Reaching High Ground!
When I heard about the new Coffee Press in Lone Butte, my curiosity was immediately piqued! Off we went to try a cup of joe at High Ground Cafe.
What I found upon arrival was truly a precious gem. The Cafe hosts a Victoria Arduino Athena Leva. It is truly a unique piece, and reflects all the tradition of a perfect espresso coffee. The machine replicates the origins of the press in the post WW2 Italian Opera Houses.
This machine is one of only three in all of BC! What makes it really unique is the operation. The barista (typically Brian at the High Ground Cafe) must manually work the levers to create a perfect shot of espresso. Skill plus effort equals craft. It’s truly hand crafted coffee.
The Cafe itself is family run. Amalia and Brian run the Cafe with their two children often found helping out. Brian spent youthful summers at the family cabin out at interlakes. It was time for them to make a move and they chose to take a run at a Coffee Shop in Lone Butte. For those who remember Carter’s Cones I am happy to report the legendary torch of Carter’s Cones has been passed to High Ground from Mrs.Carter and the late Mr.Carter who served Ice Cream from the 1990’s until the mid 2010’s.
The biggest challenge in establishing the business has been the timing and Interior Health bureaucracy. For those wondering why they had their “Higher Ground” sign up last fall, but didn’t open until spring, it took about 9 months to work through the permitting process with the Alan at IH.
True to the entrepreneurial spirit, it became a bit of a good luck bad luck situation as they had hoped to be open last year, they treated the delay as an opportunity for Brian to complete the renovation himself using his other skills instead of hiring contractors. Obviously, as any entrepreneur knows - the bills don’t go away just because bureacracy takes over. Kudos to their resilience in adaptation!
Through the process the family team has emerged with open doors and are clearly enjoying serving the community. After some lively and interesting discussions, I mentioned to them how “Lone Butte needed a coffee shop, for the coffee shop talk!” The response was “you wouldn’t believe how many people have told us, for such a myriad of different reasons, this is exactly what Lone Butte needed”.
Huge welcome! Thanks for filling the cups (and cones) of your community.
Bueno, Americano.
