Former Earl's chain executive buys string of local coffee shops

Willie Mounzer 'can take us to next level,' Artigiano co-owner says
Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
October 04, 2006

Caffe Artigiano owners Vince and Sam Piccolo have sold the popular Vancouver coffee chain to former Earl's Restaurants executive Willie Mounzer for an undisclosed price.

"He's better able to move the company forward than I am," Vince Piccolo said in an interview Tuesday. "He has more retail experience and more experience with large volumes of staff. He can take us to the next level."

Mounzer assumes control of the retail operations but the Piccolo family retains ownership of a North Burnaby coffee roasting plant, which will continue to supply Caffe Artigiano with coffee beans.

Co-owner Sam Piccolo will continue to work on the retail side of Caffe Artigiano.

Caffe Artigiano, with four Vancouver outlets and one in West Vancouver, specializes in espresso coffee and "latte art," where staff decorate beverages with milk and espresso. The first location opened at Pender and Thurlow in 2000 and Sam Piccolo was judged the best barista in Canada at the first Canadian Barista Championship in 2003.

Mounzer, who left Earl's Restaurants in June after a 24-year career with the Vancouver restaurant chain, said he was attracted by the quality of the "premium-casual" coffee shops.

"Their standards for quality are exactly what my standards are," he said in an interview. "When I first walked in and saw them, I thought this was everything a coffee shop should be."

Mounzer said Sam Piccolo will continue to work on the retail side of the business while Vince focuses on the coffee roasting operation, which Mounzer may buy into at a later date.

Mounzer helped Earl's grow from a single restaurant in 1982 into a 52-restaurant chain, with locations throughout Western Canada and the U.S., but he's not certain about future expansion of the Caffe Artigiano brand.

"It wouldn't be very hard for me to take it everywhere but I'm not sure about that yet," he said. "It's also nice just to have a few in Vancouver and just enjoy your life."

Mounzer said he wants to learn more about the coffee business from the Piccolo family before deciding about the company's future.

"But down the road, if everything works well, I think there's room for more premium-casual coffee shops in other markets."

A South Korean businessman operates two Caffe Artigiano outlets in that country, under a licensing arrangement with the Vancouver chain.

Vince Piccolo said he rejected many buyout offers from others in the past but Mounzer's proposal made a good fit and the price was right.

"We built this with our own hands back in 2000 so it will always be a part of us," he said. "I wanted to hand it over to someone who can do a great job with it so I can feel proud when I walk into a store in a couple of years."