For a delicious cup of coffee in a cozy modern industrial style coffee shop, Picadilly Coffee Roasters is an absolute must if you reside in or near or are visiting Sussex, New Brunswick!

It’s about time that we start blogging again! So HERE WE ARE, with the first post in our Branding Blog Series! This is so exciting for us. We cannot wait to start this fun tradition of sharing parts of our new province with you. No matter where you reside, if you live or visit our beautiful province, there will hopefully soon be an assortment of shops and restaurants on our blog that you should absolutely check out. Whether you’re a foodie or have a unique hobby or interest; no fret! Our main goal will be to focus on local and NB-owned businesses. And we start with one of our personal favourites: Picadilly Coffee Roasters.

Elissa and Matt Colpitts are proud owners of Picadilly Coffee Roasters. They’re also amazing parents of three beautiful girls: 7-year-old Madeline and 6-year-old twins Ava & Louise. Being parents who run a business ourselves, we know that this team has their stuff together! It’s taken a journey to get where they are, but their story is so amazing; we just have to share it. We asked Elissa for a simple timeline to be able to share some details about how they have come to be where they are today. She must be a lot like me (Dianne), because I received the following wonderful explanation: 

In early 2018, just over 3 months after returning to work after our twins were born, I found out that my position at my previous job was being dissolved due to budget cuts. At that time, I was presented with the decision to re-apply for a different position or step away with a bit of a severance and find something new. I had always loved the thought of starting a coffee roaster, but 11 years into a safe career and having a young family made it seem like a risk too big to take. So when I found out about my job loss, it almost felt serendipitous. The opportunity was right in front of me!

Originally it started very small, intended to be a side hustle that would allow me to be home with the babies. I figured once they were all in school, I could grow it if I still wanted to. Unbeknownst to me, the side hustle would very quickly turn into a quickly growing business. I started with a tiny roaster in my garage, and then 2 tiny roasters in my garage, then a slightly bigger roaster – in my garage, haha.

After about a year in business, I moved to my first location. Very limited hours and limited products. Mostly just bags of coffee and drip coffee to go. It didn’t take long to outgrow that location, things just kept getting busier, despite the beginning of the Covid era. The more people were home, the more they wanted good coffee at home! Additionally, I think this time sparked a boost in the “buy local” movement. The timing of my growth fortunately coincided with that.

As demand grew that summer and fall, we continued to expand our hours and our offerings, as well as extending our staff. It was too much for just me (and my husband, who helped when he could while still working his career). At that time, we decided that my husband Matt would join Picadilly on a full-time basis, and we’ve been loving that!

Once again, we began to outgrow our location and that is when we set our sights on where we are now! We also needed a larger roaster because we were roasting over 60 hours a week. That was just to keep up, never get ahead. We are now roasting on a custom built roaster we ordered from Turkey and are able to roast 5 times the capacity. With our new location, we wanted to create a space that would showcase our production which is the core of our business. We also wanted to reflect who we are as people and as a business. We opened the doors here at 33 Rosemont Ave in Sussex at the beginning of August 2021 and since have expanded our hours to 7 days a week. We have a staff of 14. We have retail partners and cafe/restaurant partners all over NB and beyond. We have even worked with several schools and groups as fundraising partners and we continue to grow and expand on our offerings and products.

Does this not make you love them even more? And believe us when we say that their coffee is amazing. We’ve tried several different coffee brands. Most of these are local and Canadian-owned businesses. The smell of coffee here at home is a big part of our lives. We love grinding our own beans and the fresh coffee that we get to enjoy as a result!

We take another sip of Picadilly’s Colombian Supremo (a delicious medium roast with notes of caramel and hazelnut), brewed in our own coffee maker here at home. When we asked Elissa what her favourite way to drink their coffee is, our eyes were opened to a new world. From French press to drip, Aeropress to an espresso machine… Who knew there were so many ways to drink Picadilly? Okay, maybe we had somewhat of an idea… Interestingly enough, Elissa and Dianne both love French press coffee. The husband are not big fans. Both Elissa and Matt claim that the Ethiopian Misty Valley Yirgacheffe are their favourite beans they’ve ever roasted; we’ll make sure to try those soon!

The three daughters of Matt and Elissa are all big supporters of Picadilly. Read what their Mama wrote about that:

From helping sticker bags, to cleaning tables and passing out free stickers or coffee; they love every second of it. Our oldest, especially, takes it very seriously and can’t wait to be able to do more to help. She has been brewing our morning coffee at home for a couple of years now. She’s even taken it upon herself to teach her little sisters too. If they see someone wearing Picadilly merch, they love running up to say that it’s their business! 

Dianne enjoyed a Salted Caramel Latté during rush hour last week, and returned later in the day to find the shop much calmer. Chatting with fellow patrons during the morning visit was very enjoyable. However, the second visit allowed for a wonderful gab session with Bekah, a Picadilly employee. She was an absolute gem herself and went above and beyond to pour a delicious (and adorable) Lavender Latté. It’s now Dianne’s favourite way to drink coffee…

We live 20 minutes from town, but take every opportunity we can to support Picadilly and “forget” to make our own coffee at home when we’re heading into town. Even Bertus doesn’t mind and is always pleased with his simple black coffee with two sugars. We hope Picadilly will stay in Sussex for a long time, just so we get to enjoy it!