A local entrepreneur continues his mission to bring neighbours together.

Rick Abma will soon be serving up his Good Neighbour Coffee at a new coffee shop in the heart of downtown Lacombe; he's working with a Board of Directors to launch the Good Neighbour CoffeeHouse on 49B Avenue.
 
Abma explains how his passion to develop community among neighhours and his love of coffee led him to launch the Good Neighbour brand “I began to experiment with the roasting and learning how several years ago, it was the same time that I found out that the people I lived amongst in Honduras with my four children and my wife, actually grew a really good bean which I began to import with the help of others across the country. I buy the majority of beans and have a direct relationship with this co-op of the people that used to be my friends when I lived (there), still are my friends and now we roast this to the capacity of 9,000 lbs”.

It's that roasting of coffee which will be a focal point in the Good Neighbour CoffeeHouse with roasting on site, and 30-40 seats for neighbours to connect over their favourite cup of Joe.

Dennis Hainsworth, Dave Hughes, and Nathan Toornstra are among the Board of Directors.

Hainsworth says this concept is a great fit for Lacombe “I think it’s going to provide something that isn’t here and that’s a high end coffee establishment with a really unique product plus an open, warm, friendly, inviting atmosphere”.

Hughes is also really excited about their offering “we are going to be in a position to offer the freshest coffee that you’re going to find in Lacombe. We expect that you will be able to have a coffee that has been produced from freshly roasted beans within the hour perhaps”.

The Good Neighbour CoffeeHouse hopes to open its doors this May.
 
As for Abma, there's no slowing him down, he's just back from pitching his Good Neighbour Coffee brand at season 12 auditions for CBC's hit show Dragons' Den.

You can learn more about Abma’s Neighbourhood Life Mission, and Good Neighbour Coffee , watch for Good Neighbour CoffeeHouse updates @GNCoffeeHouse