Fratello Coffee Roasters, a well-established name in Calgary’s coffee scene for decades, has refocused its efforts on Western Canada after streamlining operations in recent years and focusing on its roots—coffee roasting.
The company began in 1985 as Custom Gourmet Coffee, a family-run roasting business. In recent years, Fratello sold off its popular Analog café chain, its Slayer Espresso machine business and closed Corbeaux bakery, to double down on its core business of wholesale roasting and sourcing high-quality coffee.
“We realized during COVID that we couldn’t do it all,” says Russ Prefontaine, president of Fratello Coffee Roasters. “Analog was a beloved brand, but we needed to focus on what we do best: roasting and supporting our wholesale customers.”
Coffee has been part of the family tradition for more than 50 years, starting when Cam Prefontaine founded Fontaine Beverages. In 1991, his sons—Russ, Chris and Jason—co-founded Espuccino Imports, which became North America’s third-largest distributor of Nuova Simonelli espresso machines.
In 1997, the brothers purchased Custom Gourmet Coffee and merged it with Espuccino, which would eventually become Fratello Coffee Roasters.
In 2007, they launched Slayer and rebranded Custom Gourmet Coffee to Fratello Coffee Roasters. “That was a huge pivotal moment of downsizing our company and we did a full rebrand,” Prefontaine recalls. “That was a lot of work.”
“[We let go] about 50 per cent of our business in order to focus on higher quality and moving our company in the direction of what was keeping us passionate about coffee,” Prefontaine explains. The decision meant walking away from volume-focused accounts that didn’t align with Fratello’s evolving vision of quality-first coffee roasting.
That 2007 rebrand ushered Fratello into the “third wave” coffee movement, where “roasters like ourselves started doing things better—buying better coffee, roasting it in a more unique way that showcased the natural flavours of those coffees.” Prefontaine points to the rise of direct-trade coffee movements happening around that time and a new generation of professional baristas elevating both coffee execution and hospitality.
The brothers launched Analog less than five years later showcasing the company’s wholesale accounts and giving Calgary coffee enthusiasts a taste of properly brewed Fratello coffee.
Analog grew to six locations before Fratello sold the chain, as part of its strategic return to wholesale roasting—back to the company’s roots.
In recent years, Fratello has shifted its attention to maintaining quality relationships with customers in Western Canada, preferring to work closely with local cafés, restaurants, and retailers.
The company’s decision to focus regionally, particularly in southern Alberta, comes amid the growing number of independent roasters and cafés across the country. Prefontaine emphasizes that Fratello’s dedication to quality coffee, education, and support will remain at the heart of its operations as it looks to scale.
“We have enough opportunity right here in Western Canada to continue doing what we do well,” he said. “Our focus is on taking care of our customers and doing everything right in this market.”
