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Any Canadian-owned chains of coffee shops?

Johnny Au said:
It would be interesting if David's Tea were to get into the coffee business.

It is very interesting that many coffee shops sell a large variety of tea as well.

There is a very good reason why Starbucks bought Teavana.
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As a non-coffee drinker, I can tell you that most coffee shops don't do tea very well.
 
PinkLucy said:
As a non-coffee drinker, I can tell you that most coffee shops don't do tea very well.
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I also don't drink coffee (I often drink green tea instead). It is true that many coffee shops sell a large variety of tea, but much of their tea offerings are from tea bags or from a single tea leaf if loose-leaf. Tim Horton's tea offering for example is very much watered down and use tea bags; Tim Hortons is one of the few coffee shops to have its own brand of tea bags for sale.
 
TOareaFan said:
Coffee is a tough market to crack for a latecomer to a relatively mature market player.....sure, if you want to open a boutique coffee shop and, even, grow it into a "mini chain" that is one thing....but for a big chain (like Costa) to come to the Canadian market and get then number of locations that they would need/want to justify a country expansion that is very tough. There is a dominant player with a lot of the good locations already tied up....the global behemoth that is Starbucks is also already here with hundreds of locations....there are secondary domestic chains like Country Style and Second Cup...and a whole lot of those local/boutique places. My bet is they had/have no plans to open stand alone locations and when the Shell opportunity presented itself ( it seems they already have a relationship with Shell in other markets) it was a way to sell more coffee but in a market that they are not in.

Here is what you will see in ~150 shell locations (with options for more).

View attachment 79086
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Sure. The logic is obvious. As I said above, Costa might not have had plans for Canada, so being in gas stations is still a step up from being nowhere.

All I am saying is that the risk is that people might find it hard to disassociate the brand from gas stations.
 
Skeezix said:
Sure. The logic is obvious. As I said above, Costa might not have had plans for Canada, so being in gas stations is still a step up from being nowhere.

All I am saying is that the risk is that people might find it hard to disassociate the brand from gas stations.
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I think we are, largely, saying the same thing but in different ways....I would bet, though, if they didn't have plans to come to the Canadian market with standalone stores anyway, the risk of them being permanently thought of as a gas station brew here is, likely, meaningless to them....if that is all they plan to be anyway.
 
TOareaFan said:
I think we are, largely, saying the same thing but in different ways....I would bet, though, if they didn't have plans to come to the Canadian market with standalone stores anyway, the risk of them being permanently thought of as a gas station brew here is, likely, meaningless to them....if that is all they plan to be anyway.
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Apparently it's machine coffee - and that might be a bit too much at that price.

AoD
 
Cast_Member said:
I can't believe it. How can't anyone not mention Coffee Time?
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Because Coffee Time locations are consistently the sketchiest places in Toronto?
 
As previously noted, both Second Cup and Timothy's have Canadian origins.

Though Timothy's has been bought out now by I think a French company (French company bought out ThreeCaf Brands which owned Timothy's, mmmuffins and Michel's Baguette). Timothy's roasting plant used to be on Steeprock Dr. in North York. That got turned over to Green Mountain quite a few years ago (the makers of K-Cups).
 
The popular local cafe-bar hybrid Boxcar Social (started a couple of years ago on Yonge Street in Summerhill) have recently opened their third location on the waterfront, with a fourth set to follow at the ground level of INDX Condos. Very quick success for a group of local entrepreneurs! (And it's great coffee too). The other interesting element of Boxcar is that it gradually transitions into a bar environment in the evening hours (I think the locations are open til' 2), which makes for a somewhat more dynamic ambiance I think. From a real estate perspective, it also allows the space to be used for more of the day, increasing revenue. Voodoo Child, Northwood (and Northern Belle), and a few other joints do the same thing.

Also, a new Balzac's is coming (not a fan of the chain though, their espresso is just like Second Cup).
 
Pam's Tea and Coffee was a fairly large franchise in Ontario in the 1990s. I recall locations in the Beaches and on the Danforth. According to Google there is still one left at Jackson Square in Hamilton.
 
GeneralGrievance said:
The popular local cafe-bar hybrid Boxcar Social (started a couple of years ago on Yonge Street in Summerhill) have recently opened their third location on the waterfront, with a fourth set to follow at the ground level of INDX Condos. Very quick success for a group of local entrepreneurs! (And it's great coffee too). The other interesting element of Boxcar is that it gradually transitions into a bar environment in the evening hours (I think the locations are open til' 2), which makes for a somewhat more dynamic ambiance I think. From a real estate perspective, it also allows the space to be used for more of the day, increasing revenue. Voodoo Child, Northwood (and Northern Belle), and a few other joints do the same thing.

Also, a new Balzac's is coming (not a fan of the chain though, their espresso is just like Second Cup).
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One of the original Boxcar guys has opened Arvo Coffee in the Distillery, and it's really good.

Also, Fahrenheit's 2nd location will be at 533 Richmond St W. (corner of Portland St). A new chain is born.
 
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grey said:
One of the original Boxcar guys has opened Arvo Coffee in the Distillery, and it's really good.

Also, Fahrenheit's 2nd location will be at 533 Richmond St W. (corner of Portland St). A new chain is born.
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Very happy to hear about Fahrenheit. They've quietly been making some of the best coffee in Toronto for years. Really nice people too.
 
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