EST. 2019 · PICKERING, ON · MONDAY JUN 01 2026 · VOL. VII · NO. 152
One dollar at the door · free with a coffee
The Story · Section A
Filed from 1183 Kingston Road · By Margot Reilly
Margot opened Mornings. in 2019 after seven years pulling shots at Sam James Coffee Bar in Toronto. She wanted something smaller. One espresso machine. One pour-over station. One person at the bar at a time. The space at 1183 Kingston Road had been a dry cleaner for forty-one years; it took three months and two arguments with the inspectors to get it ready for coffee.
Joel joined in 2022. He had been a mechanical engineer for four years and then decided he liked coffee more. He runs the espresso machine like it owes him money. He opens most mornings at 6:55, which is why some regulars get away with knocking on the door at 6:58 and pretending it was just for warmth.
The beans come from Pilot Coffee in Toronto. We rotate the single-origin every couple of weeks. Margot drives down to the roastery once a month with an empty trunk and a small list. The cupping room sits behind the warehouse and smells, in the right months, like buttered toast. The bean of the week sits on a chalkboard by the door. If you want to know what is on the burner today, the answer is also on the chalkboard, and also on Joel if you ask him before 9.
We bake the pastries here, mostly. The almond cake is the one thing on the food board that has stayed unchanged since opening day; it was Margot's grandmother's recipe and she will not negotiate. The croissant changes butter every winter when the dairy at Greenbank Farms switches their cream blend; the regulars notice and never say anything, except for once a year, in February.
We do not take reservations. We close at three, every day, for the reason most small cafes close at three: the afternoon trade does not pay the lights. We are closed on Mondays for the same reason most small kitchens are. If you want a seat in the window on a Saturday, come early.
On the Pastry Board · Section A, continued
The almond cake
Margot's grandmother's recipe. Almond flour, brown butter, a bay-leaf-steeped milk we do not advertise.
The croissant
Butter from Greenbank Farms in Ontario. We laminate Mondays and Thursdays, we bake them six in a batch, we sell out by ten on the weekends.
The sourdough
A starter older than the cafe. We slice it thick and serve it with butter or jam. The jam rotates; the bread does not.
The Whole Staff · Section A-3
Profile
Owner, behind the bar
Margot grew up two blocks from where Mornings. now sits. After seven years pulling shots at Sam James Coffee Bar in Toronto, she came back to Pickering in 2019 to open something smaller. Her one rule for the menu: if she would not drink it herself, it does not go on the board.
Signature: the pour-over.
Profile
Barista, mornings only
Joel was a mechanical engineer for four years before he decided he liked coffee more. He joined Mornings. in 2022. He opens the shop most weekdays and runs the espresso machine like it owes him money. He will absolutely make you a cortado at 6:55am if you knock politely.
Signature: the early-morning cortado.
House Rules · Section A-4
We do not take reservations. The bar is six seats and the window is four; the early arrivals get them.
We do not do oat milk because the brand we trust quietly changed its recipe and we have not found a new one we love. If that changes, we will put oat milk back on the board.
We do not do laptops past 11am on weekends. Take the morning. Take the seat. Go home and write your novel.
We will absolutely make you a coffee at 6:55am if you knock politely and the espresso machine is on.
Come Find Us · Section A-5
Address
1183 Kingston Road
Pickering, ON L1V 1B7
Hours
Telephone
(905) 555-0173