Image: Facebook / Smoking Gun Coffee / A Yale Road roasters Smoking Gun Coffee are up for a Small Business B.C. E-Commerce award for their unique website that sells beans and swag.

By Don Mitchell

Business award

Chilliwack’s Smoking Gun Coffee finalist for Small Business BC E-commerce award

Sep 19, 2024 | 11:41 AM

CHILLIWACK — A small Chilliwack coffee shop’s online platform, which sells beans and brew gear, has put it in the running for a Small Business BC (SBBC) Award.

Smoking Gun Coffee on Yale Road has made the final three in a category recognizing excellence in e-commerce among 400 participating businesses across the province.

“They focused on building a fun and unique online experience with appealing visuals and interesting information and recipes,” the SBBC acknowledged in a release revealing Smoking Gun’s achievement.

“Events like their annual virtual blind coffee tasting help the business maintain a personal connection with their customers.”

Following up on a Best New Business Award from Chilliwack’s Chamber of Commerce earlier in 2024, the roasters excel at creating small batches of locally roasted, ethically sourced coffee.

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The brick-and-mortar location in historic District 1881 downtown has been open since 2020, bearing the slogan “Coffee for All,” which suggests they have a coffee to suit all tastes and preferences.

On their nomination page, the roastery revealed “a huge increase” in online sales after converting their website from a café-centric “come visit us” portal to a full e-commerce shopping experience.

“We infused as much fun and personality into our e-commerce store as we could to provide the same fun and joyful experience online that customers in our brick-and-mortar cafe enjoy, “ Smoking Gun said in their SBBC application.

“We also utilize our chatbot to provide real-time answers to customers’ questions. We regularly are chatting with people to help them figure out what coffee they might like.”

Competitors in this year’s E-Commerce category include the French-inspired Atome Bakery, which delivers bread across B.C., Alberta, and Washington State, as well as Vancouver’s Sapiens Child Design Inc., which manufactures child-sized furniture.

The 21st Annual Small Business BC Awards winners will be announced on November 1 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with over $20,000 in prizes across four award categories.