A Saskatoon couple has expanded their coffeehouse business with a new location at Royal University Hospital (RUH), offering round-the-clock service to patients, staff, and visitors.
New Location in Hospital Mall
Chelsey Wilde and her husband Joel recently opened their second Good Earth Coffeehouse in the main mall at Royal University Hospital. The couple also operates a Good Earth Coffeehouse at Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, which they opened six years ago. The new RUH location is their first to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“It’s great to be able to offer high-quality food and coffee 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (Royal) University Hospital,” Chelsey Wilde said.
Expanding Reach
The 24/7 operation allows the Wildes to serve a larger, more centralized population. The new location features more grab-and-go items along with a full selection of baked goods and beverages.
Good Earth Coffeehouse has approximately 50 locations across Canada. In Saskatchewan, there are three outlets, all in Saskatoon. The Wildes are not affiliated with the Lawson Heights Mall location.
Why Good Earth Coffeehouse?
When asked why they originally opened the franchise, Chelsey explained that they saw Good Earth was seeking a franchisee in Saskatoon. “We looked into this coffeehouse that we had never heard of and realized that they were very popular in Alberta and we just fell in love with what they had to offer with wholesome nutritious food and high quality coffee. It just felt like there was nothing like that around Saskatoon.”
Local Ownership
Chelsey emphasized the importance of local ownership. “A very important thing is that we are locally-owned. I grew up in Saskatoon. My husband grew up in Cudworth and moved to Saskatoon. We are a Saskatoon-based company and we love that Good Earth had that wholesome nutritious food that isn’t really in many other franchises. We love the high quality of fair coffee and the fun drinks to make.”
Choosing RUH Mall
The couple decided to open at RUH because of its proximity to their children's hospital location. “We do all of our baking at our children’s hospital location which is kind of why we jumped at this opportunity to join the university and Place Riel community just because it is so close. We can do our baking for both locations at Jim Pattison. We bake a lot of muffins every morning at 4:30. And the same with our scones and all of our baked goods. And then we bring them over from the children’s hospital to RUH.”
Being part of the hospital community was a key motivator. “Just being in the children’s hospital, we were so honored and excited to have that opportunity. And we really just got to be a part of that hospital community. So when this location came up we knew immediately that it was a no-brainer that it would be something that we would want to do.”
24/7 Service
The decision to stay open around the clock was driven by higher foot traffic and the needs of hospital visitors. “There’s a bit more foot traffic. More people feed into this main mall and know that we are open 24 hours. It’s great that if you have to unexpectedly be at the hospital you would recognize that there is somewhere open 24 hours a day if you need to grab a bite or grab some coffee.”
Menu Offerings
The coffeehouse offers a variety of drinks, including light, dark, and medium roast brewed coffee, espresso drinks, teas, and sparkling cold beverages. Popular cold drinks include flavored lattes, caramel lattes, and mochas. Blended drinks are also a hit with customers.
