In 1996, ECS Coffee started part time out of a garage in North Burlington, Ontario.
“Since then, we have grown from one employee with one truck to over 40 employees in retail, ecommerce, distribution and coffee service. With in house service and repair, and a state of the art website serving all of Canada – we are your number one source for coffee and espresso brewing gear and coffee,” said Neil Madden, the company’s President.
And recently it opened its first new Coffee Experience concept store in the bustling area of Etobicoke in Toronto, conveniently close to CF Sherway Gardens and IKEA, at 130 N Queen Street.
Madden said the concept is “unique to Canada if not North America.”
“It includes some exciting concepts that have never been done all in one place before,” he said, listing the following:
- Coffee Roasting in house on a state-of- the-art emissions-free roaster
- Showroom of operational equipment for home espresso and coffee enthusiasts to come try
- Full service and warranty centre on site
- YouTube studio
- Over 500 varieties of coffee on site with free samples
- Educational and Fun classes. From Coffee Cuppings to Coffee and Yoga, to Coffee and Canvas. With more planned.
The location is about 7,300 square feet and Madden’s describes it as Canada’s largest coffee and espresso equipment gear showroom.
“Overall the community response has been great and we are excited to bring this very unique concept that we have developed over our 27 years in business to Toronto,” said Madden.
In 2000, Madden went into the office coffee business doing B2B. Then in 2008 during the “big, impending doom recession that was coming”, he decided to do a one-day sale in his warehouse. He advertised in the local paper. At the time it was Keurig KCups as nobody really had them in Canada. He was one of the early adopters of it.
“We had so much business that one day. I thought people might be actually interested in coming to pick some stuff up. Our one-day sale was so successful out of a little, tiny warehouse, it was nothing but an office and a computer, there’s no room . . . I decided to open up. Hire someone to be a receptionist, we started a little bit of advertising and we went viral. In the early days of Facebook we were a pretty big influence on the coffee market in Canada – Tassimo, Keurig, and Nespresso all wanted to work with us,” said Madden.
“We kind of created that category for them in retail before they were in stores. It just went nuts for about five years until they all decided to join major retail. We just continued to pivot in the coffee business and now we find ourselves we’re kind of a coffee journey store. We help people with whatever aspect of the coffee journey they’re in. Whatever level they’re at. If you’re a beginner or advance, we can take you through the entire journey and continue to add on to that as the market changes. It’s where our niche fits in. I think we’re the only one really doing it completely.”
The brand has three locations in Ontario and a huge presence online. The main location with the warehouse is 14,000 square feet in Burlington. There’s also a 3,000-square-foot store in Ancaster, Ontario and the new one now open in Toronto.
He said the new store is a culmination of all the years put together into its newest concept going forward.
“In the 27 years, I’ve seen everything change. Coffee I see as a journey. People that like to cook, like chefs, they’re always looking for new tools. Some people are beginners, some people are advanced. So what we decided to do with our company was rather than just being transactional which we all can do online . . . we want to get people’s journey to another level,” said Madden.
The journey can begin online through the website and social media with an active YouTube presence. The stores have machines that are all operational for people to try them out. There are classes to learn about the coffee journey. The company also roasts its own coffee developed for all the equipment it sells and it creates its own products. There’s a service centre for pretty much all the brands it carries and a warranty centre for most of the brands.
“It’s not just giving somebody a machine or selling them a product. It’s giving them the full experience which no one is doing I don’t believe in Canada or North America,” said Madden.
He said there’s probably room for five or six of these new concept stores in Canada. The company wants to perfect its Toronto location first before expansion across Canada to major urban centres.
“Canada is much more advanced than a lot of people in the rest of the world (when it comes to coffee), surprisingly,” said Madden. “It’s even a surprise to me. Compared to the States, we are probably more snobby in our coffee tastes. You wouldn’t think so. You would think we’re Tim Hortons country. There’s definitely a level of that and we sell Tim Hortons coffee . . . but it’s become a hobby for so many people.
“It even surprises me at times . . . the levels of which Canadians have adopted this new hobby and to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Canada’s a big market. People take it very seriously.”
