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Local coffee shop chains see opportunities in the wake of Starbucks closures in the city

October 1, 2025

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With at least nine Starbucks locations across the city shuttering this past week, Ottawa-based coffee shops are already scoping out new opportunities in the market. Ten years ago, Jessie Duffy opened Arlington Five on Arlington Avenue downtown near the Glebe. Duffy, then the owner of Wilf & Ada’s, said that on busy days she often had to send people elsewhere while they waited for a table at the diner. “We had massive lineups from day one and we would text people when their table was ready but they would ask, ‘Where do we go in the meantime?’ For the longest time, we were telling them that there was a Starbucks up the road if they wanted to go grab a cup of coffee,” she told OBJ. “I always wanted a coffee shop,” she added. “So that was a big incentive and a push to open Arlington Five in the first place.” A decade later, the Bank Street Starbucks location near Arlington Five and at least eight others in Ottawa are reportedly closing as part of the company’s North American restructuring plan. Last week, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in a statement that the Seattle-based coffee chain would be closing numerous locations across the continent. Since that announcement, Duffy said she’s seen an increase in the number of people visiting Arlington Five. “On Monday, we did see a significant number of folks that had never been to the café before. We were closed yesterday for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation so we didn’t see any impact there, of course, but today we’re seeing a similar trend of folks that have never been to the shop before coming in for the first time,” Duffy said Wednesday. Henry Assad, president and CEO of Ottawa’s Happy Goat Coffee Company, said he was surprised to see how many Ottawa Starbucks locations were closing. “(The store cuts) were deeper than anybody expected … It does create opportunities for the smaller, independent cafés to shine in the Ottawa market,” Assad said, adding that Happy Goat locations near the recently closed Starbucks locations saw an uptick in business over the weekend. Ottawa has progressed in its coffee culture over the past decade, Assad said, meaning coffee lovers have more choice. “Ottawa has been at the forefront of coffee culture. We’ve really progressed in the last 10 years as far as new, independent and specialty coffee shops go. It was overdue, to be honest. There are many cities that have gone through a transformation when it comes to third-wave coffee outlets,” he said. Duffy said that major events such as the pandemic have inspired residents to support local businesses in the past and maybe the Starbucks closures will be another example of that. “People have their habits locked in and maybe breaking that habit will re-orient people to what else is around. Hopefully they see that there are so many great locally owned and operated options that are also serving coffee that is roasted locally and sourced responsibly,” she said. Craig Hall, founder and president of Ottawa’s Equator Coffee Roasters, said he was initially unsettled by the news. “There’s an ominous side to it. If you have a premier company that has been making money for its shareholders for a long time (and it’s) shutting stores, why are they doing that? Is it an immediate circumstance or is it a systemic problem for coffee retail?” Hall added that the rising price of coffee could be a contributing factor. According to Statistics Canada, the price of coffee at the grocery store rose 27.9 per cent in August 2025 compared to a year earlier. The increase was in part due to unfavourable weather conditions in growing regions such as Colombia, Brazil and Honduras, StatCan added. “The price of coffee is really high right now,” Hall said. “The U.S. is putting a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian coffee and so it’s (going to have) a huge impact on the market and it’s raising the price of coffee globally. “We’re likely going to see increases in the prices locally. Some people may be making choices not to buy coffee out if it’s too expensive. We’re aware of that, but I wonder if that’s what Starbucks is thinking.” With the Ottawa closures, many Starbucks employees may also be in need of a job. Hall said a wave of new applicants would be welcome at his cafés. “Staffing has been hard. Typically in the fall there’s turnover of staff as people make plans for going back to school. We’ve actually been hiring quite steadily lately but we’ll be looking for some of those staff from Starbucks,” Hall said. Equator has been taking over some of the former Starbucks locations in various Indigo-Chapters stores across Ottawa in the past few years, with a Gloucester location opening this month. Hall said the recent Starbucks closures definitely offer expansion opportunities, but more homework needs to be done before any deals are inked. “I think each of those locations would need its own evaluation. You’ve got to do your due diligence. We do have a different model than Starbucks where we’re lower-volume but much lower profitability. That makes us sustainable … But I do think there’s going to be some good locations available in the near future.” Assad is in a similar position, with Happy Goat having taken over former Starbucks locations on Elgin Street and in Old Ottawa South. He said there are opportunities for Happy Goat to take over more newly vacated locations but there is likely going to be work to do before getting those locations up and running again. “Unfortunately, Starbucks destroys everything before they leave. It would have been a more sustainable approach to (have) these things be used by another company but they have their own policy … (of) responsibility and liability,” Assad said. “We will be looking at a few to see which ones are the best for us to expand into.” Duffy said that while the vacant spaces present opportunities for local businesses to expand into different communities, Arlington Five will continue running with the one location for now. “We’re very neighbourhood-based and I’ve always been a more hands-on owner. I’d love to see those spaces evolve into local businesses, even if they’re not coffee shops, but I think for Arlington Five we are just going to stay the course with our little shop at 5 Arlington Ave. for now,” she said.