Mihai (Michael) Petrovici is a first generation immigrant to Canada who was born in Romania. In 2015, while working for Walmart in Calgary, Alberta, he took an opportunity to manage the store in Bathurst, NB. After moving to Bathurst, he quickly fell in love with the region and the province. In 2016, with his wife, they decided to take the big leap and open their first business a bar and pub, Au Bootlegger, which won the Business of the Year award from the Chaleur Chamber of Commerce in 2019. Since then, they have kept growing every year, and currently have five different companies including Kaffeine Espresso Bar and Pita Pit, with more projects in the works. Michael involved himself from the start with different community and business organizations, such as the Chaleur Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Bathurst Revitalization Committee, Synergies Chaleur and others.
Since before starting his businesses and continuing throughout, Michael has always been supportive of immigrants and newcomers, as he passed through their steps already, and he knows firsthand the
challenges of picking up one’s entire life in a couple of suitcases and taking the big leap to start a new life in a new country and new culture. He has always tried to hire and work with newcomers, and tried to help them through their journey with whatever he could, including business advice or guidance on how to integrate and settle in Bathurst. He has also encouraged cultural diversity by helping his management teams to work with cultural differences in their staff. He has also always tried to promote cultural diversity by having fun events and celebrating cultural holidays, such helping organize and sponsor the first citywide Diwali celebration. Michael has also been a huge supporter of the Multicultural Association of the Chaleur Region and has participated in many of their events.