05/29/2026
We are so happy for our friends Erin and Jon and their new venture in our town! As one of the original inspirations for our moving to the area, we love that they continue to grow and inspire. And props to friend Laura Boyko for her work in securing the sale! Can’t wait to see how this project develops. 🥂
After many months of planning, environmental review, financing, engineering discussions, and behind the scenes work, we are incredibly excited to officially announce that Sissiboo Coffee Roaster Ltd. is closing today on the former Sail Shed property at 164 Prince Albert Road in Annapolis Royal.
A huge shout out of gratitude to our incredible realtor, Laura Boyko, who guided us through unfamiliar territory with professionalism, encouragement, and trust throughout the entire process. Likewise, a sincere thank you to the Seller, whose patience and understanding were greatly appreciated during a process that ultimately took a little longer than expected.
This marks the beginning of a major new chapter for our company and a long term investment in both local manufacturing and the future of our region.
The property includes over 11 acres of waterfront industrial and commercial space, including the well-known warehouse building and boathouse overlooking the Annapolis Basin. Over time, the site will become the future home of expanded Sissiboo Coffee roasting operations along with additional opportunities for light industrial, marine, commercial, and community focused development.
For quite some time, many people in the immediate community quietly knew that the Seller had accepted our offer, and we are deeply appreciative of the discretion, encouragement, and support we received while working through the many complexities involved in bringing a project of this scale together.
What began in 2009 as a small rural coffee roasting company in Bear River has steadily grown through the support of our customers, staff, wholesale partners, and community. Today, Sissiboo Coffee employs 14 people, supplies cafés, restaurants, inns, grocers, and tourism destinations across Nova Scotia, and roasts thousands of pounds of coffee each week right here in rural Nova Scotia.
This new property will allow us to continue growing while creating a more efficient and modern production facility designed around quality, sustainability, innovation, and long term capacity.
While there is still a tremendous amount of work ahead, our immediate focus will be preparing the main warehouse building for coffee roasting operations, including equipment installation, ventilation systems, production layout improvements, and phased building upgrades.
Longer term, we see enormous potential in the property itself. We believe this site can once again become an active and vibrant part of Annapolis Royal’s waterfront economy while respecting the working and historical nature of the area.
We also want to sincerely thank the many organizations, advisors, contractors, engineers, lenders, public agencies, and supporters who helped us reach this point. Projects like this truly take a village.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who has supported Sissiboo Coffee over the years. Every cup of coffee, every bag purchased, every wholesale account, every kind word, and every recommendation helped make this possible.
We are incredibly excited for what comes next and look forward to sharing the journey with all of you. We will also be announcing an Open Gate Day soon, so stay tuned and we’ll show you around.
Jon and Erin Welch
