TORONTO—Yarn bomber and blogger Trish Austra likes coffee. She likes it enough to open a new coffee shop in the basement of an existing coffee shop.
“I mean, I like Steam Punked” said Austra, referencing the established cafe in the space above her planned outlet. “But I felt like the neighborhood could support another less commercial place for a java fix.”
Austra plans on stocking the joint, tentatively called Undergrounds, with coffee and pastries that are locally sourced. “My grandmother will be making the cupcakes, gluten-free quick breads and bars,” said Austra. “The beans are single origin, roasted exclusively for the shop by Beard & Bicycle in West Queen West. And we’ll be using a Nuova Simonelli machine to pull our espressos.”
Austra plans to be serving coffees by the end of September. “The renovations are almost done. I just need to complete the latte art and tattoo assessments before hiring baristas.”