About Elysian

A barista watching an espresso shot pour at the first Elysian cafe, on West 5th Avenue

The Elysian team behind the bar at the first cafe, on West 5th Avenue

The Elysian Room, the first Elysian cafe, on West 5th Avenue

5th Avenue, 2004

“What if the coffee was good every time?”

Back before latte art and pour-overs, a man stopped at his neighbourhood cafe every morning before work for a cappuccino. Some mornings it was delightful, and his whole day followed suit. Good coffee. Good day.

Often, though, it was terrible. On those days, as dramatic as it sounds, he felt his one chance at happiness had slipped away. Maybe tomorrow would be better.

Eventually he realized the difference was attention. When the person making his coffee cared a little more, he could taste it. So he opened a small cafe on 5th and started paying attention. A couple of years later he put up a sign out front that read, “The Elysian Room.”

An Elysian barista pouring milk into a cappuccino

“Was good coffee enough?”

As time went on, the man opened a second cafe. One built on everything he had learned, where the coffee was good, every time.

He continued to pay attention, as was his habit, and noticed that guests still sometimes left unhappy. The coffee was consistent, but their experience still wasn’t. Just like with his morning cappuccino, the difference came down to whether the person behind the bar was paying attention.

He worked on himself. He worked on his team. He learned what made a visit good. Importantly, he learned that if Elysian was to be a great place to have coffee, it must also be a great place to work. So the next chapter began, and with it the dream of building a great place for everyone.

There’s always more ground to cover, but we’re still paying attention.

We Believe In

Making good coffee easy.
We source and roast our coffees to be consistently easy to brew and as sweet as possible. It’s that simple.
Taking care of people.
We really want to make your day. Good coffee and pastry are just one of the ways we can try to make that a reality.
Paying attention.
At Elysian, everyone has something they’re paying close attention to. When we notice, we find ways to make things a little better.