‘It’s tough’: Sask. coffee shop owner struggling due to bean shortage, inflation

The rising cost of doing business is leaving a bitter taste in one Saskatchewan coffee shop owner’s mouth.

Ken MacMurchy is the co-owner of Brewed Awakening, which has three locations in Regina, and one in Calgary.

He said due to drought in Brazil and Vietnam, there have been coffee bean shortages that have driven up the price.

“It’s some of the biggest increases we’ve seen, and I’ve been doing this for the last 14 years,” he said.

A number of factors have also made things harder for MacMurchy as a business owner — like shipping costs doubling, the minimum wage increase, inflation and paying back CEBA loans.

Despite all these challenges, MacMurchy has decided to not increase prices for customers, yet.

“You can only charge so much for your cup of coffee, so it’s a tough one,” he said. “We’re just kind of waiting to see.”

But he said increasing the cost is likely inevitable.

Ken and Lisa MacMurchy took part in Country Thunder selling coffee and baked goods to festival fans. July 13, 2024 (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

MacMurchy also faces another challenge when food chains like McDonald’s offer $1 coffee deals.

“I’m not a giant conglomerate like these guys, and that’s that’s tough on us local guys,” he said.

He hopes that people continue to shop and support local, but he also understands that everything is expensive for everyone.

He acknowledges his business isn’t the only one that’s struggling.

“We’ve seen quite a few restaurant coffee shops come and go lately and it’s not a good sign, because there’s going to be less and less choice if this keeps happening,” MacMurchy said.

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He’s cautiously optimistic about the future.

“I’m just hoping that inflation starts to level out a bit,” he said. “But there’s a lot of disruption in the world right now with wars and everything else going on. Bad weather causes bad crops, and then there’s things like shipping, and there’s been strikes, and there’s been just so much stuff that’s been just hard as far as inflation goes.”

He’s thankful for the local community members who do support his business.

“I think we can continue to sustain what we’re doing,” MacMurchy said. ” But if it continues to get worse, and inflation and things like that keep attacking us, it’s going to be tough.”

Coffee prices expected to rise till the holiday season

Sylvain Charlebois, Director, Agri-Food Analytic Labs at Dalhousie University, said coffee prices are at a 13 year high.

“That’s due to the fact that the top two producers in the world, both Brazil and Vietnam are impacted by droughts, and so production is lower,” he said. “So buyers have to spend more to get their Arabica beans, in particular.”

He expects the price of the popular bean will remain high.

“We are expecting retail prices to be impacted over next little while,” Charlebois said.

“For food service it’s a little bit more complicated, because there appears to be a bit of a price war out there, led by McDonald’s offering a cup of coffee at $1, so that could entice many change to keep prices as low as possible despite higher costs.”

He said people in countries like India and China are starting to drink more coffee as well, increasing demand. Effects of climate change are also making growing coffee beans increasingly challenging.

Charlebois said the future of coffee could be in a laboratory.

As for coffee lovers, he suggests to stock up on coffee now, as he predicts prices will rise until the holidays.

— with files from 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink