Zane Kelsall, co-owner of Two If By Sea, won the $100,000 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award. (Jean Laroche/CBC)

A Dartmouth cafe owner has won the $100,000 grand prize in a national contest rewarding innovation.

Zane Kelsall, co-owner of Two If By Sea, won the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award for his plan to build a roastery using beans bought direct from farmers in Central and South America.

"It's crazy! It's absolutely insane. I can't really wrap my head around it yet," Kelsall told CBC News on Monday.

Kelsall's project — dubbed Anchored Coffee — will include a front-of-house coffee lab where customers can enjoy exclusive tasting and find out more about direct trade and coffee through seminars and courses, according to a statement from BDC.

"Winning this prize is huge," Kelsall said in a statement.

"The $100,000 will essentially cover our roastery start-up costs. Instead of opening in a couple of years, it means we can move full speed ahead and grow our business to join the ranks of those making a real difference in the lives of coffee farmers and their communities much sooner."

Kelsall told CBC News even though he has only been in business for two and a half years, roasting his own coffee has been a dream of his for some time.

"It's been one of my, honest to God, life's goals," he said, "(I've been) working in the cafe industry for over a decade now and it's something I've always wanted to do."

Kelsall said the next step will be to find a suitable venue for the venture.

"We're not exactly sure where yet but now that we have confirmation that we have the money to do it, it's just going to be finding the space and start ordering the equipment," Kelsall said.

"It'll be the first in downtown Dartmouth," he said, "We're going to be sourcing our coffee directly from farms and we're going to have almost like a coffee school in the front of the house too, so it's going to be the first one of that in Nova Scotia."

Kelsall said he hopes customers will get a taste of the new coffee by the new year.

Drew Martin, on the the cafe's customers, is thrilled about the win.

"Super-excited. Can't wait to try the coffee," he said.

That sentiment is shared by other customers, including Brian Regan.

"I think it's awesome. He's a great guy, he's an innovative fella and he loves his business, so it's perfect," Regan said.

For the first time this year, voting for the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award was open to the public — between May 30 and June 19.

Kelsall, 27, beat out seven other finalists from across the country for the $100,000 award.