Success Story #3

DON’T BE ‘BUFFALOED’ BY THE UNUSUAL NAME, TANNA RUSK CAN HELP  

QUENCH YOUR THIRST AT HER UNIQUE PLACE OF BUSINESS 

 

      On the surface, ‘The Water Buffalo’ seems like a strange choice as a business name.  But according to owner Tanna Rusk, who hails Manitoba, there’s a perfectly logical explanation.  “I wanted a logo you could put on a t-shirt,” begins Rusk about the unusual moniker, “so I was talking to my uncle and he was in the American Military, and the guys who would bring the water to them while they were doing their training, the truck was called The Water Buffalo.  So he suggested that, and then we came up with the concept of the Manitoba Bison with the water jug around the neck like the Saint Bernard.”  Laughing, Tanna adds “so I’m coming from Manitoba and bringing you water.” 

      Tanna Rusk was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba, grew up in Brandon, and later lived in Winnipeg.  About six years ago, she came to Red Lake with her parents.  “My family moved up here and they wanted to start a water business,” she explains, “and they asked me to move up here and run the business for them.”  That’s the short version of the tale.  The longer one is a bit more interesting.  You see, poor Tanna’s folks basically abandoned her there!  “They did!” laughs Rusk, before filling in the blanks, “they decided that, it was time to move on, so they moved to B.C. and so I bought the store.  See, I wasn’t supposed to own the business.  I was supposed to be working for somebody.  So, me coming in to being a business owner, I had a week to decide.  I’m glad I did it, but it wasn’t what I had expected.”  But don’t feel too sorry for our little abandoned girl!  Tanna and the Water Buffalo are doing quite well here. 

      Rusk says she has come to enjoy her new stomping grounds.  “I love Red Lake.  I love the people, they’re very friendly.  You meet people on the street and they smile as you pass, it’s just this whole small town thing.  I like it,” gushes Rusk.  Tanna says life in Red Lake is quite a change from living in Winnipeg.  “You never knew your neighbours, you didn’t know anybody,” says Rusk, adding that in Red Lake “you can’t walk down here without saying hi to people.  We’re in the middle of nature.  There’s a lake out my back door.”  She laughingly recalls a headline in a local publication that read ‘PROBLEMS WITH WOLVES?’  “And I just thought that was so neat, because in Winnipeg, it’s like ‘PROBLEMS WITH HOME INVASIONS’.”  She also got a big kick one night at a friend’s when a motion detector went off in the back yard.  “And it’s a bear!” she laughs, “I just think that’s just great.” 

      While The Water Buffalo started off selling strictly water, Rusk soon expanded her product line.  “We started bringing in things like teas and coffees, hand made soaps, shampoos, conditioners, things that would tie in with our main product,” says Tanna.  Now, The Water Buffalo features a sit down coffee shop.  Rusk has refinished the chairs herself, and there is an actual ‘coffee table’ with beans laminated into the table top.  You can treat yourself to lattes, espressos and concoctions Rusk has given, as she puts it, “silly little Buffalo names.”  Such as?  “The Buffaloccino,” laughs Tanna, adding to the list “The Albino Buffalo, which is made with white chocolate... it’s definitely fun.”  The Water Buffalo does sell fair trade coffee, but what makes her place special, according to Rusk, is that the coffee is locally roasted.  “We have a gentleman who brings the beans in for us green, and then he roasts them fresh for us, so our coffee is roasted freshly every three or four days,” Tanna proudly boasts of her roasts. 

Non coffee drinkers – and yes, they DO exist – can sample the wide selection of teas.  The Water Buffalo also carries jewellery made by local artisan Tannis Bray, and even hemp products.  As Rusk observes, “I believe hemp is a misunderstood plant.”   That could be in large part because of its resemblance to a Marijuana plant.  “Exactly!” agrees Tanna, pointing out that “there are people who come in and they pose in front of our hemp displays and things like that.”  And there is yet another side effect.  “The O.P.P. gives me a hard time every time I bring in a new hemp plant!” laughs Rusk, although she’s quick to agree that the officer DO know the difference between hemp and pot plants.  “Oh, they do, they just tease me,” she admits with a chuckle before perpetuating a stereotype by saying “they’re all customers.  It’s a coffee shop, come on!” 

      If you’d like to find yourself a home where the Water Buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope...uh...could likely find some fresh water or unique items to browse through, see Tanna Rusk at The Water Buffalo, located at #6 Highway 105, Red Lake.  Or call her at 727-2474 if you can come up with any Bison-related names for her latest hot beverage creations. 

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The Chukuni Communities Development Corporation
A Community Futures Development Corporation
137 Howey Street, Box 250, Red Lake, Ontario Canada P0V 2M0
Phone: 807 727-3275 Fax: 807-727-3285 Email List