Holy Smoke Coffee No doubt you have seen the unique building that houses Holy Smoke Coffee on the King George Highway in South Surrey. The eye catching drive-thru tepee that at times has a little smoke pouring out of their sign as an added attraction. The tepee is one of the most unique business structures around. The brains and passion behind this one of a kind coffee shop is Al Nemeth. Tale of the Tepee Grandpa spotted the drive-thru tepee as we rounded the bend and said, "Holy Smoke, kid. Stop the wagon." There she sat, big as life and twice as pretty, with a For rent sign out front. The realtor said the stucco tepee was built in the early 1990's for a reason he forgot and needed a proper owner. Grandpa was far from proper but we were able to get a lease without too much fuss. In the old days, people bought their coffee fresh-roasted in small batches from their local roaster. Grandpa wanted to bring those days back by turning the tepee into the Holy Smoke Coffe Company. Our coffee would be made with the richest Fair Trade beans from Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Columbia, and without the chemicals and pesticides used on those big plantations. With a bit of elbow grease and a little help from our friends, we opened on a clear spring day. Everyone we knew and a couple of folks we didn't came by and we sold fewer cups of coffee than we expected. Now that I recall, we couldn't give it away. "Open a coffee shack and they will come." Grandpa told me. He had taught me how to roast coffee but not a lick about running the business. Grandpa scared off more customers than he brought in during our first days by waving at the traffic. By the end of the month all I could say was, "Why won't they stop?" Grandpa said I should feel sorry for them on account of they didn't know what they were missing.Summer faded and autumn came around. Grandpa left me to man the tepee while he went off to his hunting grounds in Palm Springs. "Don't worry, kid," he told me. They will show. I stuck out a lighted sign with "The coffee is always on at the tepee" and "When we're smoking, we're open" and with smoke pouring out of the top it helped people find us. Before winter, they started to pull into the tepee, drawn by the aroma of fresh roasted coffee. The word had spread that Holy Smoke had the best coffee in town. Now if I could talk those bus drivers into stopping by Holy Smoke on their morning runs, I'd be rich by noon. (Maybe to entice the drivers I should give them a free cup) Custom Coffee Roaster The tepee is a welcome sight to the commuters in need of a cup of joe to help them get to work on time. Nemeth calls his shop a commuter business. The coffee is on by 5:30 a.m. and the business starts winding down by noon. There is no better way to start your day than with a cup of premium coffee and a smile. His socially responsible business always offers free coffee to local community events. Holy Smoke Coffee is a small innovative company that offers fresh hand roasted organic coffee by the cup and whole beans by the jar to keep the coffee fresh and tasty longer. Besides supporting your caffeine habit, when you purchase coffee from Holy Smoke, you will also be taking part in the movement to help some of the world's most impoverished farmers. Holy Smoke Coffee offers Fair Trade beans from Guatemala, Cost Rica, Columbia grown naturally without any harmful chemicals and pesticides. The unique flavor of just-roasted coffee is unparalleled. Go ahead and have another cup---it's for a good cause. Do yourself a favor and try "White Rock's Finest" coffee and support a small local business. Also available at CHOICES MARKET in White Rock.