Rock + Colour shift + Thaw
Middle of winter. You step off a plane and boom, it hits you. The cold. The kind that stings your lungs. And it’s quiet. Not, like, peaceful quiet. More like did everyone just leave the city quiet.
That was Nitsuh’s first impression of Calgary. He laughs about it now.
“My first home was in Ethiopia, known to have 13 months of sunshine in a year. It was +28°C when I took off from there and landed –30°C in Calgary on an extremely cold night.”
But like Calgary itself, first impressions evolve because even in winter, the city wears its sun like armour. Give it a few weeks and a chinook rolls in. And by spring, the grass is pushing its way through the thaw, blossoms are showing off, and the sun’s got this stubborn confidence about it all year long.
That’s when Nitsuh thought, “Yeah, okay. I could stay here.”
Fast forward twenty-five years, and Nitsuh’s in Royal Oak. Why here? The YMCA, for one. He swims, plays table tennis, and spends time with his family there. It’s kind of like his second home. Plus, the backdrop of Calgary’s north western edge with all that nature doing its thing, it’s pretty hard to beat.
Now, let’s talk about the guy’s work ethic. Tuscany Driving School? That’s his. Real estate? He’s been at it since 2015. And because apparently sleep is overrated, he’s also opening two new businesses in Cochrane. Brightside Daycare (big enough for 120 kids!) and Keffa Café, both launching January 2026. Oh, and he’s got his eye on a family home in Bearspaw down the line.
But what really defines Nitsuh isn’t his résumé, it’s his home life. He and his wife, Meklet, have been married 20 years. Four kids learning the values of peace, diversity, and equality.
A household full of activities, church on Sundays, family breakfasts, and those weekend bike rides that end with shawarma.
Starbucks fuels the mornings (his order: a Brown Sugar Coffee Cortado). Evenings? Maybe yoga, maybe an episode of Friends. He never tires of either.
Every year, Nitsuh decides to learn two new skills. In 2021, it was marathons, plural. He learned to ice skate. Took swimming so seriously he can now go 35 metres underwater.
Nitsuh got his licence in 2023, rode the Rockies with his college buddy Terry, and plans to keep doing it every summer.
What’s next? Boxing. A long bike trek across Calgary. More travel. Basically, the guy doesn’t sit still.
So if you bump into him at Starbucks or the YMCA, expect a smile, maybe a story, and probably a restaurant recommendation. This is a man who once thought Calgary was cold and quiet and has since made it loud, busy, warm, and full of life.
And that’s Nitsuh Tafesse. Royal Oak resident, entrepreneur, and family man.
The road ahead.
Nitsuh Tafesse's driving school works with drivers across northwest and southwest Calgary, Cochrane and Bearspaw.
