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“As a pilot, my favourite thing is when things don’t go well— it’s fun, it’s a challenge."
But things seem to be going well these days for Adam Wright and his business partner Steve Zago, owners of Guelph’s Lost Aviator Coffee Co. Four years have passed since the two friends started the coffee company together, and business is booming. In fact, Lost Aviator was just voted the winner in the Restaurants - Coffee Shops category of GuelphToday’s Reader Favourite Awards 2024.
If the name didn’t tip you off, Adam and Steve are pilots. They first met in 2006 when they worked for a small charter company in Calgary, and have remained friends ever since. The two followed similar career trajectories that eventually led to them both getting hired by the same major airline, at which point Adam moved to Steve’s hometown of Guelph.
When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March 2020, almost 90% of the world’s airline fleet was grounded. Adam and Steve didn’t know when and if their flying careers could continue.
"Pilots are pretty passionate people— we love what we do. So there was definitely a mourning period,” says Steve.
Over whiskey and cigars, the friends talked over future plans and business ideas. When Adam suggested roasting coffee, the idea stuck. Adam and Steve started discussing their marketing plan that same night.
Steve was the one who came up with the name “Lost Aviator,” as he’d long thought about opening a microbrewery with the moniker. “The name is a throwback to vintage aviation, when pilots would navigate by the stars and quite often get lost,” he says. It wasn’t meant to allude to Steve and Adam’s less-than-ideal circumstances in 2020, but the connection isn’t lost on them.
The next day, Steve says that for the first time in a while he woke up feeling excited about something. He called Adam at 8AM and they agreed to start the coffee company. They were incorporated within three weeks, and a couple weeks after that, they’d purchased equipment. Within two months, Lost Aviator was roasting coffee.
By October 2020, Adam and Steve were selling coffee online as local wholesalers. They received a slew of interview requests and were working 18-hour days at Christmastime. 18 months after their launch, the two friends were able to open their first real location on York Road, and buy a bigger roaster, hire staff, and open up a café. In July of last year, they opened their second location on Laird Road, which boasts a 15kg roaster and a small café.
Being pilots and seeing everything from 40,000 feet has had an effect on how Adam and Steve view our planet. Sustainability and ethical practices are important to them. They’ve connected with reputable suppliers through dealing directly with coffee farmers, striving for a healthy balance between quality and price.
Lost Aviator has five coffees that never change: dark, medium, light, decaf, and espresso. For enthusiasts, they sell single origin coffees that they call “Destinations.” They also have their “Prohibition” series, a nod to the prohibition history in Guelph. Different coffee beans are paired with different spirits (such as whiskey, vermouth, or rum) and barrel-aged. The Prohibition series is so popular that people set alarms for new releases.
In addition to supplying to cafés and small grocers, Adam and Steve are proud to say that their business has shipped coffee to every continent except Africa— including Antarctica. Their online coffee sales have reached every province and territory in Canada and most of the States, and they supply coffee to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Back in Canada, Steve and Adam help out their communities as much as they can. They’ve partnered with local organizations like Guelph Humane Society and Guelph Black Heritage Society, as well as the local Hope in the Street music festival, and organizations that support female pilots, like Women in Aviation, Elevate Aviation, and The Ninety-Nines, Inc. Their charity work continues, despite times being a little tough right now.
The ongoing closure on York Road is currently at its worst for Lost Aviator, with the road ripped up right in front of their café. Business is down 40% and they’ve had to cut both store hours and staff hours. “I’m not going to lie, it’s hurting us,” says Steve.
There’s been a lot of support between local business owners, and the café’s loyal customers are still showing up. “Without the support of our loyal customers, we would not survive,” says Adam.
Adam and Steve also count themselves lucky to have their staff, who they call the Lost Aviators. The two owners returned to work as full-time pilots two years ago, and say they are able to do so because of the exceptional skills of their employees. They like to keep things light and fun at work, and the result has been very low staff turnover.
As much as Adam and Steve are pilots at their core, the experience of running Lost Aviator has been truly meaningful for them.
“As pilots, we tend to leave our community more than we stay,” says Steve. So it’s no small feat for the two friends to have built a community where they see the same regulars at their café, watch their customers’ kids grow up, and get invited to their employee’s weddings.
“We’re like proud parents, in a way.”
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This article was sponsored by Lost Aviator Coffee Co., a 2024 GuelphToday Reader Favourite.