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| - Amani Earl's is a small shop that sells a handful of teas, coffees and a few baked goods right across from Malta Park in the west end of The Junction.
The shop does not have air conditioning. On summer afternoons it is not exactly the place to hang around. The coffee I had was decent. The Americano was 2.75$, as compared to 2$ down at Full Stop, another recently opened shop near Pacific and Dundas. A cookie is 2.25$. Parking is on the street.
Amani Earl's faces a crushing amount of competition. (If every place in The Junction that sold coffee/baked goods closed down, half the shops would be empty.) Coffee shops seem to be the easiest local business to open, perhaps inspired by the success of the huge chains. Tim Horton's is now right across the street. (While it is not completely fair to compare the two, reality is that many people will choose to spend 5$ for a breakfast sandwich, coffee, and doughnut at Tim Horton's, rather than a coffee and cookie at Amani Earl's.)
Time will tell how well Amani Earl's competes with Full Stop, Malta Bake Shop, Tim Horton's, Starbucks, Crema, The Good Neighbour, Agora, and several others within walking distance who serve coffee. If you oppose big chain shops, at least you have one more option.
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