Coffee clash: Competition in the downtown core may land vendor in hot water

A new mobile coffee cart in downtown London, Ont. has caused quite the stir for a local brick-and-mortar business.

The owner of Filter Café, Matthew Webb, said he was looking to get into the coffee business for some time, and thought a mobile cart was the best way to get started.

“I thought, 'let's start small and build from there,’ and get into the community and meet people. And I thought a coffee trike might be just the thing,” said Webb.

Due to some miscommunication, Webb began setting up his cart Tuesday on Dundas Street, near Clarence Street. His allocated spot by the city was actually set for the southeast corner of Dundas Street and Wellington Street, close to where the business Coffee Culture is already located.

“I do have, like, a specific spot that the city has assigned. There's a lottery system that the city sets up for people who are doing something like this,” Webb said.

City staff were unavailable to comment Thursday, but did provide CTV News with information regarding refreshment vehicles in the city.

Licensees are given one of nine locations across the city at a specific location to set up shop. These vendors are allowed to move locations if they have permission from the property owner, and if it is properly zoned.

“There's no ill intention. It was just, I think, a little bit of misunderstanding,” said Ward 13 Councillor David Ferreira. “So the moment that I reached out to [Webb] and some of the other entrepreneurs, some of the other businesses, I do feel that maybe it's just a lack of misunderstanding, but everything has been tightened up as far as I know right now.”

Coffee Culture on Dundas Street in London, Ont. as seen on May 11, 2023. (Marek Sutherland/CTV News London)

The owners of Coffee Culture aren’t thrilled the city allowed for a similar business to operate so close to them.

“You know, you've got your entertainers, you've got legitimate musicians, maybe magic, you've seen the caricatures. You know, you want to bring something to the street that everybody. A guy selling coffee on the corner. What does that really do except compete against us,” said Shane Kenneth.

Ferreira said he's confident city staff did their due diligence before awarding a license and location for the coffee on wheels venture. However, he thinks the program, which only began a couple of weeks ago, could look into encoding something in the bylaw that focuses on specific types of vendors.