In August of 2014, founder-worker Jessica McCarrel took a 25 square foot storage closet and transformed it into a bespoke coffee nook. The original Kaffeeklatsch, nestled within CommunityWise, a nonprofit social service building on 12 Ave SW, served extraordinary coffee in this unusual and unexpected space for two years.

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Because of its small size, Kaffeeklatsch has always doubled as a mobile cafe. Jessica built an espresso cart to travel across Calgary and serve notable coffee in unique and surprising spaces, fostering social connections. With each new setting, we temporarily install the cafe using the existing conditions of the space. This tiny coffee shop, lodged into a small and often awkward location, invites interest as much as the aroma of coffee does. The unexpected nature of the cafe itself sparks conversation and connection.

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Furthering both the mobile and unpredictable nature of Kaffeeklatsch’s pop-ups, Jessica created a cold brew coffee trike in June 2015. This cycle has appeared throughout downtown Calgary, serving exquisite cold brew coffee in the heat of summer.

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In August 2018, Kaffeeklatsch was approached by the management of the Cambrian Centre and asked to provide the building’s tenants with coffee and food. The building’s unusual street location and the challenging layout of its lobby made sense for us. It was another interesting and unexpected space to install a cafe.

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We began serving tenants with our mobile coffee cart while the Centre built out the dedicated cafe space. By mid-December, the space was complete, and Kaffeeklatsch began serving coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and soups in this permanent location.

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The Centre is home to EFW Radiology, the Regional Fertility Program, and CBC and Radio-Canada, all of whom we serve weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Finding amazing coffee and food in a health complex is rare, and we are delighted to share this experience with the tenants and clients of the Cambrian Wellness Centre.

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In the summer of 2020, we found the perfect additional home for a Kaffeeklatsch that was neither cart nor stall, but a full cafe space. Located just a few blocks from where we started at 1205 1st SW in the Beltline’s Victoria Park neighbourhood, the storefront quickly became a hub for community, art, and shared experiences.

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Over two years, we curated art exhibitions, hosted events, and created a space for joy and connection, even amidst the challenges of a pandemic. The support we received was incredible. Ultimately, we were outbid on our lease and unable to stay, despite September being our most successful month to date.

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But we are not done.

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Kaffeeklatsch continues to operate at the Cambrian Centre, where we serve tenants and staff of the medical complex each weekday. We also continue to host pop-ups across the city, bringing specialty coffee and connection to Calgary’s vibrant community spaces, festivals, and creative gatherings, while saving our pennies and working toward opening a new storefront.

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