NIPIGON – Kim Mannila and her husband Roy had a simple mission in mind when they opened up Love Coffee, XO in June 2024.
“We wanted to share our love for coffee with the community that we both grew up in,” Mannila said.
“We're proud to live, work and play in our beautiful town.”
That led to them opening the business on 186 Railway Street, where they showcase Nipigon’s past.
“Our slogan is a taste of history,” Mannila said. “If you come in the coffee shop, our walls speak of the history that we have here as we have the pictures of the pictographs on the Nipigon River and a huge mural of St. Sylvester’s Church.
“We wanted to be a place where people can gather and communicate, while also having a sense of belonging.”
Since opening their doors, the Mannilas have received several historical artifacts to put up in the coffee shop.
“William McKirdy was Nipigon’s first mayor in 1909 and if you’re from the area, you would have heard of McKirdy’s fly repellant,” Mannila said. “We’ve had customers come in and say ‘I’ve had this jar of McKirdy’s since I was a kid and I want you to have it and display it.’
“People have come in and brought prints and hockey photos to put up as well. It’s been amazing actually.”
While the menu is ever-evolving, Manilla said that Love, Coffee XO prides itself on its lattes and espressos.
“We make our own in-house vanilla and caramel syrups and we also have dirty sodas (a drink that is made with soda, cream and flavoured syrups or fruit juices), which have been extremely popular,” Manilla said.
“We also have a monthly drink special. In January we’re calling it the Hi-Bear-Nation so all of our drinks have a bear theme to it.”
Manilla added that they have a number of things up their sleeve for the coming months, including using a brand-new patio that was finished up last summer.
“We also have a little gift table inside where everything is local,” Manilla said.
“One of our goals was to give back to the community and we’re doing that through a number of ways here, including with everyone from our staff being from Nipigon.”
Love, Coffee XO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
More information on the coffee shop can be found on their Facebook page.
