The entrepreneurs are adding up: 7Mesh, Gillespie’s Fine Spirits, Counterpart Coffee and, soon, One Duck Brewing. All within a stone’s throw of each other.
But they’re not downtown. These “light industrial” fledgling businesses are all settling in close proximity to the Squamish Business Park and are forming a new burgeoning business region in Squamish.
Counterpart Coffee roasts beans from all over the world at their location on Discovery Way, which seems perfect for housing their giant roaster, but it was more an indirect move than a planned one.
“In the very beginning we were quite naïve. We didn’t know, for example, that you have to think about zoning. So we were looking at commercial spaces downtown…. We’re not zoned for that, though, and we didn’t know,” says Tim Knutton, Counterpart Coffee co-owner.
Because their main business is roasting, explains co-owner Emily Lehnen, they fall into the zoning category of light industrial, which limits their downtown options.
“This building just kind of fit,” she says. “It was the right zoning and we were allowed to drill a hole in the wall to vent the coffee roaster.” It had also never been occupied which, she explains, was great because they didn’t have to worry about lingering smells that could have affected the coffee aroma.
Although the city is always fine-tuning its zoning, explains Mayor Patricia Heintzman, there’s limited space downtown for businesses in this category. The indirect result is that as more entrepreneurs are turning their attention to the business park, it’s beginning to gain a bit of an offbeat, cool name for itself, she explains, helping attract others.
The newest, One Duck Brewing, is opening right next door to Counterpart Coffee, something Knutton welcomes. “We can share a lot of knowledge and stories and bond over common experiences of the joys and travails of opening a small business. It’s always encouraging to be connected to small businesses like that.”
There is also a real desire to help one another succeed, explains Kelly Ann Woods, mixologist and co-owner at Gillespie’s Fine Spirits, an early adopter down Progress Way. She counts Frostbite syrups (made just down the road) as one of the items they’re only too happy to carry on their shelves, and explains they’ve almost finalized their coffee cream liquor made in partnership with Counterpart Coffee. “There are all kinds of different components that we can support each other with.”
Attracted initially because of the close proximity to the highway, the Gillespie’s co-owner now feels the area is gaining a reputation as a craft beverage hub that tourists really ought to know about.
And from a business owner’s perspective, it’s a great place to launch a new venture, Woods says. “I’d heard Squamish wasn’t very welcoming to entrepreneurs, and then when we got here we had nothing but support, open doors and friendly faces.”
Knutton agrees, although he explains that because they’re the first coffee roasters ever in Squamish, both they and the district were sharing the learning curve and navigating regulations together. He’s grateful that they enlisted their support from the very beginning.
“I think a lot of people start building and then, when they’re ready for an inspection, start that process. We kind of did it backwards and that’s really good. We needed to figure out, in advance, where the line was that we had to line our ducks up against.”
Such support is an attractive prospect, and so too is Squamish’s reputation, says Heintzman. “Squamish’s name is now becoming an appreciated and esteemed brand,” the mayor says. Much like a brand from Whistler carries with it a certain reputation, so too will brands from Squamish, she hopes.
Helping lead that storm, generate employment and up the appeal of industrialized areas such as this are the likes of Gillespie’s, Counterpart Coffee and One Duck Brewing, she explains.
“We want diversity of interesting, value-based, experience-based businesses… and we’re starting to see that,” said Heintzman. “Everything starts small and that’s where your growth is,” she says. Although these new entrepreneurs may outgrow their spaces here over time, many believe it’s a perfect place for them, and others like them, to start.
