Looking for a great cup of coffee and a treat to keep the winter blues away? Here are five local coffee shops to keep you warm this winter:
33 1/3 Coffee Roasters
All the coffee sold at 33 1/3 Coffee Roasters is made in-house.
“We can really focus on quality and try different things that we like and kind of fine tune it,” said Eric Galbraith, owner and head roaster at the shop.
It’s all about making the coffee taste just right.
“We’ll just get it the way we want it and we’re hoping that’s the way people also like it,” Galbraith said.
The coffee beans used in the roasting process come from farms all across the world, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya and Ethiopia.
“We deal with a lot of family farms and cooperatives,” said Galbraith. “A lot of the family farms aren’t fair trade or organic certified because they can’t afford to. But, a lot of the cooperatives we deal with are organic fair trade.”
They’ve been supplying coffee to other local businesses since 2013 and try to have six or seven varieties available, depending on the season. These businesses have the chance to reach out to their roasters right at home.
“If someone calls me on Friday afternoon and they’re desperate and running out of coffee, it’s usually not a problem for me to run some coffee, or they can come here to pick it up,” Galbraith said.
It can be tough to break into the coffee market in Regina and compete with the larger chains, but it’s the commitment to good coffee that gets people through the doors.
“After people try it, that was it,” he said. “They keep coming back because they know the quality is really good and everything is fresh.”
Brewed Awakening (Dewdney Avenue)
Brewed Awakening started as a single shop on Prince of Wales Drive. Since the first location opened its doors in 2011, the company has expanded to six locations across the Queen City.
“We’re offering something that people don’t really have access to in every spot in the city,” said Dan Gunther, general manager of Brewed Awakening.
The newest location on Dewdney Avenue, in Regina’s Warehouse District, is already making a name for itself in the community.
For Gunther, it’s about creating a network for all local businesses.
“My passion is creating spaces where people can come, relax, unwind and just meet people, talk, or have meetings,” he said.
“What we do is local,” Gunther said. “We’re hiring local people, supporting local charities, opening up in communities that need coffee.”
“It’s a comfortable place where people from all walks of life can just come and get coffee and great baking,” Gunther said. The baking is all done in Regina and many of the treats are gluten free.
But in the end, it all comes down to one simple ingredient.
“Caffeine: Everyone needs it, everyone wants it,” Gunther said. “We want to serve the best quality caffeine that we can.”
Fix. Coffee YQR
Fix. Coffee YQR is all about creating a supportive atmosphere for businesses in Regina’s downtown.
“Our vision for Fix was to create a place that was not only somewhere that you could grab a great cup of coffee, but also somewhere that would support local businesses and artists and help grow our community,” said Nicole Siemens, co-owner of Fix.
Siemens, along with co-owner Brittani Zielinski, worked together to create a coffee shop that also serves as a market for local wares.
“In the eight years that I’ve lived here, I’ve really seen this great local business scene and this great local art scene really blossom,” Siemens said. “I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it.”
Fix sells art, clothing and even cacti for other vendors, along with offering plenty of coffee and food.
“Lots of the people in here, they don’t have their own space to showcase themselves,” Zielinski said. “You come grab a cup of coffee and you look at all of these vendors that you didn’t know existed.”
Siemens and Zielinski are focused on helping to continue improving Regina’s downtown core.
“Fix is a great addition to the downtown coffee scene,” Zielinski said. “We don’t view ourselves as in competition with anybody else down here; we’re just another great option.”
Fresh & Sweet
All the food and drinks at Fresh & Sweet are made entirely from scratch.
“We have a huge passion for food and it just shows throughout all of our menu,” said Beata Kowalski, owner of Fresh & Sweet.
That menu reflects what the staff wants to make and serve to their customers.
“All of our staff get to have the opportunity to make their favourites and develop the best food,” said Kowalski.
There’s plenty of character around Fresh & Sweet. When an order is done, staff members don’t call out an order number. Instead, customers get a playing card with their order to let them know when it’s ready.
“It’s all about fun,” Kowalski said. “It makes everything work really quickly and you get to holler out a card number like that, it’s just great.”
Fresh & Sweet also offers catering under their partner company, Valley Girls Catering.
“We do all sorts of parties and stuff,” Kowalski said. “We get invited to the best parties.”
For Kowalski, owning a local store helps develop the community of businesses in Regina’s downtown.
“It’s really nice to be part of such a supportive community,” she said. “In a world of big box chains, we are a locally-owned restaurant, owned by four women, and that’s really great.”
And there’s always an opportunity to give back.
“Everybody working here is developing and learning and growing through this job,” Kowalski said. “It’s a great opportunity for them, as well as for people to have really delicious things.”
Tangerine: The Food Bar
There’s always something a little bit different on the menu at Tangerine.
“Every day you’re going to come in and you’re going to find a brand new dish,” said Shanna-Marie Jones, operations manager at Tangerine. “You better get it that day, because we can’t guarantee it’s ever going to be back again.”
Jones said it’s all thanks to the chefs.
“Our chefs are free to create as they see fit,” Jones said. “Plus, it really helps us feature seasonal products.”
The company focuses on keeping things local.
“These are your neighbours and your family,” Jones said. “By putting those dollars into the local businesses, you’re putting them back into the community.”
For anyone wanting to make Tangerine’s food at home, the company offers cooking classes through Schoolhaus Culinary Arts.
“Schoolhaus features classes all week long, including everything from technique-based classes like knife skills, ingredient-based classes like chocolate, or even new Italian favourites,” Jones said. “You name it, there’s a cooking class for everyone.”
Although the menu may change, Jones said most customers keep coming back for more.
“I love getting to know our clients,” she said. “We find that we get the same people back all the time and you get to know them and you get to know how they’re feeling. You’re really an important part of their day.”
