Canadian Retail Thread

[SteelTown]

Eh a medium coffee from McDonald's is $1.25, which I find is better than Starbucks.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by casper

Being a responsible Canadian, we should be buying from local roasters instead of those in the US.

Elbows up! Boycott Starbucks. There's plenty of Canadian cafes, particularly Mom and Pop cafes to support.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Using my office as an example of 'where did all of the coffee shops go', we used to have capsules which many enjoyed but a lot of us still went out for something better.

Now we have two grind and pull set ups that are part of our overall office amenities and so I still hit up a shop on the way to work, but unless I have a meeting I resort to those mid-morning and mid-aft.

I bought a Ninja coffee maker that does K-cups and regular drip brew and I prefer it over going somewhere for coffee. I also have a Nespresso Vertuo machine. I fill two Contigo travel mugs with two different drinks every work day. Normally one with tea and the other with a latte and sometimes regular coffee if I'm feeling tired. Much easier to carry into the office than getting a takeout drink in a paper cup while carrying my laptop and other things.

Two small independent cafes have opened downtown Timmins but are pretty pricey. I only go once a month for a drink I couldn't make at home. We have two Starbucks locations but are away from downtown so not convenient for me but I sometimes will go on a weekend. We used to see a lot of Tim's cups in our office but post-covid I've noticed most people are making their own drinks in travel mugs. We do have Keurig machines at work as well.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

WFH has killed coffee shops. They'll return along with RTO.

As I posted above, they may return to a certain extent but I don't think the same as before. The high price of coffee beans right now isn't helping and many people are opting to just make their own drinks to save.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Loco101

As I posted above, they may return to a certain extent but I don't think the same as before. The high price of coffee beans right now isn't helping and many people are opting to just make their own drinks to save.

With the projected lack of temporary foreign baristas we are likely to see more AI baristas joining the teams at these coffee shops. That should help keep prices down even with the high cost of coffee beans.

• Video Link

[Wigs]

Aside from the cost of barista robot, and servicing it when it inevitably has malfunctions or breakdowns.

That's a high upfront cost when the typical American barista makes $27-28k/yr.

[acottawa]

I went to a robot coffee shop in SF last year (my last U.S. trip for a long time). Coffee was good and it was fun to watch the robot make it as a novelty, but fairly slow, not sure they are ready for mass rollout.

Plus the f***ing robot still asked for a tip.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I bought a Ninja coffee maker that does K-cups and regular drip brew and I prefer it over going somewhere for coffee. I also have a Nespresso Vertuo machine.

Any drip brewer is pretty much the same process as a cup of filtered coffee you’d buy in a cafe. As for espresso-based beverages, it’s hard to compete with the large, expensive machines in a cafe, but I am quite pleased with the Breville Bambino Plus and it tends to be highly rated. It’s a $500 investment but you will save money over time without losing out on much flavour-wise. A good burr grinder, fresh beans, and water purity make a difference as well.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Back on topic, the recent Starbucks closures have reminded me how many coffee shops have disappeared in Ottawa over the last few years. The Rideau Centre has gone from 5 (plus one in the transit station) to one. St Laurent Mall has lost both. The Byward Market has lost all but one. Timothy’s has disappeared, Second Cup is down to a handful of locations. Starbucks and Bridgehead have closed numerous locations.

Is this an Ottawa thing or a national trend?

In Vancouver I'd say local chains and small stores are more than making up the difference for the Starbucks losses.

As a drip coffee drinker it's amazing these places charge up to $4 for a cup of drip coffee... but such is life.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Hecate

People just can’t afford to spend fifteen bucks a day on a couple coffees while at work anymore. These places will be the first to go. Then it will be the fast food chains.

That's so backwards. The cheapest food places are the last "to go". Also please let me know where they are going??

Restaurants have always had a ~50% failure rate. Franchise brands less so of course.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I was surprised when I popped into a local 7-11 that they had a huge automated coffee counter. Prices much cheaper than a regular coffee shop. Sure, I can't sit down and enjoy it there but neither can I in most Sbux after their disastrous post-Covid refits.

