Café au CA

By Tamar Satov
Photography: Marina Dodis

When CA Tony Mastrangelo and his brother, Lino, opened Brazza Gelato and Coffee in North Vancouver in May 2003, they knew people would come for the quality espresso and smooth Italian frozen desserts. What they didn't realize is that some would also come for the professional advice.

 "Someone recently asked me about income splitting," says Mastrangelo, 37, who has his own tax practice and teaches college courses in accounting. "Since I'm a CA and Lino has an MBA and master of engineering, we're a huge resource for the students who come in."

The brothers' business acumen is also the key behind Brazza's success in a coffee-crazed city where you can grab a latte on every corner. They put two years of market research into their business plan and focused on the idea of a combined café-gelateria. "It's the only place that equally serves coffee and gelato," says Mastrangelo, explaining that it's a natural hedge. "Since gelato is more of a summer thing, we've got the coffee to fall back on in winter."

There's also a family connection — the Mastrangelos' uncle has a gelateria in Milan, and Lino spent close to a year there learning how to make authentic gelato. The flavourings include dark Belgian chocolate, nuts, liqueurs and fresh fruits. "The lemon is spectacular," says Mastrangelo. "We spend four hours squeezing lemons by hand."

While Lino is the master in the kitchen, Mastrangelo handles the admin side. "I wear every hat — from payroll to marketing to cleaning the floor," he says. He's also looking at expanding to other markets such as Calgary and Kelowna, BC, as well as California and Mexico. "We've proven the product, recipe and methods — we've got the systems in place to produce great gelato and coffee," says Mastrangelo, whose goal is to have five locations within two years.

It's all a dream come true for the CA, who credits his chosen profession for making it all possible. "Being a CA has really helped, not just for the business know-how, but also for providing a career with the flexibility to take this on."