Fix Coffee and Bikes
Location Toronto Owner Fred Sztabinski Website fixcb.ca
What’s your favourite coffee drink?
My daily drink is black drip coffee. We make amazing drip, and it’s the best way to really taste a particular bean in its purest form and appreciate its nuances and notes. It’s also just really comforting to hold a mug of hot coffee and sip it slowly, appreciating the moment quietly, or, alternatively, while getting some work done.
How did you come to start the café?
Our shop existed only in my head for four or five years before it became a reality. I was inspired in large part by my time living in Amsterdam with its ubiquitous bike culture and amazing café culture. The thing that makes our shop unique is our bike gallery. We feature rotating exhibitions of custom bike makers. The world of handbuilt bicycles normally reaches such a minute fraction of the population. We had the idea to bring these amazing pieces of work to a wider audience, showcasing actual bikes, photos and the story behind the maker.
What’s the local cycling scene like?
I’d say our area of Toronto and areas nearby have the best type of cycling culture – the kind that’s not really a culture. People who don’t necessarily think of themselves as cyclists. This is what makes cycling meccas, such as Denmark and the Netherlands so great. Cycling is not treated as a faction; it’s just part of everyday life.
Do you have changes you’d like to make to the café?
Like many cafés (not just bike cafés), the trend is moving toward offering more than just coffee and baked goods. We’re aiming to evolve and offer beer and wine, plus an expanded food offering. We also plan to host movie nights next winter, pick from the wide selection of bike-themed films that have come out over the years.
Who’s the most notable cyclist to stop at the café?
I’d like to hope a notable cyclist has been in here, and maybe we just didn’t know it! One of our regulars is an old friend of Michael Woods. He says he’ll get him here soon. So, we’ll be waiting. In the meantime, a couple of notable Olympians, Simon Whitfield and Adam van Koeverden, have dropped in.