It's hard to complain when you can pick up a box of Timbits with the convenience of Tim Hortons, but are those doughnut delights coming at a cost?

That was the fear of many Kelowna residents when news broke that mega-chain Tim Hortons was opening a new downtown location at the site of the old Paramount Theatre.

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.

Now a month later, many local coffee shops on Bernard Avenue on are saying it’s business as usual despite the new neighbours.

“People who are looking for an artisan crafted coffee are going to go to one type of coffee shop and people who are looking for something more like Tim Hortons will go there,” said owner of Bliss Bakery Darci Yeo.

“We do scratch artisan baking using the highest quality ingredients, everything is made fresh and we have generous portion sizes. These factors really differentiate the two coffee shops and our customer base reflects this.”

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.

Bliss Bakery was originally competing with Tim Hortons for the space in the old Paramount building and despite being disappointed the heritage building wasn’t used to house a local, more artisan oriented business, the coffee house is confident their new site across the street has plenty of amazing space to offer those looking to relax with a warm beverage.

“Kelowna’s downtown is turning into a coffee culture type district of the city, which is really cool,” said Charlotte Augustine, owner of the Bean Scene's downtown location.

“I decided to open right beside Starbucks because being next to a mega chain store can have a positive effect on small business due to the fact customers who are used to having a double double or a coffee at Starbucks might look around and decide to explore the Bean Scene.”

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.

The Bean Scene’s downtown location is also well known for hosting everything from open mic night to yoga on the patio in their distinct space, which is something that just doesn’t happen with the rigid company rules fast food chains like Tim Hortons need to follow.

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.

Room for creativity is the main reason that Bliss Bakery, Bean Scene and Pulp Fiction Coffee House that focus on the artisan craft of coffee are considered ‘third wave’ coffee shops versus the mass production of coffee sold a low cost, which is considered to be ‘first wave’.

“There is room for everyone, but some of us are coffee snobs,” laughed Pulp Fiction’s Max Sloan. “It’s like wine, some people desire a high quality, artisan crafted bottle and others don't have a preference.”

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.

In the case of artisan coffee, the price may be fifty cents to a dollar more but the increase isn’t without good reason.

Pulp Fiction Coffee house uses a method to decaffeinate their coffee that takes time and costs more, but saves the consumer the unwanted chemicals often used to remove caffeine.

Read below how Pulp Fiction Coffee House naturally decaffeinates their coffee:

While the uproar to protect small business in the downtown core in reaction to the incoming Tim Hortons was made in good nature, the general consensus from coffee shop owners is that their artisan brew, creativity and comfortable spaces will keep their customer base coming back.

Given this, it still doesn’t hurt to visit Kelowna’s small businesses and vote with your dollar.