The Local Cafe and Restaurant
The Local Cafe and Restaurant is a single-location training restaurant and quick-service cafe at Centennial College's Progress Campus in Toronto, serving globally inspired, locally sourced meals to students, staff, and the Scarborough community while providing hands-on hospitality training.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Local Cafe and Restaurant does
The Local Cafe and Restaurant is a single-location educational training restaurant and cafe operated by Centennial College's School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2016 and located at 937 Progress Ave on the college's Progress Campus, the venue operates as a dual-concept food service: a quick-service Cafe open Monday-Friday 9:00AM-2:00PM offering Fair Trade organic coffees, espresso, teas, bakery items, breakfast sandwiches, and grab-and-go meals, and a full-service Restaurant serving globally inspired, locally sourced menus that is open for special events and closed during the summer semester. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and the venue holds both Ocean Wise and Feast On sustainability certifications for seafood and alcohol sourcing.
The Local Cafe and Restaurant firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Local Cafe and Restaurant
- Legal name
- The Local Cafe and Restaurant
- Website
- https://thelocalrestaurant.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The Local Cafe and Restaurant is a single-location training restaurant and quick-service cafe at Centennial College's Progress Campus in Toronto, serving globally inspired, locally sourced meals to students, staff, and the Scarborough community while providing hands-on hospitality training.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Local Cafe and Restaurant industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Restaurant Services
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Independent Neighborhood Cafes (THAFADAC)
Keywords
Where The Local Cafe and Restaurant is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Local Cafe and Restaurant business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Food and Beverage Sales: The restaurant generates revenue through direct food and beverage sales at both the full-service restaurant and quick-service cafe. The Cafe offers grab-and-go items including beverages (coffee, espresso, teas, soft drinks, juices), bakery items (cookies, muffins, scones, loaves, cakes), breakfast items, and meal items. The restaurant provides full-service dining.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
The Local Cafe and Restaurant product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Local Cafe and Restaurant is a dual-concept food service operation functioning as an experiential learning facility for Centennial College's School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts. It offers full-service restaurant dining (open for special events) and a quick-service cafe serving Fair Trade organic coffee, espresso, premium teas, bakery items, breakfast items, salads, soups, sandwiches, and grab-and-go meals to Centennial College students, staff, and Scarborough community members.
Product overview
The Local Cafe and Restaurant operates as a dual-concept food service operation consisting of two distinct offerings under one brand. The full-service Restaurant provides globally inspired, locally sourced dining with an experiential learning focus for hospitality students, currently serving special events. The quick-service Cafe offers freshly brewed beverages including Fair Trade organic coffees and teas, espresso drinks, bakery items such as cookies and muffins, breakfast sandwiches, and grab-and-go meal options. Both offerings emphasize scratch-made food philosophy using fresh ingredients, Ocean Wise certified sustainable seafood, and are part of Centennial College's culinary arts program.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Restaurant Full-service dining experience offering globally inspired, locally sourced menu items, operated as an experiential learning environment for Centennial College School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts students. Guests dine while students build hospitality skills under the guidance of industry-professional faculty and staff.
- The Cafe Quick-service cafe offering freshly brewed Fair Trade organic gourmet coffee, espresso, premium organic teas, soft drinks, juices, and mineral water, along with bakery items (cookies, muffins, scones, loaves, cakes), breakfast items (sandwiches, bagels, yogurt and granola, fruit cups), and meal items (salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, meals-to-go) for grab-and-go convenience.
Companies that use The Local Cafe and Restaurant
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Local Cafe and Restaurant technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
The Local Cafe and Restaurant partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Centennial College - School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary ArtscoreThe Local Cafe and Restaurant is operated as an experiential learning facility supporting the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts at Centennial College. Students gain hands-on experience in a live restaurant setting, guided by faculty and staff who are industry professionals.
- Ocean WisecoreOcean Wise certification indicates the restaurant uses sustainably sourced seafood. This certification helps diners make environmentally responsible choices when dining.
- OpenTableminorListed on OpenTable reservation platform, allowing diners to make reservations at the restaurant through the OpenTable system.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights2 records
The Local Cafe and Restaurant competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dark Horse Espresso Bar: Toronto cafe chain offering specialty coffee, espresso, and grab-and-go food. Comparable cafe-format peer competing in the same downtown/Toronto specialty coffee market.
- Pilot Coffee Roasters: Toronto specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator with multiple locations. Directly comparable as a Toronto-based independent cafe serving gourmet coffee, espresso, and light food.
- George Brown College - Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts: Toronto-based college operating student-run training restaurants (e.g., STUDIO by George Brown) under an experiential learning model. Directly comparable as a Canadian post-secondary culinary training restaurant operation with cafe and full-service formats.
- Balzac's Coffee Roasters: Ontario specialty coffee chain serving Fair Trade organic coffee and bakery items in cafe settings. Comparable to The Cafe's quick-service coffee and grab-and-go offerings in the same Toronto-area market.
- NAIT Culinary Arts (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology): Runs a student-training restaurant and butcher program at its Edmonton campus. Comparable institutional restaurant combining culinary education with public-facing food service.
- SAIT Culinary Campus (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology): Operates student-staffed fine-dining and casual training restaurants on its Calgary campus. Strongly comparable as a Canadian college-based culinary training restaurant using student labor under faculty supervision.
- Centennial College Event Venues: Sister venues under Centennial College used for catering and events. They compete for the same institutional event/catering spend as The Local Restaurant's special events business.
Broad incumbents
- Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality: Established Toronto full-service restaurant group operating multiple upscale dining venues. Broad incumbent peer in the same Toronto full-service restaurant category, though not training-focused.
Emerging players
- Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa (culinary program): International culinary training institution with student-run restaurants. Comparable experiential learning restaurant model, though operates globally rather than locally in Toronto.
- University of Toronto - Chestnut Dining (hospitality training): University hospitality program with student-led dining components near downtown Toronto. Comparable college/university-based training dining experience targeting students and staff.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The Local Cafe and Restaurant social profiles
Digital presenceThe Local Cafe and Restaurant compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
The Local Cafe and Restaurant financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Local Cafe and Restaurant leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Local Cafe and Restaurant funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Local Cafe and Restaurant M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Local Cafe and Restaurant
What does The Local Cafe and Restaurant do?
The Local Cafe and Restaurant is a dual-concept food service operation functioning as an experiential learning facility for Centennial College's School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts. It offers full-service restaurant dining (open for special events) and a quick-service cafe serving Fair Trade organic coffee, espresso, premium teas, bakery items, breakfast items, salads, soups, sandwiches, and grab-and-go meals to Centennial College students, staff, and Scarborough community members.
Is The Local Cafe and Restaurant a public or private company?
The Local Cafe and Restaurant is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The Local Cafe and Restaurant founded?
The Local Cafe and Restaurant was founded in 2016. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is The Local Cafe and Restaurant based?
The Local Cafe and Restaurant is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does The Local Cafe and Restaurant make money?
One revenue line is on record: food and Beverage Sales.
Who are The Local Cafe and Restaurant's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dark Horse Espresso Bar, Pilot Coffee Roasters, George Brown College - Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Balzac's Coffee Roasters, NAIT Culinary Arts (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), SAIT Culinary Campus (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and Centennial College Event Venues. Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa (culinary program) and University of Toronto - Chestnut Dining (hospitality training).
Does The Local Cafe and Restaurant have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Local Cafe and Restaurant.
What industry is The Local Cafe and Restaurant in?
The Local Cafe and Restaurant's product category is Restaurant Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAB, Casual Dining Restaurants, with a secondary code of THAFADAC, Independent Neighborhood Cafes. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.