Words by Kevin Naulls | Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, British coffee bars employed a rule: stick to one type of clientele. Suits hung out with suits and academics hung out with academics. Even café owners and coffee pushers mimicked the type of coffee drinker they served, sartorially speaking. This romanticized old coffee culture is extinct in Toronto, though, and the style code of today’s barista has become universalized. The person serving you your first, second, third, fourth or fifth daily cup at your local indie café is almost certainly dressed casually: for the fellas, a tee or plaid shirt, jeans and facial scruff; for the ladies, a vintage ensemble. Sure, it’s exactly what you’d expect; but we think there’s something comforting about receiving your morning joe from someone who isn’t wearing a workaday uniform. In this week’s instalment of our street style series, we look at Queen Street baristas (i.e., some of the coolest coffee fiends in the city).
As we journeyed along Queen, we noted, rather unsurprisingly, that dudes in coffee shops have a propensity toward indoor toques, and a washcloth is an ever-present accessory. However, our findings exceeded simple style notes. Unbeknown to most, there’s a network of travelling coffee professionals along Queen who have stopped in Toronto while wandering across the country, using their advanced coffee knowledge and café experience as a calling card. In Leslieville, we met a gentleman from Calgary and a girl from Nova Scotia —the former cut his teeth at Calgary’s Phil and Sebastian and is currently a barista at Dark Horse, while the latter, a Fairtrade advocate, says that a lot of the green, eco-friendly practices we’re seeing in Toronto cafés are something the East Coast has been promoting for years. She even joked that the plaid shirt–clad man is even more ubiquitous there, if you can imagine that. But amid the T-shirts, jeans and scruff, subtle tweaks on the prevailing style kept everyone from looking like a caricature—a sprawling beard (almost hiding the most welcoming smile ), a Wonder Woman change holder accenting a lumberjack uniform and an almost Heidi-like, tightly braided high ponytail.
137010 (Images: Jenna Marie Wakani) Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas_intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas_intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas_intro.jpg 656 380 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas_intro/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas_intro 0 0
137021 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) The Mascot Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas6-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas6.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas6.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas6/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas6 0 0
The Mascot
137026 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Rustic Cosmo Café Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas1-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas1.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas1.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas1/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas1 0 0
Rustic Cosmo Café
137020 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) The Beaver Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas7-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas7.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas7.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas7/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas7 0 0
The Beaver
137019 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) The Drake Café Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas8-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas8.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas8.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas8/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas8 0 0
The Drake Café
137018 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) El Almacen Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas9-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas9.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas9.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas9/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas9 0 0
El Almacen
137011 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) White Squirrel Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas16-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas16.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas16.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas16/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas16 0 0
White Squirrel
137012 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) R<sup>2</sup> Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas15-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas15.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas15.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas15/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas15 0 0
R2
137332 apr12streetstylefinancialdistrict10 https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12streetstylefinancialdistrict10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12streetstylefinancialdistrict10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12streetstylefinancialdistrict10.jpg 400 600 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylefinancialdistrict10-2/ apr12streetstylefinancialdistrict10-2 0 0
137013 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) R<sup>2</sup> Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas14-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas14.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas14.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas14/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas14 0 0
R2
137014 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Niche Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas13-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas13.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas13.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas13/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas13 0 0
Niche
137025 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) F’Coffee Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas2-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas2.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas2.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas2/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas2 0 0
F’Coffee
137017 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Dark Horse Espresso Bar Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas10.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas10/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas10 0 0
Dark Horse Espresso Bar
137016 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Dark Horse Espresso Bar Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas11-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas11.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas11/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas11 0 0
Dark Horse Espresso Bar
137022 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Mercury Espresso Bar Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas5-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas5.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas5.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas5/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas5 0 0
Mercury Espresso Bar
137023 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Te Aro Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas4-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas4.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas4.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas4/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas4 0 0
Te Aro
137015 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Tango Palace Coffee Company Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas12-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas12.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas12.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas12/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas12 0 0
Tango Palace Coffee Company
137024 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani) Tango Palace Coffee Company Street Style: Queen Street baristas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas3-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas3.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/apr12StreetStyleQueenBaristas3.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/toronto-street-style-queen-street-baristas/slide/apr12streetstylequeenbaristas3/ apr12streetstylequeenbaristas3 0 0
Tango Palace Coffee Company
That man’s beard wins, hands down.
Wow… they all dress like… like all the other people on Queen Street…
I agree, #4 beard for the win.
Hipsters are boring and poor. *Barf*
Beards are gross. When is this damn fad going to go away. I agree with Nickolaos. It would be hipper to bathe once in a while and get a real job.
Gilead is closer to King but Michael Leclair is gorgeous. And so are the peeps at Little Nicky’s at Richmond and Peter.
…and the purpose of this article?
Beards. out of control. these people don’t have real friends.
Oh, was so hoping to see a photo of the heart moving man who works mornings at the Queen West Dark Horse.
Jemi, try missed connections
dude in pic 4 needz a ‘beard net’
Real people. Mostly simple styles, but some really neat ones too.