Local coffee company plans fourth location

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This article was published 29/12/2023 (980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANOTHER Thom Bargen is on its way.

The Winnipeg coffee chain finalized its fourth location roughly one year after opening in Little Italy.

Now, its owners expect to unveil a second Corydon Avenue Thom Bargen in March.

“I don’t think, when we opened, that we would have ever planned to have four locations,” said co-owner Graham Bargen. “We do feel like Winnipeg is supporting us really well.”

The latest Thom Bargen will reside roughly five kilometres from the oft-busy Little Italy location.

Bargen and his partner, Thom Jon Hiebert, weren’t actively planning an expansion, Bargen said.

However, the Tuxedo site was always a dream locale for them. The coffee company began on Sherbrook Street; health-care professionals heading to shifts at Health Sciences Centre would regularly stop in, lamenting that Thom Bargen wasn’t near their home, Bargen recalled.

The former Timothy’s World Coffee site — in a strip mall at 2090 Corydon Ave. — is near some of the customers’ houses, he added. Timothy’s left last summer.

“That spot just seems really special,” Bargen said.

It checked Thom Bargen’s boxes — there’s a patio, parking spaces, steady traffic, homes nearby. Once the site became available, the Winnipeg entrepreneurs leapt.

Bargen estimates he’ll hire 10 staff to run the café. Baked goods and a small food menu, similar to the current Corydon Avenue location, will be available.

With interest rate hikes, higher operating costs and customers being more conservative with their money, it “does seem like a terrible time” to open a retail-facing business, Bargen noted.

However, he reiterated, locals have been supportive — they’ve been visiting the coffee shops and buying Thom Bargen’s coffee bags. The company launched the latter offering in 2020.

“Going out for some beers and a dinner is getting wildly expensive, but I think going for a coffee is in the ballpark for a lot of people,” Bargen explained. “We’re just super grateful for the support.”

Thom Bargen has locations on Sherbrook Street, Kennedy Street and Corydon Avenue. It won’t close any down to accommodate the new add, Bargen said.

He isn’t ruling out future expansion. The new place is the farthest from the city’s core Thom Bargen has ever ventured.

“There’s a lot of really buzzing areas that are outside the city centre,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the direction that we try.”

As long as things go well in the new Tuxedo location, he continued.

Employees in the strip mall are anticipating Thom Bargen’s arrival.

“If they have a chai tea latte, they can maybe count me as a customer,” said Sarah Heald, an employee at cannabis retailer Character Co.

Foot traffic in the evenings and weekends has improved since the arrival of Original George’s Burgers & Subs earlier this year. Thom Bargen may further boost sales, Heald noted.

“I’m looking forward to trying,” Linda Plouffe said of Thom Bargen.

The T.E.A.M. Chiropractic employee can grab tea at the Starbucks across the street — but “good luck getting across” during rush hour, Plouffe warned.

Thom Bargen opened in the West End roughly 10 years ago.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com