The Coffee Shop

Parlour Coffee

Kevin Legge

1. Parlour Coffee
2. Thom Bargen 
3. Cafe Postal

Nils Vik opened Parlour in September, 2011 when he was looking for the kind of coffee experience that he created for friends and family at home. “I kind of fell into coffee in 2008, so I haven’t been a coffee drinker for too long, but those four to five years have been really intense and I took it very seriously. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for in Winnipeg, so I thought I would open my own coffee shop.”

Located at 468 Main Street, it is nearly impossible to walk by Parlour’s large inviting window without seeing it full of hip people from the area. “We’ve had a great reception, and we’re very flattered. The majority of our business is from repeat customers who visit us at least once, if not twice a day.”

Vik says that he owes the popularity of the space not to any one specific factor, but to the overall Parlour experience. “What’s special about Parlour is that our product is high quality and fresh, but equally as important is how we serve it. It is a nice experience with lovely people.”

The open airy aesthetic was a priority to Vik as well, saying that he wants to create a “clean headspace” for his customers. “Take a break from the visual ocean out there. We keep our artwork minimal, showing one piece at a time. Most of our art has been from local artists but we are not restricted to that. This year we already have pieces lined up from Atlanta, Calgary, and Montreal.”

Even if it is your first time at Parlour, Vik hopes that you will feel at ease and welcome. “The product may be looked upon as pretentious or snobby, but we serve a snobby product with an inviting delivery.”

Part of the series: The Uniter 30

Published in Volume 68, Number 14 of The Uniter (December 4, 2013)

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