McDonald's is by far the best bang for the buck coffee wise. $1 for a small, and only goes up marginally from there. The coffee is good!

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Any drip brewer is pretty much the same process as a cup of filtered coffee you’d buy in a cafe. As for espresso-based beverages, it’s hard to compete with the large, expensive machines in a cafe, but I am quite pleased with the Breville Bambino Plus and it tends to be highly rated. It’s a $500 investment but you will save money over time without losing out on much flavour-wise. A good burr grinder, fresh beans, and water purity make a difference as well.

Breville makes a great line of products. I have a 20 year old Cafe Roma that still does the trick.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by casper

With the projected lack of temporary foreign baristas we are likely to see more AI baristas joining the teams at these coffee shops. That should help keep prices down even with the high cost of coffee beans.

• Video Link

Korea has robot coffee all over the place.

In Vancouver we have Orange Juice machines, mostly in or near skytrain stations.


jusfres.com

[SpongeG]

on the subject of coffee shops, there are a lot of Asian shops opening up now, in Vancouver and Toronto, not sure where else.

There is from Japan % Arabica, The Venti is from Korea, Cotti Coffee is from China. The Venti is known for its cheap coffee as is Cotti.

In Korea they have so many cheap coffee chains, I can see more of them come over here.


yelp.ca


https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/


PXL_20250709_223800979 by snub_you, on Flickr

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Elbows up! Boycott Starbucks. There's plenty of Canadian cafes, particularly Mom and Pop cafes to support.

Absolutely! There is no reason to go to the Starbucks, Tim’s, McDonalds places! The sooner they close up the better

[casper]

On the topic of coffee making robots, the Mayfair shopping center in Victoria has one in the hallway. If I remember correctly I think it also asks for a tip. Following the standard principle that I only tip for table service, obviously the AI was disappointed but understood. If the AI running the robot recognizes repeat customer and tries to make small talk after time it may ear a tip.

The other interesting one is the pizza making robot in the Columbus airport. Opened a few months ago. The robot is from Canada, it was manufactured in London, Ontario and is an export to the US.

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[Hecate]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

That's so backwards. The cheapest food places are the last "to go". Also please let me know where they are going??

Restaurants have always had a ~50% failure rate. Franchise brands less so of course.

In the context of what I wrote… where do you think “go” means? Are you illiterate?

Starbucks is closing stores, second cup is closing stores, Timothy’s? Does it still exist? Tim Hortons profits are down.

The Tim Hortons in Windsor regional hospital is costing ontario taxpayers hundreds of thousands a year in lost revenue.

And I thought you were all “eLboWs uP” with your little Canadian flag picture.

Why you buying McDonald’s coffee?

[savevp]

Originally Posted by casper

If I remember correctly I think it also asks for a tip.

Sorry to go off topic a bit, but this is vile.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Hecate

The Tim Hortons in Windsor regional hospital is costing ontario taxpayers hundreds of thousands a year in lost revenue.

Cool anecdote.

Originally Posted by Hecate

And I thought you were all “eLboWs uP” with your little Canadian flag picture.

Why you buying McDonald’s coffee?

Because it's good and cheap. I thought we were all too poor to afford anything else? Make up your mind.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Hecate

In the context of what I wrote… where do you think “go” means? Are you illiterate?

Starbucks is closing stores, second cup is closing stores, Timothy’s? Does it still exist? Tim Hortons profits are down.

The Tim Hortons in Windsor regional hospital is costing ontario taxpayers hundreds of thousands a year in lost revenue.

And I thought you were all “eLboWs uP” with your little Canadian flag picture.

Why you buying McDonald’s coffee?

What is wrong with McDonald's coffee. Like Tim's it is roasted in Canada.

The one to avoid for ethical reasons is Starbucks who roast their coffee in the US. Once they learn the errors in their ways and relocate the roasting operations to Canada they should be considered again.

That said, the local independents are also Canadian owned so they should do better.

I think Murchies makes the very best coffee, but its expensive. They are better know for their teas.
https://www.murchies.com/

Spirit Bear makes a good coffee. (Indigenous owned)
https://spiritbearcoffeecompany.com/