Jenn Ko, Centretown News
Ornate fixtures decorate The Vanitea Room on Somerset Street West.The coffee and tea scene in Centretown is thriving with a different coffee and tea shop on every corner.
But nothing like the new European-style tea salon opening in Centretown late-March. The Vanitea Room, at 551 Somerset St. W., will offer a changing variety of elegant teas and suggestions for pairing tea with food.
Hind Mubarak, co-owner and creative director for The Vanitea Room, and her business partner Chanel Nadeau, decided to bring the cultural tradition to Ottawa because there’s nothing like it in the city.
Mubarak says the salon will be focused on the timeless culture of afternoon tea.
“It’s definitely a concept I don’t think people expect. It’s a unique experience you don’t have to leave the city for,” Mubarak says.
While Centretown doesn’t have a concept quite like the tea room, there are a wide variety of specialty tea and coffee shops throughout the city.
Alex Dhavernas, co-owner of the Ministry of Coffee on Eglin Street and Wellington Street, says it’s great to see the specialty tea and coffee industry growing.
“We’re happy that Ottawa is getting to the level of having an independent coffee shop and café in each community,” he says.
Even with the new shops, Dhavernas says he isn’t worried about competition.
“It’s not competitive because coffee shops are very neighbourhoods specific. Centretown is a great neighbourhood in terms of diversity in the clientele.”
Dhavernas says each of The Ministry of Coffee locations are designed for the community so that it’s not a carbon copy of the other one.
The shops are friendly, homey and something that doesn’t feel too corporate, he says.
“It’s a community-focused and local establishment that’s a meeting place for startups and moms on maternity leave to chat and have a coffee. It becomes the hub of the neighbourhood.”
Mubarak aims to do the same with The Vanitea Room. She says Ottawa is the right choice for her salon because of the laid-back feel of the city.
“There isn’t this persona that you’re in a rush to go anywhere, which in larger more saturated cities, there’s a feeling of being rushed and on the go,” says Mubarak .
“Whereas in Ottawa, there’s certainly a more relaxed feel socio-economically and politically and it has such a fantastic atmosphere.”
Gina Becker, marketing manager and community outreach for Bridgehead, also believes it’s about the community feel that makes specialty coffee and tea places so successful in Ottawa.
“Coffeehouses are thriving because people naturally want to feel connected to their community and they can express that many ways in this environment,” Becker said in an email.
Bridgehead will be expanding again further into Ottawa this spring with new coffeehouses on Carling Avenue and Ogilvie Road, and a shop in the Rideau Centre.
There will be 20 total Bridgehead locations in Ottawa by the end of the year.
Becker says the new locations are driven by customer demand.
“Ottawa is our home, it is geographically a big city and it makes sense to serve our . . . customers where they live too.”
As specialty coffee shops slowly start taking over the city, it’s the familiarity that keeps customers coming back.
“We think more about neighbourhoods and the community around each coffeehouse and what customers are looking for,” Becker says.
“Our customers no doubt form part of (the) energy that make our coffeehouses inviting and community grounded.”