Toronto is getting its first locations of a famous Japanese cafe
A Japanese coffee brand with an unusual name is opening its first Canadian locations in Toronto.
It's not so much a name as a character: % Arabica is an artisanal coffee chain that currently has around 104 locations in 17 countries, and they're about to add Canada to that list.
In addition to, of course, Japan, they also have locations in Bahrain, China, Morocco, Thailand, France, Indonesia, the UK, the Philippines, Kuwait and Cambodia.
They even have one location in the United States in New York.
Union Station has announced that a location of % Arabica will be coming to the Bay St. Promenade in 2022.
According to Retail Insider, they'll also be opening a location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in December 2021 or January 2022.
The chain is known as much for its philosophical approach and stunning design as it is for its coffee.
Raised in Tokyo, % Arabica founder and creative director Kenneth Shoji fell in love with coffee during his college days in Venice Beach in California in the 1990s, when Starbucks was expanding in a big way.
After buying a Hawaiian coffee farm, exporting green beans and distributing roasting and espresso machines, the flagship % Arabic was opened in Kyoto in 2014.
"I truly need an amazing cup of coffee every day. This is why I founded % Arabica," says Shoji.
"Our dream is to grow % Arabica across unique lands and cultures of the world."
