Fighting fires inspires a coffee-making journey and an alumni-built business

Seasons spent as wildland firefighters are what set up University of Calgary alum Jamie Parker and business partner Mike Wenzlawe with the skills they needed to tackle the world of coffee roasting.

The two entrepreneurs opened Canadian Heritage Roasting Company (CHRC) in 2015, selling organic whole-bean coffee and focusing on wildlife conservation.

Fuelling up on coffee for outdoor adventures initially inspired them to open a business. “When you're in the outdoors, there's just nothing that tastes better than what you make in the outdoors,” says Parker, BSc’15. “I really wanted to kind of capture that essence and bring it into Calgary.”

What sets CHRC apart from the competition is that, since opening, the company has made it its mission to plant one tree for every bag of coffee sold.

“That's kind of a keystone to our business, where we plant one tree for every bag we sell and we also contribute to a lot of other conservation-focused programs, such as the Wildlife Foundation,” says Parker.

“We ultimately just want to leave our world a little bit better than we left it and I think planting trees is a great step in that direction.”

CHRC is located within the historic C.C. Snowdon building in Ramsay — once the home of an oil company. Wenzlawe says the building’s rustic charm of brick and wooden tables brings out a cozy, outdoor feeling he wants customers to take in.

“We're a lifestyle brand that just happens to sell coffee,” says Wenzlawe. “We encourage the pursuit of the outdoors and giving back to conservation and environmental stewardship efforts with the purchases that our consumers make — that's what really stands us out.

“We look to elicit that emotional response through the products that we sell.”

Parker recalls his time at UCalgary as a period where he built self-confidence. “I think one of the biggest lessons that comes out of university is persistence,” says Parker.

“The work ethic that you need to put into a business is more than any other thing I've ever done in my life, and I think UCalgary was a great stepping-stone into being able to take risks and not be afraid of the failure on the other side.”

Wenzlawe often looks back to his and Parker’s time as a wildland firefighters when reflecting on the success of their business.

"Just like post-secondary institutions go, wildfire really forged us into the people that we are today,” says Wenzlawe. “It gave us a lot of very hard skills that we utilize in business consistently; you know, persistence, being uncomfortable." But also choosing your outlook, having a positive demeanour.

“So, the rugged aesthetic of our brand and who we are and how we approach coffee as a whole, and the industry as a whole, came from wildfire and was forged on the fireline.”

To sustain their business and friendship, Parker explains how he and Wenzlawe make the conscious effort to remain transparent and communicate effectively.

“We just really trust each other and we respect each other,” says Parker. “We have a motto where ‘we stab each other in the front,’ so, if there’s a problem at hand, we just bring it up to each other right away and not let it fester.”

Parker believes much of his success today is due to his UCalgary experience.

“I think University of Calgary was a great example of setting you up for the long road,” he says.