Stella’s Coffee Co.
5006 – 50 St., Killam
When you walk through the doors of Stella’s Coffee Co. on Killam’s Main Street, the first thing you’ll notice isn’t just the smell of fresh-brewed coffee or warm baked goods. It’s the feeling. A sense of calm, of belonging, of being welcomed like family, which is exactly what owner Emily Fee envisioned when she opened the café nearly a year ago.
“I really just wanted to be able to spread that to the people of Flagstaff and Killam,” Fee says. “Give everybody a place to go and just have their moment of peace and calm and a good cup of coffee and a snack.”
Her love of coffee began long before Stella’s. Fee vividly remembers her first cup as a junior high student stressed about exams. What started as a one-time solution quickly became a Sunday ritual, then an everyday habit, and eventually the passion that fuels her business.
Baking was always part of her story too. As a child, she stood on a chair to help her mom measure ingredients, preparing cookie dough before being allowed near the oven. For her 16th birthday, while friends were dreaming of cars, Fee received a powder-blue KitchenAid mixer. “It was the best thing ever,” she recalls. And it’s still going strong eight years later.
Carrying on a Family Legacy
Stella’s Coffee Co. is about more than coffee and baking. It’s about roots. Fee is the fifth generation of her family to work in the same building, originally built by her great-great-grandparents after moving to Killam. Over the years it has housed a hardware store, a flower shop, and now a coffee shop.
Naming the business “Stella’s” was intentional. It honours her great-great-grandmother and the women in her family whose presence was always essential, even if their names never appeared on the storefront. “To just be able to call it Stella’s and honour all the women that came before me, I think it was a fitting name and I’m happy I chose it,” Fee says. Stella herself worked at the library, earned a teaching degree, and supported her family in countless ways – ties that still resonate in the community today.
Learning the Craft
Opening Stella’s wasn’t without challenges. Fee admits she had no prior experience running a café, and her espresso machine – delivered on a pallet – seemed daunting at first. “It was scary. And I kept burning myself,” she says. Training with her coffee bean supplier helped her gain the skills and confidence to master espresso and milk steaming. With time, trial, and error, her drinks became customer favourites.
Today, her caramel macchiato is both her personal go-to and the most popular order. “It’s definitely the most popular drink order. It’s the safe choice for a lot of people, and they don’t want to stray from that, which is totally fine because I understand,” she says.
The menu also features homemade soups, croissant sandwiches, and a rotating selection of baked goods, all made daily. “Everything is small batch made from scratch in the back by me every single day,” Fee explains. “So it’s as fresh as it can be.”
A Place for Everyone
Stella’s quickly became a community hub. Fee says her customers include everyone from junior high students on lunch break to seniors catching up with friends, as well as local business owners and Main Street staff. “Anybody who wants a cup of coffee, soup, or snack comes in,” she says.
The mix of people has created a warm, familiar atmosphere where conversations often flow between tables. Regulars are greeted by name, and Fee knows their routines well enough to prepare their orders in advance. “Like, I know Fridays I need to save a sandwich and two muffins for this lady. And if this person comes in, I can just load up the stuff for a macchiato,” she says.
The ‘Third Place’
For Fee, Stella’s is about more than food and drink. She hopes it can be what sociologists call a “third place” – somewhere outside of home and work where people can feel comfortable and connected.
“I want to be that space for people so that they have a place to go, a place to be themselves and just have their little moment,” she explains. “Like maybe chat with somebody else at a table – happens a lot – and yeah, it just builds the community more and better.”
In a time when busy schedules and technology can make life isolating, Stella’s offers something simple but essential: genuine connection. “Maybe the only five minutes of peace that somebody has in a day is while I steam the milk for their drink,” Fee says. “If that’s the case, then I’m happy with that.”
Community Support and Small-Town Spirit
The support Fee has experienced from Killam and the surrounding area has been remarkable. “It’s honestly so cool,” she says. “To just know that I’m a regular part of their day and they’re a regular part of mine, it’s so cool.”
She also notes how local businesses support one another. On quiet days, she knows the whole street feels it, but neighbouring shops often stop by to order drinks or snacks for their teams. “Small businesses, supporting small businesses is how rural Alberta can survive,” Fee says.
Come On In, You’re Family
That welcoming spirit is summed up in Stella’s tagline: Come on in, you’re family. Fee laughs that in a small town like Killam, it started as a joke – but it stuck, because it’s true.
Whether you’re a local with a standing order or someone passing through on your way to Edmonton or Wainwright, Stella’s Coffee Co. offers more than caffeine and baked goods. It’s a place where history, community, and comfort come together – a place where everyone belongs.
