Everybody’s favourite indie coffee shop, The Birchcliff Coffee Bar, is expanding and moving a few doors to the east in order to accommodate more customers.
Olivia Peters, owner of The Birchcliff Coffee Bar
24-year old Olivia Peters’ vision of a cosy, local, birch-themed coffee house has proven so successful that she needs more room and plans to relocate in style, adding a fireplace, cozy chairs and an outdoor patio.
“Thanks to our amazing community, we have been a little full at our current location, at many times of day throughout the week,” Peters said. The cafe can get a little overwhelming and crowded so we felt the best way to thank our clients would be to providing a bigger space.”
Peters, who has been renting her current space since late 2015, purchased the corner building at 1680 Kingston Rd., where the patio is already under construction.
The new location is expected to open in October and will also have a few dedicated parking spaces, which Peters said “should help with morning rush hour and caffeine fuel ups”.
The Birchcliff patio under construction
Soon-to-be new home of The Birchcliff
Applying for a liquor license
Peter is also applying for a liquor license to offer a short listing of wine, beers and ciders as well as light snacks such as charcuterie boards.
“Everyone’s always asking for different things. But the biggest one was wine. So we thought OK, let’s do that and introduce a small cocktail menu in the evenings not too late to about 10pm or so every evening throughout the week,” Peters said.
“It’s gonna be a coffee shop with a hint of cocktails,” Peters said, explaining that she doesn’t want to compete with bars and other establishments offering full meals.
Emma and Charlotte, staff members at The Birchcliff
Peters plans to maintain the same vibe as the current coffee bar, with the help of her mother, Irene Peters, who owns The House and Garden Co. on the same block. They want to keep the exposed brick, which may need to be restored to match the Birchcliff colour that is so familiar to customers now. And, the giant historical Birch Ciff photos will also make the move to the new location.
It’s an exciting time for Peters, who was born in Birch Cliff and has lived in the neighbourhood her entire life.
“Honestly, you don’t know when you’re starting a business. It’s scary, especially if you haven’t done anything like this before. It’s going to be a challenge but it’s proved very well so far and there’s an amazing community that is always supporting us – our regulars, the kids, the parents, everybody is quite supportive of our endeavour so far. So we hope to serve them better at our new location,” Peters said.