Not unlike most university and college grads, Vancouver-born Calay Hall, owner of Krave Coffee, started craving coffee early in life. Calay pursued her bachelor of commerce degree in hospitality and tourism from Ryerson University while working as a barista in Toronto-based coffee franchises, not even imagining that a decade and a half down the line she would become the owner of one herself.
After working for six years as a junior accountant, Calay completed her Canadian securities exam, which led her to a job with State Street writing financial statements for institutional hedge funds. The hours were long, cubicles were small, work was brutal but the coffees kept her going. Soon, Calay accepted an invitation from a friend to go on vacation in the Cayman Island. “Within a year I was working on Little Cayman Island at a scuba diving resort enjoying sunshine, living on the beach without a care in the world. What was going to be a one-year escape from Toronto’s stressful city life turned into four years,” says Calay.
This time out put things in perspective for Calay. She realized she loved interacting with people in a stress-free, laid-back environment, and a coffee shop was just the ticket. So she packed her bags, returned to Toronto and opened Krave Coffee on July 3, 2015.
