Indie coffee company goes underground

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This article was published 15/08/2018 (2072 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a new coffee shop underground at Portage and Main.

Thom Bargen Coffee & Tea, a locally owned, independent company with two other locations in the city, served its first cups at 365 Main Street on Monday morning, and has been doling out single-origin concoctions and baked goods to hundreds of customers in the three days since.

Graham Bargen, who co-owns the company with Thom Hiebert, says business has been booming.

“This has been by far the busiest three days we’ve ever had,” Bargen said Wednesday afternoon. “Most cafés would be happy to do 300 cups in a day. So far, we’ve been doing 500 to 600. We feel honoured by the response, honestly.”

After opening their first location on Sherbrook Street in 2012, Bargen and Hiebert opened a second shop at the intersection of Kennedy Street and Graham Avenue in 2016. Since starting business six years ago, Bargen said the company’s sales have consistently increased quarter-to-quarter, which gave the owners confidence in expanding once again.

For the past year, Bargen said they’ve been looking to move into a new space and a downtown spot was at the top of the wish list. Starbucks and Tim Hortons had a bit of a stranglehold in office buildings and the surrounding area, he said, holding exclusivity rights in some spots. So, when the owners learned the city owned some storefront locations in the Portage and Main Circus, they jumped at the opportunity to move in.

The 212-square-foot coffee bar is designed to be a grab-and-go operation, Bargen said, in order to accommodate consumers in a hurry. “We’re designed for speed and efficiency, pumping out quality fast,” he said.

The shop is bright, with wooden finishes inspired by Japanese design, Bargen said, and he hopes it can serve as a “beacon in a somewhat dark hallway.”

Though the space is small, he said there is still a wide range of coffee, tea and baked goods available, and a full espresso bar. Local treats from the nearby Oh Doughnuts will also be served every morning, he added. The owners hope to add a small seating area in the next few months as well.

As for the location beneath the hotly debated intersection, Bargen says, “I feel like long-term it’s a good thing to open Portage and Main.”

“We did come into this location with our eyes open,” he said. “We knew the conversation (about the intersection’s opening) was going this way.”

He says he doesn’t think the shop’s business will be affected too much, regardless of whether the intersection opens. “Folks down here take a lot of pride in the shops and in the convenience they offer,” Bargen said. “We’re here to be a convenient part of their day.”

Bargen said he expects sales to cool down after the opening buzz, but hopes consumers take advantage of the bevvy of local options now available in the area, including Parlour and Grey Owl.

“It’s been a long run and it’s fun to build this community down here,” Bargen said.

“We’re excited to be at the core of Winnipeg in an iconic spot.”

The Main Street location is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca