Chillax in Calgary’s new 90s-themed coffee shop

Here’s the 411. There’s a new Calgary coffee shop on the block and it’s taking customers back to the 90s.

Congress Coffee opened last week in Greenview, and owner Johanna Schwartz thinks it’s all that and a bag of chips.

This is a new venture for Schwartz, who spent more than 20 years working in the city’s non-profit sector.

“Part of what I've loved about the work that I do is that I'm able to facilitate people having their own dreams and getting creative projects out into the world,” Schwartz says.

“I felt like, after that many years, it was time to have my own piece and be the face of something instead of being behind the scenes.”

It’s all in the family

Schwartz decided to open her own business, following in the footsteps of her mother, who owned the popular hot dog joint Fat City Franks in Mission.

“After she passed last year, I had a bit of money to finally do something with and I decided to pour it into my own business in her honour,” Schwartz says.

It took exactly one year to bring the idea for Congress Coffee to reality.

Schwartz’s vision for the cafe was 90s-themed since she spent much of the decade working in a coffee shop herself.

“We get nostalgic as we get older, remembering the good old days of our own youth. And for me, that was such a seminal time,” she says.

“The idea of a space where people talk to each other instead of just staring at their computers is something I'm really trying to curate and encourage, and I feel like the aesthetic and the eclectic elements of what a 90s coffee shop was are conducive to that.”

Location, location, location

It was important to Schwartz to open a space that could support the local arts scene.

While some people suggested downtown, she didn’t feel that was the right location to bring her vision to life.

“Selling coffee to businessmen is not my dream,” Schwartz says with a laugh.

“The dream really is about creating a space. The coffee is the connector, the coffee brings people in. But it's the space to me that was really important.”

Schwartz was determined to open in Greenview.

“It’s a neighbourhood that I live in,” she says, adding she saw the need for a local hangout and a spot for local artists to showcase their creativity.

“I think the northeast is under-represented in the ability to stay in your neighbourhood and see cool things happen.”

A perfect fit

Schwartz locked down a space in the Greenview Industrial Park, and she says it’s a perfect fit.

“One of the things I've been loving about having these doors open is I'm meeting neighbours that I've never met before. It's really, really cool to see how many people live and thrive in this part of town,” she says.

Despite only being open for about a week, Schwartz says the community support has been incredible so far.

“I would say two-thirds of the people who have come through the doors are people I don't know, which is amazing. Friends and family have obviously come by, but it's the strangers who have been incredibly supportive.”

Schwartz says many customers have expressed how eagerly they were waiting for the coffee shop to open.

“‘We need this in our neighbourhood’ is what I hear over and over again. So it feels really fulfilling that I wasn't the only one who saw this need and that it truly existed and it's being filled now.”

Providing a space for creativity

Schwartz is happy to provide a space for young people, too.

“I'm really excited about being an all-ages venue for young kids to come and try out their own creativity or see other artists,” she says.

Starting in March, Congress Coffee’s programming will include live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

Schwartz is open to other ideas that community members have as well, whether it’s standup comedy, poetry readings, book clubs, or Dungeons and Dragons nights.

“That kind of space so people feel like it's theirs and that they can put their mark on it as well,” she says.

“If anyone sees this space and they get inspired to want to create something, we encourage them to just talk to us and we'll be excited to help them make their idea come to life.”