Stag Cafe
In 2004, the addition of Entrepreneurship 11 and 12 sparked a search for meaningful, hands-on learning. Instructor Georg Stroebel found it in an unlikely place: a former school kitchen left vacant after the opening of Marion Hall. A café, he realized, could turn theory into practice. Thanks to his experience as a restaurant owner, the risks were manageable, and approval soon followed. With no start-up funding available, Stroebel personally financed the initial supplies. The early operation was modest – just a few frying pans and a single fryer – but it was enough to launch service of hamburgers and fries. The response on opening night was immediate and enthusiastic, forcing the café to expand almost at once. Second-hand equipment soon followed, including another fryer, a flat grill, blenders, panini presses, and a two-level pizza oven. The loan was quickly repaid, and the program continues to flourish today, more than a decade after its founder’s retirement.
While the Stag Café is not the entirety of the Entrepreneurship program, it is central to it. Each year begins with students applying and interviewing for roles ranging from CEO to kitchen staff. Students manage every aspect of the business, from menu design and inventory to finances and scheduling. Challenges are expected and embraced as problem-solving opportunities, and profits are reinvested to grow the program.
The café operates primarily on Tuesday and Friday evenings, offering familiar favourites such as burgers, fries, chicken strips, and milkshakes, alongside occasional creative or seasonal additions. Over time, the Stag Café has also hosted international food nights, fine-dining events, and collaborative evenings featuring music or dance.
A major turning point came during the 2013 Main Building renovations, when the café kitchen had to be vacated for a year. To keep the Stag Café running, a trailer was purchased with café profits. It was outfitted with new equipment, wiring and a fire suppression system, then painted in the School colours. It served well, and remains in use today for special events, some of them off-campus.
In 2015, the Stag Café moved into a new mezzanine space overlooking the Friesen Centre. In 2019, the kitchen was upgraded with state-of-the-art equipment and renamed the Macfarlane-Morris Teaching Kitchen in recognition of generous parent donors Fiona Macfarlane (later Board of Governors Chair) and her husband Iain Morris.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
The café operates primarily on Tuesday and Friday evenings, offering familiar favourites such as burgers, fries, chicken strips, and milkshakes, alongside occasional creative or seasonal additions. Over time, the Stag Café has also hosted international food nights, fine-dining events, and collaborative evenings featuring music or dance.
A major turning point came during the 2013 Main Building renovations, when the café kitchen had to be vacated for a year. To keep the Stag Café running, a trailer was purchased with café profits. It was outfitted with new equipment, wiring and a fire suppression system, then painted in the School colours. It served well, and remains in use today for special events, some of them off-campus.
In 2015, the Stag Café moved into a new mezzanine space overlooking the Friesen Centre. In 2019, the kitchen was upgraded with state-of-the-art equipment and renamed the Macfarlane-Morris Teaching Kitchen in recognition of generous parent donors Fiona Macfarlane (later Board of Governors Chair) and her husband Iain Morris.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
