YEG Coffee Story Part One: The Independents

by Mary Bailey with Curtis Comeau

Part Two: The OG | Part Three: The Roasters

Have you noticed there is a new coffee shop on every corner?

Joining established coffee purveyors like Coffee Bureau, Square One and The Colombian is an explosion of new spots in every neighbourhood.

Over the next six months we will explore our city’s burgeoning coffee scene. We start with featuring four independent coffee shops that have opened in the past year. We’ll also talk about the different ways people are incorporating coffee into another business— hair, a general store and books—and coffee pop ups.

Next, we focus on the people who pioneered independent coffee in YEG—Transcend, Credo, Coffee Bureau and Ace Coffee. In the September/October issue meet local roasters Rogue Wave, Aspen Coffee and Roasti. We end the series with profiles on three coffee establishments—Columbian, Iconolcast and Square One—as they foray into multiple locations and other food businesses.

We mourn the demise of one of our favourite coffee shops, Lock Stock, which closed earlier this year. Thank you for the good brew and tasty eats for a decade.

LIBERTA COFFEE LAB

Liberta owner Seung Paik

Seung Paik and his wife Sue Park opened Liberta Coffee Lab in March last year. It’s a gorgeous airy space with great coffee and food. “I learned coffee in Korea,” says Seung. “Every corner has a coffee shop. The name means freedom, it’s in Italian because that’s where coffee really began. We want to be part of that tradition.

“Coffee is our core, we see ourselves as a student of coffee. We have three African coffee beans and four Central American,” he says. “We prefer a lighter roast for pour over. We purchase from an importer right now, but we’re exploring ways to source directly from origin so we can offer even better-quality coffee while also contributing positively to coffee producing communities. A way to help them a little, by buying their coffee.”

Liberta coffee

A big attraction at Liberta is the food and it’s delicious. Sue is head of the kitchen and the popular Korean street food, egg toast, is the best seller. “Customers love the crookie (croissant plus cookie),” says Seung. “We have two, chocolate almond and matcha.”

Seung is also a pastor; he sees the way people can connect in a coffee shop as profound, a place to gather and make community. “We believe Liberta has three components: good coffee of course, but that cup of coffee represents freedom from the everyday. It’s more than just a drink. Happiness—good food brings happiness. And connection. Anyone can come and feel comfortable in this shared space.”

Seung and Sue designed the lower floor to be attractive to youth. “The basement is more creative, cool for the young people,” he says. “We have mini concerts there, and support the artists, painters and photographers who need a space to showcase their work.”

Check the website for upcoming classes and events.

Liberta Coffee Lab, 6547 99 Street, libertacoffeelab.com.

COMMON GROUND COFFEE

Guests mingle at Common Ground

Joohyoung Anh opened Common ground coffee in the Keswick neighbourhood in June 2024. “I love coffee and I love people. It is tied into my work as a pastor and I wanted to create a safe space to start a conversation and develop a sense of community,” he says. “My sister-in-law is a designer/ architect in Korea. She helped me visualize the space. I wanted to give the customer the freedom to sit however they wanted, to explore the space differently, make it easier to make eye contact with strangers, or new faces. It’s not good for study or work, we wanted people to talk to each other.” It’s obviously working. Every time I’ve been to Common Ground it’s been packed and chatty.

Common Ground barista at work

“We use Ace Coffee for espresso and rotate from different roasteries for pour over. Jiyoon Park (JYP), our pastry chef, is passionate about pastry but she is on leave right now, back by the end of May. Right now, we have croissants and little pastries from another bakery.” When JYP is back, be sure to try the salt bread (Tomato Top100).

Common Ground strawberry matcha

“The whole world is divided, so many conflicts,” says Joohyoung. “And there are so many different ethnic groups, and religions. We can find common ground.”

Common Ground Coffee, 2727 182 Street, instagram.com/common_ground_yeg

OBJ3CTS CAFFEINE CAKE CULTURE

Lynne and John Squirechuk opened Obj3cts last July.

“We opened this place to work with our daughter Kristianna; she is Wild Rose Cakes,” says Lynne. “She is a pastry chef, specializing in special occasion and wedding cakes,  as well as a large assortment of baked goods. She has been in business for seven years. She worked at Duchess for five years (before Covid). This gives her business some exposure downtown and we can build something for her when we retire.

Obj3cts Coffee: creating a drink

“Our concept was to open a cool coffee shop that featured baked good from Wild Rose Cakes mixed with a flower shop, housewares, apothecary and cool hard to find items. Our daughter saw a lot of this type of business when she was in school in Toronto.

“The biggest challenge was to pick a coffee we wanted to serve. We wanted something different. We like chocolate caramel flavours in coffee. Fratello is what we offer at the espresso bar and JJ Bean is what we offer for our drip coffee. We have a larger assortment of roasters for our pour overs such as Onyx, Roasti, Fratello, Phil & Sebastian and JJ Bean.

Hot and cold Obj3cts Coffee options ready to serve

“I’m not a barista,” says John; “but we hired two really good ones. And we have a unique pour over.”

Obj3cts, 10356 Jasper Avenue, objectsedmonton.ca.

NUESTRA COFFEE SHOP

Antonio Velasquez and Nichola Hildebrand outside their coffee shop; at right, one of Nichola’s custom mugs

Nichola Hildebrand and Antonio Velasquez bought the attractive Art Moderne building across from Borden Park last year and opened earlier this year after a full, down-to- the-studs renovation. It’s a lovely modern space and the first thing you notice is the happy staff.

“We want staff to stay. Our goal is to keep it interesting so they stick around. Nuestra means ours and we think that includes our team, we want to take care of them,” says Nichola.
“We have a huge source of joy and support in collaborations with other businesses,” says Nichola.

“There are so many amazing roasters. We use Anecdote (Square One’s coffee roasting company) and we have a rotating coffee collab with several other local roasters as features.”
Nichola is also a potter; the darling coffee mugs at Neustra are made by her. They do plan on Nuestra custom cups on offer at some point, but for now, enjoy in house.

Nuestra Coffee Shop, 7601 112 Avenue, instagram.com/nuestra_coffee_shop

This is what we love about independent coffee shops. It’s not just about the coffee. Each owner spoke about community, both being part of a community and offering space to the community. A place to be and connect. Long live the independent coffee shop.

This is part one of The Coffee Story series.