The Toronto-based gourmet café chain
SPoT Coffee recently announced it had secured $250,000 in financing to fund its rapid expansion in Toronto and across Ontario and Western New York. The money will help with the opening of two new locations this summer, one in North York and one in Buffalo, according to the news
release.
Director Alex Gress says the company, founded in 2004, currently has 10 locations either open or under construction, and expects to be announcing further locations soon. Gress estimates they employ more than 400 people.
The chain prides itself on building "community cafés that reflect the local surroundings and communities," Gress says. Each location has distinct artwork and seating to suit its particular environment and serve the area residents. The aim is to have each café be unique, Gress says, while also having a formula of sorts to ensure that the successful elements are replicable in new locations.
"Yes, there's a formula to replicate the uniqueness," Gress jokes.
In Toronto, where the company's world headquarters are located, Gress points to the Bremner Boulevard location near the CityPlace condo development and the soon-to-be-opened "Park Place" location in North York as examples of a successful partnership with developer Concord Adex.
"We essentially have a right of first refusal to lease prime locations in their developments," Gress says. And those are large developments. Gress says their North York location will be in an area expected to house 290,000 residents. Future possible locations with Concord Adex include the Concord Parade development near Bathurst and Lakeshore.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Alex Gress, Director, SPoT Coffee