Matt Fowler and Dwight Chambers chat at Dineen Coffee’s Commerce Court location, one of three Bay Street outposts for the Toronto cafe.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
It’s 10 a.m. and the queue at Dineen Coffee in the Commerce Court West lobby is just 14 people deep – a slow morning by the busy java shop’s standards.
Still, its baristas will pour about 1,000 cups of black gold for the caffeine addicts of Bay Street by day’s end.
This Dineen location, which is one of six for the boutique chain, has become a stalwart of Toronto’s commercial district.
On any given weekday, you’ll find a cross-section of the country’s bankers, corporate lawyers, consultants and power brokers huddled around Dineen’s tables, networking, dealmaking and relaxing with colleagues.
This Dineen Coffee location serves up about 1,000 cups of coffee daily for the bankers and consultants of Bay Street.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Today, a recent Thursday morning in December, consultant Irfan Karmali (flat white) is making a pit stop on his way to the office: “The coffee at work sucks, and that’s the truth.”
In the seating area, a man and woman dressed in sharp dark suits are huddled over a stack of papers at a high top.
At the bar, Matt Fowler (mocha) is perched on a stool, catching up with his former co-worker, Dwight Chambers (drip coffee with milk and sugar).
“We used to work together at TD. We haven’t seen each other in ages,” Mr. Fowler said. Mr. Chambers is still with TD Securities.
While they were chatting, another former TD co-worker, Verinder Sharma (drip coffee black), happened to come in. Mr. Sharma is now a Managing Principal at Capco.
This is what’s great about the location, said Mr. Fowler, who manages operations at Cedar Leaf Capital: You never know who you’ll run into.
Articling student Emily Feng treats herself to an almond-milk cappuccino.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Around the corner, a barista signals that Emily Feng’s order – a large cappuccino with almond milk – is ready.
“I’m treating myself today. I usually just come on Fridays, because my firm has free coffee, but this is better,” said Ms. Feng, an articling student at Stikeman Elliott.
Cappuccinos are Dineen’s most popular drink, said Ruth Young (flat white in the morning, matcha in the afternoon), although it’s neck and neck with the Americano.
As far as food goes, the banana loaf is hands down the winner.
Ms. Young, whose family is one of Dineen’s owners, is the company’s chief operations officer, but on this day she’s also chief hot chocolate maker.
They’ve got to fill an order for 1,100 cups of hot chocolate for a holiday party that day – the prior day they’d had another party needing 900 cups – so Ms. Young is in the back behind the bar, pouring chocolate ganache into a large pot and whisking it with milk.
“You’ve got to just keep stirring until the chocolate is melted, without letting it boil over – like this,” she said with a laugh as white foam poured out over the edge.
Dineen Coffee was founded by three businessmen, with its first location opening over a decade ago on Yonge Street.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Dineen was founded by a trio of businessmen – David Fortier (regular drip), Ivan Schneeberg (dark roast drip), and John Young (dark roast drip) – who were running a film-production company by day, but who had other ventures, including in hospitality.
The first location opened in 2013 on nearby Yonge Street, which divides Toronto’s east and west.
“It was really the building,” said Helen Young (almond misto), Mr. Young’s wife and Ruth Young’s mother. “John, David and Ivan really liked it and wanted to do something with the spot.”
The property at 140 Yonge St. was built in the 19th century and is famous for its yellow brick and curved architecture. Back in 1897, it was the headquarters for the Dineen Hat and Fur Company, which is what inspired the coffee shop’s name.
Helen Young, who is now the chain’s CEO, said that the space was so beautiful, they wanted to do something that would be a gathering spot for people to sit and chat, right along one of the country’s busiest streets. A coffee shop just made sense.
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The Commerce Court kiosk, which anchors the lobby of the tower at King and Bay Streets, was Dineen’s second location.
“John, David, Ivan – they would go to Commerce Court for meetings and just say ‘god, this place needs a coffee shop,’” she said. Dineen has two more Bay Street outposts: one in CIBC Square and another at 200 King St. W.
The chain survived the COVID-19 shutdowns because of “really good landlords,” the elder Ms. Young said. And with more workplaces shifting toward employees being back in the office, the towers are filling up again, bringing more people in for coffee.
Ruth Young said she loves how Dineen has evolved into a hub of the financial district.
“It’s cool, you know, watching this. No one is on a laptop. Everyone is chatting with each other,” she says gesturing to the packed tables and benches. “You feel like you’re in a spot where people are making moves, making decisions, people are talking about deals. This is a place to go to have those conversations. It’s really exciting to be a part of.”
Written by Robyn Doolittle (flat white) and photographed by Fred Lum (matcha latté)
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the title of Matt Fowler.