There's a new coffee shop in downtown Barrie.
And if new businesses make you uneasy, the familiar faces running it should make you feel at ease.
Opened on Feb. 10, the Wired Owl Coffee Company is owned by Jim and Eddie Mota-Dalianis. The couple, who also run Headquarters Hair Salon at 47 Dunlop St. E., decided to purchase the former Barrie Bean Counter location on Jan. 1.
Eddie says that when it was first thought of, it was just a vision and a dream to expand on what they had next door.
“We’ve always wanted to do this, create something different from what Headquarters is and when this space became available, we jumped at it. No one's getting any younger so let's go,” he said. “It needed a lot of love to get it spacious as we needed and able to fill it with families.”
The couple, who have been married going on 15 years, have kids and grandkids and are very aware of what is needed to make a day out for coffee and a treat workable.
“Anyone who knows us knows we’re all about family and all about community, so we gutted the shop and started from scratch to be able to fit more people in here comfortably,” Eddie said. “We moved the counter to the middle, so it was easier to get to, and also opened up lots of space at the back.”
The couple will share responsibilities between the two businesses, with Eddie floating back and forth.
“Jim will be at Headquarters for now and I’m here with my son, Christian, but I’ll be kind of bouncing back and forth until we figure out all the bumps we have to fix,” said Eddie. “Eventually, Christian will run this and I’ll be grabbing supplies and running around.”
Eddie says the menu is growing everyday and will feature many treats from the couple’s Portuguese and Greek backgrounds.
“So far, our best seller has been the Portuguese custard tarts, but we specialize in Greek pastries as well,” said Eddie. “We also have a specialty hot chocolate that we do called a Snowy Owl, which is a white hot chocolate.”
Anyone who is a client of Headquarters knows the couple pride their business in being open to everyone, and the Wired Owl will be no different.
“We’re an inclusive place for everyone. We don't tolerate any discrimination of any sort,” Eddie said. “Another thing about us is we are a family business. We’re family-based, family-run and that is never going to change."
For shop hours and any other information, head to the Facebook page here.
