Guest post by Erin Cassidy Extra Butter Coffee opened its doors in Toronto’s Roncesvalles neighbourhood last Wednesday, and according to co-partner and baker Ray Fox, the support has been overwhelming. I went to see the place over the weekend, and the sheer number of people coming in impressed me. I also loved the look of the place: the bar made out of an old bowling alley floor, the seating area illuminated by a large, sunny window.  Not to mention the yummy smells wafting off of the fresh pastries Ray had made that morning. CANADIAN LIVING: Where’d the name come from? RAY FOX: We often get questions about the name. During renovations we could hear people on the street say, “Extra Butter? What is that?” Extra Butter is actually the name of a blend of coffee, roasted by Toronto’s own Dark City Coffee Roasters. CL: Do you have a partnership with Dark City? RF: The owner of Dark City, David Thompson, licensed the name to us, and in turn we will only sell their coffee. We are selling organic, fair trade and Femenino-certified coffee, which aligns with the community’s eco-friendly and socially responsible ideals. Dark City has been around since the ’80s, and we really know their coffee. My co-partners and I, Cassie Germann and Ian McPhedran, believe in Dark City  so much that we wanted to name our shop after their most popular blend. CL: What else do you have besides coffee? RF: We noticed that people were looking mostly for savory goods, with the exception of a delicious chocolate or almond croissant. Right away, bacon came to mind. We played around with different recipes and finally came up with the Maple Mustard Bacon Bun. It’s delicious! And as odd as it sounds, they’ve become very popular, along with the breakfast tart. Part of being a good businessperson is listening to your customers and taking suggestions, and always striving to improve and produce the next best thing. CL: How has the neighbourhood responded? RF: There have been so many familiar faces. We’ve worked and lived in the area for years, so  we know a lot of people here. It’s been really great when people  come in and say  things like, “We were wondering where you’ve been!” The people of Roncesvalles are taking Extra Butter really well. (Image provided by Ray Fox)