Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — Tariff spin offs are affecting Muskoka from your morning coffee to your evening brew.

Baristas and beer meisters are busy keeping up with minute by minute changes on the national trade front.

And the District of Muskoka is helping turn “lemons into lemonade” with a tariffs website hub here to connect concerned citizens, says Luke Preston, regional economic development officer.

“Overall the hub helps businesses and the community navigate some of these uncertainties,” he says.

As of yesterday, the hub’s had 2,000 hits and engagements its first month up, since he took on the coordinating task.

“Businesses and residents can access resources, and from that be able to make informed decisions. So while challenges exist I think Muskoka is well-positioned to respond pro-actively.”

He said the “biggest concerns revolve around rising costs, supply chain disruptions and just the overall uncertainty that is hour by hour almost.

“Businesses that import from or export to the U.S. are most likely going to be feel the most direct impact. Particularly in manufacturing.”

But he couldn’t put his finger on any one business feeling pain the most so far.

It’s still early days, he says, adding it’s mostly been business organizations like the chambers of commerce and economic development departments at Muskoka municipalities accessing the hub and offering resources.

However there are many links from across Ontario and Canada, such as the latest on assistance programs for businesses and workers.

It also has a short survey (due to “survey fatigue) of two questions about whether your business imports or exports to the U.S.; and what challenges are you facing?

“It’s meant to be a one-stop source to guide people as everyone is looking for the latest information as the situation evolves.”

Preston highlights those in red with daily updates as he learns and shares them.

“Let’s be honest, the reason there is so many eyes on this is because the impact long term impacts is that it changes almost daily.

“And for a lot of owner-operated businesses, you’re trying to run a business during the day and get in touch with people in the evening and do your books. That’s a lot.

“So anything we can do to point people in the right direction they can reach out to me or their chambers and their area economic development staffs who will direct them to the right resources.

“There are lots of roundtables and webinars going on for businesses to glean information about best practices and what everyone else is doing.”

Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce executive director Meaghan Pratt says she’s heard American tourism may be up this summer due to the green buck being worth more north of the 49^th.

Meanwhile, big local manufacturers like Kimberly Clark, which ships most of the tissue products it makes in Huntsville across the border, will definitely be affected.

And Fenner Dunlop, the conveyor belt maker in Bracebridge.

In Burk’s Falls Brawo Lofthouse Manufacturing, which has for 40 years been manufacturing on-site custom tool production and advanced forging and machining parts, is expected to be another regional business feeling the brunt of Trump’s punitive policies.

Canada’s ‘No. 1’ premium coffee roaster

And while eggs prices have notoriously skyrocketed down south, one snowbird who booked a holiday beforehand says they were asked to bring coffee for the same java jarring reason.

Jordan Neudorf, marketing manager for Muskoka Roastery in Huntsville, has the answer for those travellers.

Pack their suitcases with bags of their “Big Four” coffees: Black Bear, Howling Wolf, Loon Call Breakfast Blend and Muskoka Maple.

Muskoka Roastery is “owned operated and made in Canada.

“We’re as Canadian as you can get,” the effervescent sales head says.

“It’s really interesting to see that people want to choose truly Canadian.”

And she’s getting lots of calls now for coffee produced in Canada.

“We are definitely the biggest — the No. 1 Canadian premium coffee. If you’re talking about Canadian ownership, we are the largest from the premium perspective.”

Tim Hortons is largely owned by a Brazilian company, she says, “and we’re trying to get our message out.”

Muskoka Roastery, which imports its green beans from several Central and South American countries and Africa — through a Canadian coffee broker — roasts and blends the beans it brings in here and packs the coffee at their Huntsville factory employing 17 people.

“That is the one thing we can’t do here, because like all the other roasters we physically can’t grow the beans here. Just because of the climate. We source them from eight different countries (Kenya, Columbia, Ethiopia and Costa Rica among them). They really just require warm climate. Which in Muskoka up here we don’t really have.”

The beans are “100 per cent premium top grade Arabica.”

Neudorf said “all of our roasts are blended beans, which means we don’t do any single-source origins. Cause that’s where the creativity comes in to play as we can put all the notes and origins in from the different counties.”

Muskoka Roastery’s most popular brews are its Big Four associated with nearby Algonquin Park. They are “very widely available” in the major grocers mostly in Ontario with a few out east and west. Though they are looking to expand.

There are also numerous other roasts available in Muskoka with all available online.

“We’ve always been very widely available in Huntsville and Muskoka. That’s really kind of kept on. But where we’ve kind of noticed the difference is in the GTA and through our other major grocery channels. We’re just noticing larger orders there.

“As people are taking that shift from buying American coffees they want to find a Canadian alternative. And the retailers may want to bring in some of our other roasts.”

Sales on the Muskoka-based company’s website were up 50 per cent in February, “which is obviously significant.

“But “it’s not only the sales,” but the exposure for the company. Traffic online has gone up 140 per cent, thanks to media coverage.

“Now all those best performing search words have been about Canada. So ‘Canadian coffee,’ ‘Best Canadian coffee’ and ‘Coffee made in Canada’” are bringing new customers to Muskoka Roastery — which will ship anywhere in Canada and the U.S. via their website.

Unfortunately there is no longer a retail store at the roaster and they closed their café during COVID because they were growing so fast and needed the office space. In the back parking lot is their factory.

Muskoka Roastery is still owned by Doug and Pat Snell who founded it in 2000 and have now welcomed co-owner Doug Burns. They are located at the south end of Huntsville’s Main Street at the Hwy. 11 entrance to town.

Neudorf says there are no plans yet for expansion as a result of the tariffs and all the “Buy Canadian” movements.

So does this mean more jobs?

“I don’t know if it’s happened quite yet, but if the ball keeps rolling like it has, and we keep getting that increased distribution? Then yeah, that would be the hope. That we’d need more space and more people to pack the coffee.”

Order from their website here.

 

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