Little Sister coffee chain adds new link in Exchange District

Something new is brewing in the East Exchange District, and for coffee lovers, it’s grounds for celebration.

Little Sister Coffee Maker is preparing to open its doors at 171 McDermot Ave. next month. It’s the third and largest coffee shop for the Winnipeg company, which has operated a roastery in the building since 2016.

“I don’t even know that people know that about us — that we’ve been roasting coffee here in the Exchange for literally 10 years,” said owner Vanessa Stachiw. “I’m excited to bring more visibility to the roasting side of our business, and honestly, just stoked to be in the Exchange.”

The space was home to Darling Bar and VA Cafe from 2023 until earlier this year. Before that, it housed Forth Café and Forth Bar.

The new coffee shop will seat around 45 people, Stachiw said. Renovations are currently underway.

“It’s pretty dark (in here right now), although beautiful,” the 39-year-old said. “We could say (it’s) masculine feeling, and we can say it’s going to turn into a cheery feminine feeling, which is the whole Little Sister vibe. There’s a woman at the helm.”

Running a business is not something Stachiw envisioned for her life when she was in her early 20s. She earned an undergraduate degree in French studies at the University of Winnipeg and worked in the foodservice industry along the way.

After graduation, she considered pursuing a career related to Mennonite history. Instead, she partnered with her brother-in-law, Parlour Coffee founder Nils Vik, to start Little Sister. They opened the first location, a 12-seat shop in Osborne Village, in 2013.

“I wasn’t like, ‘This is a great business idea. I’m going to open a business,’” Stachiw recalled. “I was a coffee shop romantic who wanted to own a coffee shop. That’s how my journey started.”

Two years later, she bought Vik out. That same year, they partnered with Chad Ermel and Minneapolis-based Dogwood Coffee Co. to start a specialty coffee roaster under the Dogwood name.

In 2018, Stachiw opened a 25-seat shop in South Osborne. Three years later, she took full ownership of the roastery and rebranded it under the Little Sister name. The company roasts anywhere from 300 to 450 kilograms of coffee beans each week, servicing customers and wholesale accounts across Canada.

Stachiw says Little Sister’s growth has been organic, with opportunities to open new shops arising as a result of the relationships she’s formed over the past dozen or so years.

“I was a coffee shop romantic who wanted to own a coffee shop. That’s how my journey started.”

Such was the case when Darling Bar and VA Cafe closed, and the building’s owner approached her about taking over the space.

“It feels like home already, so let’s invest further in this building,” Stachiw said. “I would have been open to another spot, but (I was) not pounding the pavement for another spot.”

Little Sister has around 20 employees, and Stachiw is in the midst of hiring another 10 to work at the new shop.

Forming relationships with the employees, most of whom are women or non-binary folks, is rewarding, she said.

“I would say the romantic coffee shop feel is still there for me,” she said. “Certainly what’s kept me engaged in my business beyond just a romantic feeling is that I work with awesome people. My staff are the bones of Little Sister.”

Longtime employee Kristian Jordan, who joined the company as a barista in 2014 and currently manages the South Osborne shop, has a small ownership stake in the new location.

“It’s been a source of a lot of experiences and growth that I just don’t think I would have found anywhere else,” the 34-year-old said of Little Sister. “It’s been such a big part of my life that it’s nice to be a part of it as well in this new phase.”

Stachiw has a hunch as to why she and Jordan work well together. She’s the youngest of four girls — hence the company’s name — and he’s the youngest of four boys.

“We share an origin story,” Jordan said.

Having a Little Sister coffee shop in the Exchange District feels like “a natural fit,” said David Pensato, executive director of the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone.

“It feels like home already, so let’s invest further in this building.”

“It’s just such a great location and I think it just takes the right company, the right person, to make a go of it, and Vanessa is that person,” he said.

It’s not the only change to the food and drink offerings in the neighbourhood.

A sushi eatery called Ocean Bites opened at 61 Albert St. earlier this year, and Middle Eastern restaurant Habibiz Cafe will celebrate the grand opening of a new location at 225 McDermot Ave. on Friday.

Meanwhile, longstanding steakhouse Hermanos is moving from the historic Ashdown Warehouse, at 179 Bannatyne Ave., to a restaurant space attached to the Centennial Concert Hall.

“There’s a lot of movement and a lot of activity,” Pensato said. “It’s nice to see that the Exchange District continues to be a draw for entrepreneurs and for people looking to open restaurants and retail.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca