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Vancouver · Canada

49th Parallel Coffee Roasters

Since 2004 · Vince Piccolo, Michael Piccolo

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Overview

49th Parallel was founded in Vancouver in 2004 by brothers Vince Piccolo (CEO) and Michael Piccolo (Head Roaster), opening their first Kitsilano cafe on West 4th Avenue in 2007 and adding the Main Street location and the Lucky's Doughnuts sister brand in 2012. Often described as Canada's original third-wave roaster, the company runs a direct-trade sourcing program with two coffee buyers traveling Central America and Africa annually, paying producers three to four times commodity market price. In January 2019, the Piccolos took strategic investment from Claridge Inc. — the family office of Stephen Bronfman — to expand product portfolio and distribution into the US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Known for

  • Brothers Vince and Michael Piccolo founding team
  • Lucky's Doughnuts sister brand (since 2012)
  • Pays producers 3–4× commodity market price
  • Claridge Inc. (Bronfman family office) strategic investment (2019)
  • Often cited as Canada's original third-wave coffee roaster

Why it matters

49th Parallel is the reference point for Canadian specialty coffee in the way Stumptown and Intelligentsia are for the US — the operation that established a national producer-relationship model and seeded the Vancouver scene that followed. The Lucky's Doughnuts sister brand showed that specialty coffee could anchor a broader retail experience without diluting the coffee.

Production

head roaster
Michael Piccolo
roastery location
Vancouver, BC

Café

Kitsilano (2198 West 4th Ave); Main Street (2902 Main St); Downtown Thurlow (Georgia & Thurlow); North Vancouver (93 Lonsdale Ave)

Sources

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