A Cup Of Whoa

Whether it’s pioneering on-site roasting, serving co ee in a cone or seeking out investors on national TV, doing things di erently comes naturally to Diana Olsen, founder of Balzac’s Coffee Roasters.

- Ingrie Williams

AS THE SELF-DESCRIBED DIRECTOR OF EXPERIENCE AT Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, Diana Olsen did her research in the late ’80s and early ’90s when she moved from Vancouver to Paris to study French and work as an au pair.

“I spent a lot of time roaming the streets and sticking out like a tourist because of the way I dressed,” she says. “I didn’t look like a chic Parisian girl, but I’d go into the cafés and feel a real sense of belonging. You only have to spend a few bucks and everybody makes you feel welcome.” The historic settings also caught her eye. “I loved that concept of being in a beautiful space,” she says. “In cafés that have been there for hundreds of years.”

After returning to Canada and feeling drained by a desk bound finance job, Olsen says her imagination continued to be captured by old-world café culture while big-brand coffeehouses were just taking flight.

“In the back of my mind, I knew I would start a business,” she says. “I was just waiting, percolating – no pun intended – on ideas. I created Balzac’s as a fantasy, merging my love for coffee, design, the café and my experience with French culture and language. My vision was to do something more authentic.”

She named her company after Honoré de Balzac, a 19th century French novelist and java lover who famously wrote about coffee and hung out in cafés. His impact runs deep throughout the company. “He has a quote that the café is the people’s parliament, and that’s our mission statement,” she says. “We intentionally make our spaces so that they don’t just appeal to one demographic. The inspiration was that feeling of inclusiveness that those cafés had for a lonely traveller to sit down and feel part of something.”