The red ribbon was cut at Charlie's Coffee Co in the RM of Stanley in the Terra Point building on Hwy 3 on the Northside of the highway on the way to Morden.
Owner Chris Unrau described the inspiration behind the opening a coffee shop.
"My wife Charlotte and I have traveled pretty extensively and one of the things that we love about traveling is coffee, having a really, really good cup of coffee wherever we go. No matter where you go in the world, it seems that people gather around coffee at cafes. Social networking goes on for much of the world. One of the things that was really important to us when we built this building was bringing together community. It's a place where people can come together."
Charissa and Brody Dobson originally opened Charlie's Coffee Co. and were approached by the Unraus to help run their location in the RM of Stanley.
Charissa explained how the partnership moved forward.
"We were very flattered when the Unraus liked what we were doing and recognized our effort there. So, we were very pleased to partner with them. We knew we had some background with the Unrau family, so we knew that any endeavor they undertook would be a successful one. We knew that Chris has the same spirit of risk-taking that my husband and I have and so we were confident they would be good partners to carry the business forward. We're very excited to see what's going to happen and what kind of future growth there will be."
Unrau said there were several things they intentionally put into this Charlie's Coffee Co.
"Charissa has had a lot of great ideas and inspiration for her cafe, so one of the things we really liked was the plant wall. So, we replicated that here as well. Moreover, it's one of these things that's a little bit more intangible and the way we describe it here, 'it's the vibe.' There's a certain vibe when you go into Charlie's Coffee Co in Manitou, and I think we've tried hard to have a similar vibe here. It's friendly, it's welcoming, it's good quality. It speaks to those kinds of themes."
Unrau's daughter is a co-owner, Katie is going into her fifth year at the Asper School of Business and changed tracks from accounting to helping run this business.
Katie said her dad has been a great mentor and has learned a lot on the way too. For her, she loves serving and bringing a cup of joy to people.
Unrau said it was a whole team of people who put this together. Thanking the Dobsons and the staff at Precision Land Solutions and Accupipe Inc.
Dobson added her words of thanks.
"Big thank you to the community because, as we said, when we started it as a risk, and you never know how it's going to be received. And so, we really have had a really warm welcome and warm reception I would say, certainly from the community of Manitou and even further west to people travelling through, and then I think here as well with the communities of Morden, Winkler and the area. So, we really wouldn't be here without them either."
RM of Stanley Reeve Ike Friesen said it's really great to see Charlie's Coffee Co in the area as a new business in the corridor.
"I see a lot of vehicles and I've been here a few times. It's busy, people are enjoying it. It's nice to see. There's definitely more traffic through the whole area. It sure is an asset and I'm sure it will increase other people's interest to grow businesses in this area."
