Paper Route Cafe on Kingston Road creates a welcoming community hub

By CONRAD MURPHY

A new café has opened up in the Upper Beaches area, aiming to bring a bright and welcoming space to the neighbourhood.

The Paper Route Café, easily visible by its bright yellow exterior, is designed as a community hub where families, friends, and colleagues can gather to enjoy a cup of coffee or get a bite to eat.

“Our goal for our coffee shop in this space is to fill a gap—a gap in the community,” said Jill Peterson, co-owner of the café.

“There aren’t that many places along the street where you can pop in and meet a neighbour or a friend, or just sit and read a book while enjoying something to eat.”

Jill and her husband, Julian Peterson, opened the café earlier this year after relocating from the Annex to the Beaches a couple of years prior. The idea for the business came after Jill repeatedly passed by the building seeing it was up for sale.

“I had driven by this building a few times and thought that it would be a perfect coffee shop,” she said. This initial thought quickly turned into a reality as the couple decided to rent the space and transform it into a café.

Though they encountered some small challenges with rezoning and city regulations, the Petersons were able to push forward in creating a there dream café.

Despite their background in the service industry, this was the couple’s first time taking the lead on running a brick-and-mortar business.

“This is our first time actually running the show,” said Julian Peterson.

To help bring their vision to life, the couple collaborated with the design team at Sansa Interiors, who helped shape the space.

“Light is a big thing that we tried to play with… the space is just very inviting for that reason, with the huge windows facing south,” said Jill Peterson. This welcoming atmosphere is enhanced by a large yellow mural on the main wall, as well as various artworks and paintings displayed throughout the café.

As parents themselves, the Petersons wanted to ensure the café was also family-friendly. To do this, they created a dedicated kids’ area at the back of the café and chose practical, wipeable vinyl seating throughout in case of any mess.

“This community is chock full of people who are in similar situation to us where they have young kids… So it’s nice to be able to find places that are built to support young families,” said Julian Peterson

Beyond serving as a neighbourhood café, Paper Route Café has also begun hosting events, including mothers’ groups and workshops.

The café plans to expand its event offerings, with future programming such as live music, book readings, and open mic nights. They also hope to collaborate with local artists and businesses to strengthen connections throughout the community.

Looking ahead, the Petersons are excited for the summer months, when they hope even more of the community will stop by for coffee, lunch, or one of their many upcoming events.

“We’re just pretty grateful to be here and to have connected with the community that has come in and shown a lot of enthusiasm for the space,” said Jill Peterson.

The Paper Route Cafe is located at 462 Kingston Rd., just west of Lee Avenue. For those interested in hosting an event at the café, bookings can be made through their website: https://www.paperroutecafe.com/event-booking