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For most of his life, he's been fixing cars.
Now he's serving up lattes and cappuccinos.
Allan Paterson, along with his wife Angela and two daughters, uprooted their lives in Edinburgh, Scotland to give Canada a try.
After five years in Calgary and High River Alberta, they felt Kelowna would be an upgrade, and with the purchase of the downtown Bean Scene in Kelowna, Allan can finally put down his wrench for good.
"I decided for a complete change in direction," said Paterson. "And here we are serving coffee to the wonderful people of Kelowna."
There are plans to change up the main floor with more cushions and upholstery and to make greater use of the upstairs patio.
Thanks to a very amicable and friendly passing of the torch, much of what people liked about the Bean Scene remains, including baked goods.
"So we've decided to keep some of those products on the shelf," said Paterson. "We have a coffee agreement with them, so they're still grinding the beans for us."
The staff is entirely new.
And Black Sheep is bringing in some new elements in an effort to set themselves apart.
Along with some choices familiar to Bean Scene customers is their own take on the Bean Scene Bar, the Black Sheep Baar.
"We can now do cream sodas," he said, "Italian cream sodas with a variety of flavours and we can do lemonades and nitro cold brew."
Paterson said the shift to running the coffee shop is a perfect fit.
"My wife and I have always been very social people, so this really suits what we're looking for in life."
The transition was complete with Black Sheep taking over May 6.
On any given day you're likely to meet one member of the family or other, with Allan, his wife Angela and one of their two daughters playing active roles in the operation of the new family business.
They all look forward to meeting you.
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