Amber and Craig Hall, co-owners of local coffee chain Equator Coffee, pose together. Photo courtesy of Amber and Craig Hall.

For Craig Hall, the motivation to open his own coffee business was about fair trade. He encountered this concept in university, where he majored in international development. “I’m entrepreneurial, by nature,” said Craig. “So the idea of trying to start a business that had more direct benefits for people in the [global] south was really appealing to me.”

After graduating, Craig did just that by starting Equator Coffee in 1998, opening its first location along with a coffee roastery in Arnprior. The family-owned business started in a tiny commercial space, said Craig. “I worked at that without getting paid for, I don’t know, a long time,” he said.

At the time, Amber Hall worked as a high school teacher and would pitch in to work at Equator and provide backup. “After our first child came, it was like, ‘Okay, now the business has to take care of us,'” said Craig.

Craig and Amber moved to Almonte in 2005, and there they opened another Equator Coffee cafe and roastery. They have since opened up other locations in Westboro Village and in the National Arts Centre downtown.

Asked about what she loves about running Equator, Amber said, “I love the team. We’ve created like an extension of our family.” She added that she appreciates the ability to be a part of people’s lives, mentor them, and then see them go on to do great things.

“I think you can do business better than a lot of people think you can,” said Craig. “This idea that ‘business is business,’ and that means you can be a jerk is not acceptable.”

He said he appreciates that they’ve been able to have their values, and create a friendly work environment and still be profitable and growing. “It’s not that easy in this business,” said Craig. “It’s a pretty low-margin business.”

“You can do the best you can. I’m pretty proud of that. And I would encourage other business people to try their best as well,” said Craig.

Amber said they are looking forward to reopening Equator’s training centre in Almonte, which offers workshops and tours of the roastery for employees and the public alike. The centre’s workshops teach participants how to craft a cup of coffee, how to approach coffee tasting, and how to brew coffee as well as espresso.

Reflecting on whether they have achieved what they aimed to do with Equator Coffee, Craig said, “I would say we’ve done very well, staying to our original goals of having a business that met our needs as a family, but also employed people in the community we live in, and paid fair prices to farmers. And we’ve seen it. We know we’ve had a really big impact from that.”

For those interested in learning more and ordering coffee from Equator Coffee, visit their website, Facebook and Instagram!