The History of Canaltown Coffee Roasters

Canaltown opened its first store on August 5, 1991. A conceptual idea founded by Bill and Ruth Anne Fisher. Bill was a Kodak retiree of 33 years, and Ruth Anne a whimsical creator of fun and liveliness. Bill and Ruth Anne lived in Charlotte NC, and had been traveling around the country in search of great coffee, coffee roasters and coffeehouses.

They joined the Specialty Coffee Association of America in 1990. Bill, being the Purist and perfectionist that he is, and Ruth Anne’s passion for bringing people together, along with their combined love of the bean, decided to become coffee roasters and open Canaltown Coffee Roasters in their hometown, Rochester, New York. Also being coffee lovers, Ruth Anne’s daughter, Kim and son-in-law, Peter were invited to join them on this wonderful journey.

In April of 1991, Bill, Ruth Anne moved from their home in Charlotte NC, and Peter and Kim moved up from Ft. Lauderdale Florida to begin this new life of coffee!

Since we had not opened in our stores yet, we had to generate some type of income while we were getting things underway. It all started in May of 1991 at the Rochester Lilac Festival. We had a cute little street cart and knew that we could sell a lot of coffee during the festivals. Rochester had never had any ‘gourmet’ coffee available before this. People were so excited! The festival was a huge success!

On one day, it was 90 degrees and we were worried about our sales, as we were trying to sell coffee in the traditional way. We purchased a ton of ice and started serving Iced flavored coffee! People were so hot, and with every other vendor being so crowded, we seemed to get a lot of overflow. People were ordering “Iced Chocolate Raspberry” and "Iced Hazelnut" not even knowing it was coffee! It was a huge success! They loved it!

That was our beginning. After that festival and the great weather we had during that summer, we knew that we were going to be a great success! We had already developed a loyal following.

We always wanted to be on the Erie Canal, however, finding an appropriate location at that time was difficult. So, we did some research and found that the Old Erie Canal bed used to be right behind us. Although there is currently a giant highway there now, the history of the Erie Canal still remains.

We opened our store on Ruth Anne’s birthday. August 5, 1991. We were like little kids! So excited and wanting to share this excellent coffee with everyone! We put our little cart on East Avenue on the sidewalk in front of the store, and sold coffee to the passerby’s even the city bus would stop to pick up a cup of this delicious stuff!

In October of 1991, we expanded into a café. Roasting away, we were the hit of the town! We stayed open until Midnight on weekends, and would have a line out the door of customers waiting to come into relax and have a great cup of Canaltown Coffee!

In November of 1993, Canaltown opened its second location in the village of Pittsford, a beautiful, picturesque village on the Erie Canal. Pittsford welcomed the upscale coffee and atmosphere that Canaltown offered. It was another exciting adventure!

In 1993 to 1995 Peter was blessed with 2 little boys, (soon to become coffee roasters) In 1996 Canaltown opened its very own bakery. We bake the majority of delicious pastries that we sell in the stores as well as catering to offices, homes and special events. In 1997 Bill & Ruth Anne were finding that the business was running smoothly while Peter was operating day to day just fine, they wanted to explore other exciting challenges.

We have been lucky enough to be the Official Coffee Bar at the 1995 Ryder Cup held at Rochester’s Oak Hill Country Club. We were also thrilled to have been invited to have a full espresso bar at 'Foreigner’s' Lou Gramm’s wedding held at Kueka Lake in 1997.

August of 1998 we introduced our website – what a great venue to order and communicate from!

Bill and Ruth Anne decided to retire in November 1998, leaving the business and operations to Peter and his wife. Bill and Ruth Anne moved back to Charlotte, NC and Ruth Anne is now enjoying her new endeavor of being a Licensed Massage Therapist, and Bill… other than being on our Chief Coffee GURU, he is just enjoying life while sipping his Canaltown Coffee that we ship to him via UPS.

Being a member of the SCAA, has ensured that we remain educated on the quality of beans that are being harvested and purchasing. We also get to meet the farmers and owners of these wonderful coffee plantations which has given Canaltown the edge of what is new and exciting to offer our great customers!

Peter has become “Gold Cup Certified” through the SCAA as well as being an excellent coffee roaster and green bean buyer.

The rest, shall I say, is history, and the forthcoming, history to be made!

We are a family business in every sense of the word. We love our customers, we love our coffee and we love the joy that Canaltown brings people. Our customers and our staff are our family. We are grateful for our loyal following! A heartfelt Thanks to all of you!

Other Stories:

1. Our Roastmaster
2. Our Premise & Promise
3. Our Canaltown Guarantee