A new coffee shop opened downtown last week. It’s called Revelstoke Coffee.
And by downtown, I mean downtown Concord, New Hampshire.
According to Google Maps it’s roughly 4,500 km away, or a 44 hour drive (depending on traffic) or a 898 hour hike (depending on snack stops).
Revelstoke has gone international. At least, when it comes to coffee.
| The couple say they wanted to do something similar to the Explorers Society Hotel in Revelstoke. (Liam Harrap/Revelstoke Review) |
Two years ago the couple went on a road trip from Vancouver to Calgary along Highway 1. In Vancouver, the night before they started driving they went for fried chicken and asked the bar tender where to stop on their adventure.
“He said we must check out Revelstoke, ” says Alex Stoyle, the other owner.
“He raved about the bars, restaurants and mountains. We had never heard of Revelstoke.”
And so the couple noted the city on their map and booked a room at the Explorers Society Hotel.
“We woke up the next day with mountains on all sides. It was beautiful,” says Stoyle.
They liked the design of the hotel and wanted to do something similar.
“We were inspired. It had a vibe we liked. We thought we could do something similar,” says Stoyle.
| The Revelstoke Coffee owners Lyndsey Cole and Alex Stoyle. (Submitted) |
“You see it on Instagram and it looks beautiful. But you get there and it’s swarming with people,” says Stoyle.
“It’s a selfie station.”
They preferred the slower vibe and pace of Revelstoke.
“There’s much more a sense of discovery with Revelstoke,” says Stoyle.
“The scenery is like no other place. You see something that amazes you one moment and then you turn a corner and see another. It never stops.”
According to the company’s website, Revel means to enjoy oneself and stoke means to consume for energy.
“We like the way those things fit together,” says the website.
The couple love to travel. Whenever they go to a new spot, they always check out the coffee shops and bars first.
“Bar tenders are great tour guides. They always know where to go,” says Stoyle.
On weekends in New Hampshire, they would travel up to two hours to explore new coffee shops. They say they wanted to create a place that others would travel to. Like Revelstoke.
“Revelstoke is a destination. We want to be like that,” says Stoyle.
Over a year ago, the couple got a space in downtown Concord in the Eagle Hotel, across from the state house. The building is from the mid-1800s. They had never renovated a space like this before.
“We spent a lot of time learning what to do on YouTube,” says Stoyle with a laugh.
Cole designed it, while Stoyle and his dad built the bar and the furniture. The couple say they wanted to bring a sense of adventure to Concord, the kind that Revelstoke offers.
The name alone is a talking point.
“Everyone always asks us about the name,” says Cole.
The couple say roughly about 10 per cent of people ask if it’s named after the mountain town in B.C.
“And for the ones that don’t know Revelstoke, we always say they have to go,” says Cole.
“We can’t say enough good things.”
The couple say they would love to return for a visit, but will probably be too busy for the next couple years. They have a business to run.
@pointypeak701
liam.harrap@revelstokereview.com
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