An excellent coffee comes from a perfect blend – Perfect Blend Bakery

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Tucked away at 1971 Weston Rd, in York, Ontario is a delightful experience for those individuals who appreciate delectable ambiance.  Located in the heart of Weston, Perfect Blend Bakery has managed to restore an aspect of society that we all speak off in high regard: family and community.

I know I can speak for the entire village of Weston when I say we were all so very happy when Weston got its own espresso bar and coffee shop. It’s a great place for lunch and take-out. The coffees and extended coffees are even better than Starbucks, and the people are friendly and upbeat. The place is gorgeous, and the ambience is perfect.

P.J. (Yelp Review, 5 Stars)
It could be a quick coffee before work or lunch; Perfect Blend Bakery offers a unique, and extensive menu that is sure to entice, the most sceptical palate. Their menu includes espressos, cappuccinos, lattes, crepes, omelettes, an exclusive muffin selection, and saving the best for last, an assortment of sinfully delicious desserts.

“I stopped in here and had the special of the day, a cup of coffee and one of their excellent cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies. The service was quick and friendly, and my panini was excellent and very filling.”

Y.E (Yelp Reviews, 5 Stars)
The story of Perfect Blend Bakery started like most amazing success stories, as a dream. Last Saturday, I had an opportunity to sit down with Christina Kalamaris, Manager at the Perfect Blend Café. I found out about this place from a friend and decided to visit it last December. I have been a regular since, and I thought it was due time to highlight a place that speaks, lives, eats, and emanates community.

As I waited for my French Vanilla Ginger Tea, and oatmeal (one apple cinnamon with brown sugar, and one berry), Christina and I sat down so I could learn some more about what makes her café such a perfect blend. “It all started off as my father’s vision,” Christina begins. “My dad moved to Weston Rd. when he was seven years old. My Grandfather actually owned a shop across the street. They came from nothing. My grandfather had to work very hard to take care of his family. The story is that one day he looked at this building and said, ‘One day I am going to own this building.’ As life has it, my grandfather passed, but dad continued to work hard and eventually bought the building.”

“Throughout the years, my dad has seen the good and the bad. He wanted to introduce something to the community to bring it back to where it used to be, so he decided on a café. Dad has a career outside of this, and I have a passion for people and for customer service, so I stepped up to the plate and began to run the café.”

Stopped on our way out of Toronto for coffee. Picked this place because it was close to our Airbnb and was NOT Tim Horton’s. We were pleased with our coffee and the friendly service. Very clean, bright and modern.

Maryland Visitor (Trip Advisory)
What caught me about this place was most definitely the customer service. When the young women who work behind the bar see me, I can see they recognize who I am, and they offer such warm smiles. It is a feeling that brings me back to this place, and I shared this with Christina.

“We have some amazing staff, and I have been so lucky to find them. Each and everyone of my team have the same passion for customer service. When you come in here, you don’t feel like a number. We personalize our service. It is these things that we know that larger franchises don’t do anymore. We want to give people an experience,” Christina explains.

“A lot of our customers have been with us through this journey. When we first started, we were very busy, then it slowed down. Mati’s opened up. I think that it was good competition to have. We started having different people come in here. People would start coming in to have lunch, sit down to enjoy a latte.”

 Nice environment. Staff are nice. Nice music with Great coffee!!! Highly recommended.

S.T (Trip Advisory)
“I see Tim Horton’s has opened up a block over; has this affected you?” I had always been curious about that. There was about six café’s all in a one-kilometre radius.

“People go to Tim Horton’s because of the brand, not the service. You can tell the difference from when people are just slapping a sandwich together, from when they do it with care,” Christina tells me. “Our goal is to stay connected to our community, our staff. It’s family. That is what it is. Family!

 Our team understands certain rules, and the number one rule is that the customer is always first. I don’t really subscribe to the idea of the customer is always right, because they are human. Sometimes they are wrong. I take on each resolution differently.

 Let’s say it is our fault. We made your sandwich wrong. That is our fault. I will apologize and we will make another fresh for you. As a team, we will work together to ensure that you leave happy. Sometimes people come in and they have just had a bad day. This does not give you permission to disrespect my staff.”

 “So, here is the big question for you Christina,” I queried, “What makes you different from everyone else?”

“Let’s just start with freshness. Have you had other establishment’s muffins or donuts at certain times in the day? Hard. Stale. Who wants that? We crack our eggs for every customer. We buy fresh groceries every day. Our coffee is straight from Italy. Here, you get what you are paying for.”

“When we add new items, our entire team comes in and we do tastings. If they can’t recommend it, it does not go on the menu.”

I asked immediately when the next tasting was. Christina laughs, “For you Saturday mornings.” I don’t think she realized how serious I was.

She knows that I love French Vanilla’s, so like an expert, she told me that they had recently introduced it on their menu. The staff did a tasting for that as well. “The more people, the more taste buds, the higher quality something is going to be,”

I thanked Christina for the interview and collected my breakfast. What a great way to start a busy day. Fantastic food. Great dialogue. Amazing experience.