Ok, it is not actually very new, but visiting The Second Cup location at the corner of King & John for the first time in years was a new kind of experience for me.
What brought me there was a stroll through the neighbourhood with some time to kill while waiting for my Dad to finish his charity climb of the CN Tower. Why he was expending countless calories and I was lazily seeking a beverage and a snack is another issue entirely. Nevertheless, a dark roast was in order.
What happened in the next ten minutes was a serendipitously pleasant assault on my senses. From the aromatic fancy (insert yummy or yuppie interchanagebly as needed) slow bar of coffee experiences, to the WiFi and wirelesss charging stations, Canadian content, brass keg like taps for milks and cream pictured below, and more - this was an entirely unique coffee shop experience for me in Canada.
I grant you that the bar is set fairly low in that all I need to be satisfied is a nice affordable brew with a place to connect and charge a device. That said, as someone who increasingly spends is working hours in a virtual space - this is also the kind of place I could see myself parking myself for a few hours to move a project forward with whatever caffiene or fibrous product is on offer.
In short, I wish there were more of them.
Second Cup, being as Canadian as it is, I the coffee chain one wants to root for. In the ultra competitive coffee market they are neither as big as the Tim Horton's, McDonald's or Starbucks of the world, nor as prevalent - but they are showing fight in testing out new models of service such as this and different ways to improve the quality of the customer experience.
If today's experience is emblematic of what can be expected of their future plans, then I am hoping for success and that they can continue on a growth track. At minimum, they have ensured that I will continue to return as a customer the next time I am around.
