Vua Sandwich

Upon entering Gloria, an airy café at the northern tip of Roncesvalles Avenue, guests are greeted by a floor-to-ceiling 1960s photo of a couple smiling at Sauble Beach. The image perfectly encapsulates the coffee shop’s atmosphere — breezy, laid-back, steeped in nostalgia — while also depicting its namesake, Gloria Ferroni, the grandmother of owner Bryan Sherry.

“She was a bit of a central hub for our family,” Bryan says, recalling days at his grandma’s apartment in Hamilton, Ont. “That’s what I wanted to create. Someplace where people felt really comfortable.”

Bryan opened Gloria in December 2015, just a year after leaving a desk job in Toronto’s pharmaceutical industry. His vision: create a chilled-out getaway for neighbourhood dwellers. “Somewhere you feel a little bit revitalized and surprised when you walk in,” he explains.

The space brims with conversation pieces. On weekends, the sun-drenched café is filled with warm jazz spun on a record player. Milk and sugar sit atop an outfitted Singer sewing machine. A menu board that seems plucked from a hockey arena tuck shop offers up delectable house-made sandwiches, espresso-based drinks and a medley of sweet treats.