bcbusiness.ca october 2016 BCBusiness 53
C
offee practically runs in John neate's
blood. born in north Vancouver, the
third-generation coffee-seller joined
his grandfather's wholesale company,
neate's coffee, at age 22. but a dispute
between the company's partners resulted in its
sale to nestle in 1990, with the younger neate
joining the multinational corporation as part
of the deal. after six years with nestle, neate
knew he needed to rekindle the family business
with a hyperlocal focus.
since opening its first location on Vancou-
ver's commercial Drive in 1996, JJ bean has
eschewed the cookie-cutter approach of larger
coffee chains in favour
of slow, conscious
growth. its 17 Vancouver
stores are each individu-
ally designed to reflect
the neighbourhood, and
its daily roasted coffee
and house-baked goods have endeared the
chain to both casual drinkers and coffee nerds
in Vancouver's heavily saturated market. neate
hopes to replicate the success in toronto, where
two JJ bean locations have so far opened this
year. "We only want special places. We want to
honour the communities we serve." –J.B.
D
aniel Frankel is the first to
admit he's "always had a
thing for big, ballsy, standout
locations." From his start
running a rudimentary sandwich
stand in coal Harbour in 2001,
Frankel quickly grew his empire
to include the Mill Marine bistro,
on the edge of Vancouver's coal
Harbour, and Delilah's, a fine-dining
institution in the city's West end.
but with a growing and disparate
collection of properties, Frankel
opted in 2012 to make another
ballsy move: divesting from all his
businesses to concentrate on build-
ing the tap and barrel brand. From
its original location in the olympic
Village, tap and barrel now has
five locations in the Vancouver
area, including Western canada's
largest restaurant—a 740-seat
flagship location on the north
Vancouver waterfront—and
two smaller tapshack locations
situated on opposite ends of
Vancouver's seawall. the company
is on track to open 25 restaurants
by 2025. –J.B.
John Neate
CEO and Founder, JJ Bean Inc.
r u nn e r - u p
Daniel Frankel
Founder and CEO,
Tap & Barrel Brands Ltd.
r u nn e r - u p
