roast, they avoided the hazard of producing a bitter or burnt tasting coffee. They also developed a full line of organic coffees. They followed fair-trade practices and they keep their beans fresh (both for in-shop brewing and take-home of beans whether whole or ground).
On the retail side they focused on insisting that franchise owners maintain a cozy inviting atmosphere and adhering to the menu options that we consistent across the chain.
New leadership:
Procter owns Gas n Go Petroleum and General Stores & Markets, Omni Food Distributors, Best Buy Liquor Stores and the Well Pub.
Tomorrow Procter will be meeting with the individual franchise owners of the many Serious Coffee locations around Vancouver Island, at a central location in Langford.
Given Procter’s strong business background grounded in retail spaces he is likely looking at chain expansion and possibly determining what might need to change to further improve the Serious Coffee customer experience. “Wayne Procter is driven by a desire to provide the best customer experience possible, and make notable, positive change in our communities,” as stated on the Wayne Procter Group website.
The website quotes Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
Island and mainland:
Serious Coffee currently has several outlets in the North (2), Central (3) and Greater Victoria (6) areas here on Vancouver Island, as well as in the Vancouver Lower Mainland area (2), plus two meeting venues (one in Esquimalt and one in Parksville).
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Island Social Trends Editor Mary P Brooke has been reporting on news of the west shore and south Vancouver Island since 2008. She brings a socioeconomic focus to the news as well as looking at how local, regional and broader political issues impact the day-to-day and longer term lives of people in communities and business. | BUSINESS NEWS SECTION
As a publisher, Ms Brooke’s publication series so far is: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), West Shore Voice News (2014-2020), and Island Social Trends (2020 to present). These publications are permanently archived at the Sooke Region Museum.
Mary P Brooke has been reporting with the BC Legislative Press Gallery since 2020 — daily during the pandemic and now on the broader range of BC political issues. In 2023 Mary P Brooke was nominated for a Jack Webster Foundation journalism award for contributing to her community through journalism.
In 2024 Ms Brooke is launching a print edition of Island Social Trends as well as continuing the daily news here at IslandSocialTrends.ca .
In 2024 Mary Brooke has launched the Urban Food Resilience Initiatives Society.