Cochrane’s Java Jamboree will not only be staying open in Cochrane, it will continue to be run by local ‘women in business.’
Java Jamboree announced Feb. 13 that Jennifer Lane and Brandy Hoffman would be taking over as owners as of April 1.
Former owner Jessica Johnston had posted a letter on the shop’s Facebook page Jan. 14 that they would be closing, as it had ‘been made virtually impossible’ for Java Jamboree to continue to run their business ‘in a sustainable way’ and that their rent ‘continues to increase with little to no consideration for these small, independently owned businesses.’
Lane, a regular at the shop, decided that she could not let this happen.
Lane and Hoffman met around six years ago while working at Suncor Energy and remain friends. Lane approached Hoffman with the idea of owning the business and the two agreed to pursue it, meeting with Johnston several times.
“It was a piece of Cochrane that we wanted to have stay. We didn’t want to see something like that go,” said Hoffman, adding that they are staying with the same coffee roasters.
Lane agreed, adding that ‘independent businesses are what make a community.’
“If Cochrane was to be overrun by the ‘box stores’ we would loose the essence of what is Cochrane as a town,” Lane said.
But Lane also pointed out that having some of those bigger stores is what keeps people in town – not only shopping at those stores, but local businesses as well. It is a way to ‘keep locals local’, and not having to drive to the city, Lane said.
“We as small businesses need to get crafty. We need to evolve as the town evolves,” said Lane. “It’s all in the way you perceive things. It’s looking at the positives and drawing on that. I think the small businesses locally that stay positive and learn how to promote correctly, they’re going to see success; they won’t get squeezed out due to changes in our economy.”
So far the reactions to Lane and Hoffman continuing the business have been positive.
“We’ve been getting really good feedback,” said Hoffman. “Anyone I’ve told has been really excited for it. Lots have people have been really nice about it and really excited for it.”
“A lot of people wrote me when we said we wanted feedback,” added Lane. “We’re listening to people and we’re taking that feedback and taking it seriously.”
In a previous interview with the Eagle, Lane said to expect a ‘beautiful existing coffee shop by day and a wine bar by night serving specialty wines, local craft beer and tapas-style food items.’ She said they envision having the same relaxing atmosphere and possibly some live acoustic music a couple of nights a week.
Both women plan to keep their current jobs; Hoffman is an operator at Suncor Energy and Lane owns a consulting firm that deals with information and systems management called Right Lane Enterprise.
Lane’s advice for women in business is to ‘not give up’ and be ‘persistent and be aggressive in your pursuit for your dreams.’ She said it is important for women to know their worth and know that they have all the ‘same capabilities as a man when it comes to dealing in business.’
“To me, it’s just getting so exciting as a woman in this day and age to be able to really capitalize on things in the market and there are a lot of niche markets out there. Having that community of women that are working together towards a common goal as far as business focus I think it’s great,” said Lane.
There will be a ‘keeping the dream alive’ celebration April 4 at Java Jamboree celebrating ‘that Java will live on’ with free coffee and cupcakes.
