Fool Coffee is an easygoing coffee shop and bakery in Little Italy. Replacing Slow Room , owner Cam Zalewski opened the cafe near his secondhand bike store, My Little Bike Shop . With in-store baked goods and heartwarming coffee, Fool Coffee smells like my grandmother's kitchen on Sunday afternoon: nostalgic and tenderly sweet.

A heavy aroma of fresh-made scones and banana muffins draws the attention of locals wandering by on College Street.

Brittney Adams, the bake maven and coffee geek, is the welcoming face of the shop. She's cool as a cucumber with a smile that makes you feel like you're sitting around a campfire.

"We use Sam James Cut Coffee. It's the best," Adams tells me while pulling an espresso from a La Marzocco machine. She's right. It's heavenly.

Fool Coffee serves a standard selection of caffeinated drinks, from cappuccinos ($3.50) and lattes ($3.75) to double-shot espressos ($2.50), and uses rich Hewitt's Dairy milk. There's also Pluck Teas available ($2.00), which boasts a variety of tea flavours for customers craving something soothing.

Adams offers me a fresh-baked scone with a creamy glaze topping ($2.00). It's soft and still hot from the oven.

The charming décor resembles a little boy's bedroom with model sailboats, automobile toys, a teddy bear and a globe of the world. A peculiar purple crystal is equal parts impressive and random.

Encyclopedias and travel guides add a worldly allure to the boyish space. There's an innocence in here that's wistful and homesick. Maybe even a little lost.

It's a little community here, and everyone loves the cafe's homey feel. Rest assured, loyal Sam James patrons can now enjoy Cut Coffee on the west end without wandering too far south. An added plus given the looming fate of SJCB's Ossington location.

Photos by Jesse Milns.