Independent coffee shops are thriving by offering something big chains can’t: authentic neighbourhood experiences and human connection
You could be forgiven for assuming a smaller Canadian city wouldn’t have much of a coffee scene. Winnipeg isn’t Vancouver, and it isn’t Toronto. But ask anyone who has spent time here and they’ll tell you the coffee is excellent.
Independent shops have taken root in nearly every Winnipeg neighbourhood, building loyal followings that show little sign of falling off — even as the cost of everything from green beans to commercial rent has made the math increasingly difficult.
The numbers back up just how deeply coffee is rooted in Canadian culture. According to the Coffee Association of Canada’s Canadian Coffee Drinking Trends 2025 study, 71 per cent of Canadian adults had a cup of coffee the previous day, making it the country’s most consumed beverage.
Today, Canada’s coffee industry is valued at nearly $6.2 billion and supports more than 160,000 jobs, according to Retail Insider, an online trade publication specializing in retail news and industry analysis. In a market that size, there’s room for more than just the giants.
Thom Bargen Coffee Roasters opened its first location on Sherbrook Street in 2012. Co-owner Graham Bargen is direct about where the industry stands. “It’s dominated by big chains. There’s no way around that.”
Even so, Thom Bargen’s four Winnipeg locations — Sherbrook Street in Wolseley, Kennedy Street downtown, Corydon Avenue in Crescentwood and Tuxedo — were each chosen because they sit inside communities rather than beside highways.
“Walking from where you live, or with a friend, to a café is a really important part of being part of any neighbourhood,” he says.
That philosophy extends beyond location strategy. The company focuses on familiarity and community connections, from hiring staff who know regular customers by name to creating spaces that become part of a neighbourhood’s daily routine. That approach holds across demographics and neighbourhoods alike.
“Probably the first 15 customers at Sherbrook are retired couples,” Bargen says. “People assume you’ve got all the young hipsters at Sherbrook and the retired folks in Tuxedo. It’s really almost the same at all locations.”
Little Sister Coffee Maker, which opened in Osborne Village in 2013 and added a south Osborne location in 2018, arrived at a similar conclusion.
“You really have to connect with your neighbourhood to be a successful coffee shop,” says owner Vanessa Stachiw.
Long-term success, she says, comes from regulars — the people who live nearby, stop in throughout the week and build relationships with staff. “The staff are the heart of it. People come because they want coffee, but they also just want to connect with people.”
That neighbourhood-focused approach has played a role in Little Sister’s continued expansion. It is preparing to open a third location this summer at 171 McDermot Ave., the same building where its roastery has operated for a decade.
Empty Cup Collective took a different route. It opened its first location on Panet Road in April 2021 and now runs seven locations in and around Winnipeg, with an eighth under construction in Saskatoon — its first outside Manitoba.
For Haley Yurman, Empty Cup’s senior leader of brand and marketing, growing the business without losing the feel of a neighbourhood café comes down to two things: location and people. The company focuses on areas underserved by specialty coffee shops.
“You have all your big players — your Starbucks, your Tim Hortons, your McDonald’s — but nothing truly local close by,” she says of the Panet Road location.
The company also moved into the old Starbucks space on Academy Road roughly a year after it closed, finding a built-in customer base already looking for a local alternative.
As the company prepares to enter Saskatoon, that local identity remains the priority.
“How do we continue to feel local in Saskatoon, even though we’re not?” Yurman says.
For Empty Cup, which started as an idea for canned cold brew inspired by co-founder Mark Talman’s travels through Asia, the answer is understanding a community before opening within it. That means learning the neighbourhoods, paying attention to customer habits and allowing each café to reflect the character of the area around it.
Dr. Divya Ramachandran, an assistant professor of marketing at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, points to Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — as a major driver behind the rise of independent café culture. It’s a trend, she says, rooted largely in a desire for authenticity.
“When younger generations have the time and desire to get something that genuinely satisfies them, they tend to look for independent coffee shops,” she says. “Those places have their own identity and a uniqueness that people connect with.”
Consumers are also paying closer attention to where products come from and whether a business is locally owned, and those factors are increasingly shaping purchasing decisions. For a generation that values individuality,even where you buy your coffee can become part of your identity.
Ramachandran also points to what she calls the “hidden gem” effect. Younger consumers often share newly-discovered local cafés on TikTok and Instagram, where finding an independent spot early carries social value. “It gives them a leg up in their social status in their own little groups.”
By comparison, major chain openings rarely generate the same kind of organic enthusiasm or cultural cachet online. Being owner-operated has practical advantages, too. Bargen says major decisions at Thom Bargen often come down to a quick call between himself and co-owner Thom Hiebert.
That flexibility mattered when tariffs and supply-chain pressures drove coffee prices up between 12 and 30 per cent over two years. In response, Thom Bargen rerouted shipments directly through Toronto, bypassing American supply chains altogether. The company also roasts in-house on a vintage German UG 22 roaster that took 11 months to certify for use in Canada.
Today, Thom Bargen sources coffee from eight countries through direct farm partnerships, with 75 per cent of its menu tied to those relationships. In Honduras, the company has purchased one small farm’s entire harvest for three consecutive years. Those long-term agreements help stabilize pricing and quality in a market that has become increasingly volatile.
Bargen says the commodity price of coffee more than doubled recently after barely moving for 70 years. For companies that couldn’t adapt quickly, the impact was severe, forcing many specialty coffee businesses to close.
Ramachandran says that same flexibility is also a branding advantage. Unlike large chains, local shops can shape everything from décor and music to staffing and menus. “They aren’t tied down to a one size-fits-all corporate culture. That uniqueness can appeal to many different kinds of people.”
Economic pressures are also influencing consumer habits. According to the Restaurants Canada 2025 Foodservice Facts Report, more than 80 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 reported eating out less because of rising living costs. Coffee, however, has remained a relatively accessible indulgence.
“You could probably still afford a nice coffee even if you couldn’t afford a nice meal,” says Stachiw.
Yurman sees the same trend and connects it to something broader. “Beverage culture has just absolutely blown up in the last three years,” she says. “I have three drinks on my desk right now — and I don’t think that’s going away, especially with millennial and Gen Z cohorts. People love a little treat and a beverage is an easy one to grab.”
That instinct to reach for something small and satisfying, even when budgets are tight, has helped coffee hold steady while people cut back elsewhere. People are pulling back on bigger purchases, Yurman says, but coffee is a constant purchase.
Ask people why they spend time in coffee shops and the answer is rarely just about coffee. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for low-pressure social spaces has grown.
“These ‘third spaces’ offer a very low-pressure opportunity to socialize,” Ramachandran says. “You don’t have to talk to anybody, but if you want to, you have the option.”
You can sit alone with headphones on, have a five-minute conversation with someone in line or work for three hours without speaking to a single person. Stachiw puts it simply: “Everyone wants human connection, and a coffee shop is a safe way to connect with other people.”
For Winnipeg’s independent cafés, that may be the biggest reason they continue to grow. They’re selling coffee, but they’re also creating places where people want to spend time. And in a city where winter can keep people isolated for months, that matters.
COFFEE BY THE NUMBERS
According to the Coffee Association of Canada’s Canadian Coffee Drinking Trends 2025 study:
● 71 per cent of Canadian adults had a cup of coffee the previous day, making it the country’s most consumed beverage.
● Canada’s coffee industry is valued at nearly $6.2 billion and supports more than 160,000 jobs, according to Retail Insider. In a market that size, there’s room for more than just the giants.
