Located at the entrance to the University of British Columbia, The Boulevard Coffee Roasting Co. is a local, grassroots business with strong ties to its community. It's founder, John Chen, started the company when he was a Ph.D student in the Experimental Medicine program at UBC. Having lamented over the state of coffee available on campus, John decided to take matters into his own hands and start a company that can offer coffee worthy of UBC.

John has a proven dedication to community contribution and leadership. He is the recipient of several humanitarian service awards and his volunteer experience ranges from helping handicapped children in Indonesia to building homes in Africa.

The Boulevard Coffee Roasting Co. currently has a number of programs that positively impacts both the local and global community:

100% Fair Trade Certified Coffees - All of our coffees are Fair Trade certified by Transfair. By doing so, we ensure quality of life for the farmers and quality of coffee for you.

Support of Local Organizations - At least once a month, the Boulevard Coffee Roasting Co. donates money, coffee, and/or its space to students and local organizations ranging from Engineers Without Borders to the World AIDS Day event.

Support of Local Artists - The Boulevard Coffee Roasting Co. operates a gallery for talented and exceptional local artists to display their work. Taking the unique position of not charging any commission whatsoever, 100% of all proceeds from the sale of artwork go directly back to the artists themselves.

Coffee Kids (www.coffeekids.org) – Founded by coffee roaster Bill Fishbein in 1988, Coffee Kids is an international nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. From improving local education to providing much needed healthcare, Coffee Kids helps build sustainable communities and improves the quality of life for children and families who live in coffee-growing areas around the world. In support of this great organization, The Boulevard Coffee Roasting Co. donates $0.25 for every pound of retail coffee sold to Coffee Kids.