Cafes are Booming and Coffee Drinkers Can’t Stop
*This is part of our series on the nexus between COVID-19 and food systems.
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| The exquisite skill in perfecting latte art comes with practice. These little details are the cherry on top for a coffee. |
I stepped into the café for
my final interview. I didn’t know much about them other than a good friend of
mine held her wedding at one of their locations the summer before. Thankfully,
I did a quick Google search to learn some more insight. I was met with a
friendly barista who directed me to the interviewers, nestled into the corner
table away from all the other customers dining in. I sat down without shaking
their hands, mask stayed on and thanked them for the opportunity to meet in
person as the previous interview was via Zoom. The interview was short; 10
minutes tops. With my luck and charm, I received the offer letter the following
morning.
Upon
starting this new role as Café Manager, I was well aware many establishments
were struggling. Even this company was struggling as a whole in both e-commerce
and café. I trained at a location where sales were depleted by more than 50%.
It was difficult to learn anything when there was no foot traffic. But, what I
didn't see coming was that the café I was taking over had another idea in mind.
Luckily, the following week I had the chance to work at the flagship store; the
most profitable café in the entire company.
It
was fall 2020, the busiest season of the year. Students were moving back for a
new term at the local university, weather was absolutely beautiful and pandemic
restrictions were slightly lifted in Ontario. People were able to dine in or
out on the patio, washrooms were opened, drinks were served in ceramic mugs,
and lastly, it was pumpkin spiced season. As the sun was still shining bright
before daylight savings hits at the end of October, people were taking
advantage. My first goal was to get comfortable with the café, then figure out
logistics afterwards. It didn’t take long; I started to get to know the
regulars by name and their drinks. As the line-ups kept growing and people were
happy chatting away, there was still that feeling of uncertainty and worry.
Tables were 2 meters apart and people in queue were also 2 meters apart, along
with every customer wearing masks. If there wasn’t a yellow-tape square on the
floor for you to stand in, you’d be lining up outside. Through muffled masks
and plexiglass barriers, people walked through our doors to place their order.
Although things didn’t look or feel normal, it wasn’t stopping the coffee
drinkers from coming. Everyday there were dozens of regulars with specific
drinks and modifications. We had Doug’s two decaf americanos with steamed oat
milk. Kevin’s iced mocha with no ice (seriously, who does that?). Ryan’s large
cup triple shot americano along with his wife’s order (whom we still have yet
to meet) of a large triple shot latte with two raw sugars and sprinkles of
cocoa and cinnamon on top. These were the people you saw every single
day.
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| Steaming milk to look silky and velvety is an art itself. |
Overtime, we had noticed people itching to get into a proper routine, whether it was to grab their double espressos at 7:30 in the morning, or a warm chai latte to finish the day. The interactions had also increased; regulars would start sharing tables if there were no seats available. They got to know each other over coffee, or while they worked, heads deep into their laptops. Many unfamiliar faces passed through too; the explorers, we called them. They were the out-of-towners who travel to hike new trails or discover new cities. Some explorers became residents of the city, since moving out of the big city was becoming more popular. With the local university minutes away, the storm of students would pile in to claim their study spot, knowing they had to continue to purchase a beverage or snack every half hour or so. The seat real estate is a hot market, especially if you have an elderly walk through just wanting to sit by the window, with their black coffee, enjoying an oatmeal raisin cookie. That’s the cue for the students to pack up and move along.
Winter
was a tough season for business. Ontario was in their second lockdown, the
longest one of them all. Many businesses were closed but since cafes are
considered essential, this café was up and running. Sales had plummeted,
students had stopped coming and we saw less explorers. The business was banking
on the regulars to come in and they did not disappoint. Mother Nature could
call for 20cm of snow with a windchill of -25 degrees Celsius and you’d still
see Tim trek through that storm, covered in white fluffy snow, wearing his grey
beret and brown leather gloves (both items in which he always misplaces), in
his Scottish accent asking for his coffee. All you could do was smile and
gladly serve him.
Fast
forward to fall 2021; another pumpkin spiced season and another autumn of warm
weather. This time around, the café had extended their hours into the early
evenings and seating capacity was maxed. There no longer is yellow tape on the
ground and everyone is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It
was a record breaking month for the café. Our café was doing 17% more sales
compared to 2019, pre pandemic. These were astounding numbers as no one
predicted this happening. But as a business, we’ll take what we can get.
To
this day, we still see Doug, Kevin and Ryan. And out of the three, Doug has
changed his order to two medium decaf mochas with almond milk, half the
sweetness to top it off. The other two are still enjoying the same drink
everyday. Let’s not forget about Tim; he’s still around too.
Café Manager & Guest Contributor
ECVOntario