By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
Coffee lovers may have been delighted to see the opening of Starbucks Coffee in Osoyoos not long ago, but Oliver residents now have their own coffee joint to cheer about with the opening of a new Blenz Coffee outlet last week.
The outlet located next to Dairy Queen and beside the recently opened Freshslice Pizza is operated by the same franchise owner as Dairy Queen.
Don Urquhart photo
For Blenz Oliver manager Laphvir Kaur, or “Lucky”, the experience working in Blenz is a “different experience” than her previous jobs working in fast food restaurants on the island. She says this is because fast food is “grab and go and here we need to make a connection with people, get to know about them, and they will know about me,” she laughs.
Kaur says the offering of food and drinks is essentially the same as larger outlets such as Penticton, despite the more constrained size of the Oliver branch.
When asked if she anticipates competition will spring up between the Osoyoos Starbucks and the Oliver Blenz, she said, “No, it’s different, we offer a different experience.”
And Blenz is Canadian, she noted as compared with Starbucks which hails from south of the border, something that is becoming increasingly important for consumers.
Blenz’ Oliver manager Laphvir Kaur, or “Lucky” and her team look forward to serving new customers and making new friends.
Don Urquhart photo
As for her recommendation for someone looking to experience Blenz for the first time, she points to a Café Mocha either hot or iced. The reason for her choice is the fact Blenz doesn’t use powdered chocolate like many other coffee chains, rather, it uses single-origin Colombian chocolate chips, a specialty of Blenz.
Blenz Coffee in Oliver is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is located at 6422 Main St Unit #1, Oliver.
