Houseboat serving coffee growing popular in Kenora

A Kenora man has combined his love of boating and a good cup of coffee into a thriving business.

Jeremy Brown owns Nautical Coffee, which he runs from his houseboat, and serves people on the water.

"I love coffee and I love boating, and Nautical Coffee is both," Brown told CTV Morning Live Winnipeg. "I just thought it was a good way to get to do two passions at once and still make a living, and that's what I'm trying to do with this business."

Brown, who was previously a fishing guide, started the company in 2020 as a project during the pandemic. He sold a house, bought a houseboat and installed a coffee roaster in the boat. A year later, he offered his first samples of coffee, and it has become a hit.

"The green beans, I order in from my importers out in Vancouver and then I bring it to the boat and I roast it on the boat," Brown said. "It's kind of like going out fishing, except I'm coming back with coffee."

Brown said his unique setup for brewing coffee also adds to the flavour.

"I've got a fluid bed roaster with an air roaster, so it brings in the cool air from the lake, fresh lake air, which I think adds to the smoothness of the coffee," he said.

Brown sells packages of roasted coffee at stores in Kenora, and also parks his houseboat on different parts of the lake for people to stop and order coffee. His daily location is shared on Instagram.

-With files from CTV's Rachel Lagace