How two university students created a trendy Ontario cafe inside a retro trailer

A pair of university students is turning the coffee culture of one Ontario town on its head with their stylish coffee shop, which just so happens to operate out of a converted 1962 Airstream trailer.

With a combined 13 years of barista experience and now an entire business of their own between them, you'd think that Antonia and Megan, co-founders of Sauble Beach's CB Coffee Club were in their mid to late twenties at least — but, as it happens, the duo have been running their coffee business while attending university for the past two years.

At ages 19 and 23, respectively, Antonia, a Chemical Engineering Student, and Megan, who is pursuing a Master's degree, all while managing a burgeoning coffee shop business, might quite simply be wired for hard work. At least it's all paying off.

The whole thing started when the duo, after spending years working in coffee shops, found themselves itching for something more rewarding in the summer of 2024.

"The coffee space to us has always been a fun community-based environment that we enjoy being a part of," Antonia tells me. "We are both very creative individuals who love a challenge, so starting a business of our own was a no-brainer."

Seeing as opening a brick-and-mortar coffee shop from scratch — particularly while studying full time — was out of the question, they settled on a mobile coffee cart that they toted around to farmers' markets and pop-ups, both at home in Ontario and, once they went back to school, in Montreal.

CB Coffee Club's new digs: a 1962 Airstream trailer.

This summer, they're taking things up a notch by moving CB Coffee Club into a refurbished 1962 Globetrotter Airstream that, helmed by Antonia and Megan, will churn out crafty, creative coffees all summer long in Sauble Beach.

It's that shiny silver trailer, Antonia and Megan tell me, that makes their business particularly stand out from other local coffee businesses.

"The Airstream itself is super cool, and we have lots of people coming to check it out and tell us about their own Airstreams, or interest in them," Antonia tells me.

"We also like to think that our happy and positive environment draws in customers, alongside sharing the behind-the-scenes of running our business on TikTok and Instagram."

And she's right; since moving operations to the trailer, CB Coffee Club has stirred up plenty of attention online, with several videos showing the behind-the-scenes of setting up and operating the cafe drawing in upwards of 100,000 views on TikTok. That's nearly 50 times the population of Sauble Beach.

The strawberry matcha is a bestseller.

Retro van-based novelty aside, though, they're also already earning a reputation for both the classic caffeinated beverages they're churning out, as well as their more rotating creative specials, like their Strawberry Matcha (made using strawberry milk from Miller's Dairy in Creemore) or the S'More's Latte, topped with whipped cream and graham cracker crumbles.

"We love to think up new specials and recipe test whenever we have time," Antonia says.

While they're currently deep into their summer season and already seeing some big success (if the video where they share that they sold 83 strawberry matchas in one weekend is any indication), things haven't always been so smooth.

In fact, Antonia says, the whole process of getting CB Coffee Club on its feet was a challenge in the beginning.

"The coffee cart, and now Airstream, has been self-funded by the two of us, and working with a small budget is definitely a challenge when starting a business," she explains.

On top of that, "learning to manage the entire behind-the-scenes of running a business, including bookkeeping, ordering, marketing, as well as managing staff, has been a learning curve."

It's all worth it, though, when the customers come through the (metaphorical) door.

"We love getting to meet everyone and talking about how they discovered our business, as well as preparing drinks for them to enjoy," Antonia says, adding, "Shoutout to everyone who comes to the Airstream and says they've found us
through social media!"

While the venture is still a relatively new one, Antonia and Megan aren't shying away from dreaming up a big and bright future for CB Coffee Club, including, perhaps, "a brick-and-mortar location or two" within the next few years.

"We want to continue Sauble summers as long as possible, and continue to develop our customer base here on the Bruce Peninsula," Antonia explains, but adds, "we think it would be fun to expand with a fleet of Airstreams!"

For the time being, you can check out CB Coffee Club for yourself from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, all summer long at 316 Main Street in Sauble Beach.