Well, the Lounge is dead. It has been laid to rest. After almost 7 years it was time to say goodbye to "Lounge" and hello to "Black Sheep Coffee Roasters". We haven't gone anywhere, we just had to update our name to more appropriately suit what we are- a coffee roaster! In 2013, 2 years before we opened our doors, we chose the name Black Sheep Lounge for our small Welland café. It was meant to be a caffeine and community hub for the downtown. After a year we somehow turned into a restaurant- and because of the word "lounge", many people mistook us for a bar. On top of this, we discovered that the graphic artist that designed our...
What is "Direct-Trade" anyway? How we source our coffee: When you are buying coffee, you will see an array of different tags (fair trade, specialty, 100% arabica, organic, rainforest certified, etc.). It can be incredibly overwhelming in the beginning of your coffee journey to decipher this code. In this short blog we will cover specifically "Direct-Trade", why it's important, and how we fit in to the picture. Direct-Trade coffee is when a specialty roaster establishes, and builds upon relationships with farmers across the globe; with the intention on increasing the farmers quality of life, their ability to grow, the quality of the coffee, as well as build on sustainability practices. As it says in the name,...
MBS is an acronym that can be seen on a few products and items at our cafe and on our site! Cupcakes, candles, and other goodies adorn this cute little nickname given to the Matriarch of the Black Sheep; Lucas' mom- Melissa! If you haven't figured it out by now, MBS stands for "Momma Black Sheep". Around 2016 Melissa started making cupcakes for special occasions to sell at the shop and quickly customers fell in love. Within a few months people were coming in asking for cupcakes from Momma Black Sheep and the name stuck. After a year of making candles at home, MBS turned her hobby into a business; selling her "MBS Specialty Candles". These...
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lucas Spinosa, owner of The Black Sheep Lounge, located in Welland, Ontario, Canada.
