1. Nils Vik, Parlour Coffee
2. Lindsey Dorie, Moxies
3. Vanessa Stachiew, Little Sister

“Coffee brings people together,” says Nils Vik, the guy behind the counter at Parlour Coffee on Main St.

He’s been bringing people together over coffee since 2011 at Parlour, and 2013 at Little Sister Coffee Maker on River Ave.

“Winnipeg really is like a small town - you’re serving people you know, or that you’ve met and now you continue to see them on a regular basis,” Vik says. “I get energy from those interactions.”

That’s part of why he loves being the guy behind the counter. He explains that because of Parlour’s central location, the diversity is huge and always interesting. He could be serving someone from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra one minute, and then a bus driver, a homeless person, a judge, a lawyer the next.

“Maybe people like me because I like to be nice to people,” he says, and then quickly wondering if that’s too self-centred. He’s a humble dude. That’s probably exactly why people like him.

 “I’m genuinely interested in serving people,” he says. “This is a thing I do for eight hours a day - I want to have fun with interactions. I want to be nice.”

 Along with that, Vik loves giving people a good cup of coffee and a great experience.

 “Emotions are absolutely a part of tasting,” he explains. “People say they had the best coffee of their lives in Italy. Sure, it might have been good coffee, but you were drinking it on vacation, with someone you love, on the beach, and that has a big impact on why you remember it being so good.”

 He tries to bring a little bit of that into the bright, sunny space at Parlour for each of his customers every day.

 Find Nils Vik behind the counter at Parlour Coffee, 468 Main St.

Part of the series: The Uniter 30

Published in Volume 69, Number 15 of The Uniter (January 7, 2015)