Monigram aims to build coffee community
Cambridge-based business percolating through region with Kitchener location set to open soon
CAMBRIDGE — At one time, latenight television host David Letterman said Cambridge had more coffee shops per capita than anywhere else in North America.
That may be true or not, but there is no denying Cambridge residents love a good cup of java. And in a world filled with Tim Hortons and Starbucks, a number of local entrepreneurs have their own take on the humble coffee bean.
Monica and Graham Braun took the plunge in 2012, opening Monigram Coffee Roasters, at 16 Ainslie St. S. They love roasting coffee and gave up their wellpaying day jobs to start their own business, roasting and brewing coffee for customers in a beat up old red brick building off the Water Street parking lot in the heart of downtown Galt. The Brauns’ business is a true partnership right down to its name, which is the combination of Monica and Graham.
“We have a real passion for roasting coffee and we wanted to build community in the city we live in,” Graham explains.
In the tradition of the original coffee houses, where the caffeine fuelled conversation and debate, Monigram has become a community hub where people from all walks of life mix and mingle, while sipping good coffee and munching on bagels, pastries or something more filling.
“It’s been amazing,” said Monica.
“I get to talk with everyone who comes in here and they have gotten to know us. Sometimes we’ll have someone like a realtor come in and they might need an interior decorator and I’ll introduce them to one sitting at another table and get them together.”
Over the last six years Monigram’s community has grown and now includes regular visits from customers from Kitchener, Waterloo, Brantford, Burlington and Hamilton.
Just three years after opening, the Brauns took a huge gamble. In 2015, they signed on with the Idea Exchange to run the new café at 12 Ainslie St. S. that is part of the Galt Old Post Office, Cambridge’s next generation bookless library.
“Every few years Graham needs a new project and this was it,” Monica explained.
“It was huge undertaking and it was good that we had three years to plan for it,” Graham said. “It’s probably the best thing we’ve ever done. It also didn’t hurt to have 4,000 people at the kickoff for the post office.”
That was in July. The unfortunate part of the opening was that Monigram’s second location was still under construction. The new location in the post office’s main floor reading room opened in October.
However, the wait has been worth it.
At the old post office, the Brauns not only have a café, but also a kitchen, which has allowed them to expand their catering business.
With the new venue, the Brauns hope to take on more functions and corporate events.
They have catered a number of events at the new library, as well as around town, and are looking forward to the day someone wants to have a wedding there.
“The space here is amazing. You have this panoramic view of the river and the view from the patio upstairs in spectacular,” Monica said.
As the business at the old post office gets rolling, the Brauns have launched themselves into two new ventures. They have partnered with Kitchener’s Red Circle Coffee Co. and are roasting coffee with them at the Catalyst137 building in Belmont Village.
“We have been asked to partner on a lot of things, and we have had to say no to many of them, but this was a good fit for us. Everything has tied together,” Graham said.
In the next few weeks, Monigram will be open a café in a prime location in Kitchener. It will be located at 618 King St. W., near the corner of King and Victoria streets, and will be called Monigram Coffee Midtown.
With the rapid growth of the company, the Brauns will now be working apart for the first time since leaving the corporate sector. Monica will hold the fort in Cambridge, while Graham commutes back and forth to Kitchener to oversee operations there.
“It’s going to be a little different. We have been living and working together all these years and now Graham will be in Kitchener much of the time, so when he gets home I’ll be asking ‘How was your day,’ ” Monica said with a laugh.
With the partnership, three locations and almost two dozen people on staff, the Brauns have their hands full. Add to that two growing daughters and their volunteer efforts with the Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Area and Ayr’s Food for Thought program. The couple admit they need a vacation; it virtually tops their list of things to do in 2019.