Gene Cafe

This is one of the coolest coffee shops I’ve been to, and is the perfect blend of java and single-speed riding skinny jeaned hipster culture. It’s Saturday morning, and I’m at Gene, on the fork of the Main Street and Kingsway junction, surrounded by hung-over hipsters sporting the latest in sneaker trends and counter culture fashion.

I realize the term hipster has some negative connotation to it, but it is a group that is definable by it’s unwillingness to be defined, and their counter culture fashion and attitude.

What appeals to me about “hipster” culture is that it is not based around money. The Gene Cafe fits into this by keeping the decor simple, the building original, and the menu basic. Everything just kind of “is how it is.”

The Gene is a place that is not really trying to do anything, but is existing, and flourishing, based on being the real deal. I’m looking around at some awesome people, sitting in an awesome space with big windows, in a cool neighbourhood with great boutiques, and drinking a powerful rocket fuel based Americano.

Add this one to the list.