Toronto couple open dream coffee shop and people are falling in love

In a cozy shop on Sterling Road, a dream turned into a reality for Monika Novakova and Tomas Vitmajer, an engaged couple who have captured the hearts of caffeine lovers with their rustic cafe, Coffee By Joy.

The charming spot has quickly become a neighbourhood favourite, thanks to its inviting atmosphere, quality drinks, and innovative baked goods.

For Monika and Tomas, owning a cafe was once just a distant dream. Both originally from the Czech Republic, their love story coincidentally began in Toronto and over time, drew them them closer to the idea of opening a café together.

“Having our own cafe was for a long time just a dream, which was far from reality. In the beginning of summer 2024 when we started thinking about a way how to reach the goal to own our house while doing something we enjoy, the idea of a café started to form more and more clearly in our minds,” Monika told blogTO.

“Monika and I are people with free minds and multiple skills. To live happily, we need to be highly motivated. And that’s why we decided to take the idea of a café seriously and give it our energy,” Tomas added.

coffee by joy After finding the perfect spot on Sterling Road, the couple decided to take a leap of faith and sign the lease.

“That brings us to probably the biggest problem we’ve faced in a long time, Monika said. “You don’t see anything wrong with that? Maybe you’re right, but try to empathize with the feeling that if you sign, you’ll have to spend all the money you’ve earned up to this point, plus you’re committing to not leaving the space for a long time afterward.”

Nevertheless, the business owners stand by the belief that those “who risk nothing, gain nothing,” and decided to chase their dreams, no matter the potential outcome.

“From then on, everything picked up speed and things started happening. The renovation of the whole space was done within a month, the whole concept of the cafe started to fall into place, and with the first opening the first customers started to come.”

“What we love about the cafe is that we are constantly improving it. Trying out what works and then redesigning or improving what doesn’t work. Because with every redesign or improvement, more people come to us, and if you keep asking these people for their feedback, you can keep moving forward in the right direction.”

The cafe, which officially opened up at the end of 2024, serves up all your coffee staples, including espresso, cappuccinos, flat whites, lattes, and matcha lattes, along with decadent baked goods like their housemate buns, fig tart, and fruit cake.

The cafe uses mugs made by a local Japanese potter for their lattes, and you can find lots of handcrafted pieces by Monika throughout.

They also serve Five Elephants coffee beans, which are roasted in Berlin, Germany. The couple’s favourite cafe in Prague carried the beans, and so they decided to bring them here to Toronto, making them the only coffee shop in the city to offer this blend.

“Step by step, already having happy regulars and bestselling items! But we don’t stop there either,” Monika said. “We have plenty of ideas in our heads.”