Second Cup opened its first location in August 1975 as a small shopping-mall kiosk in Toronto, selling a handful of specialty whole bean coffees. Co-founded by Tom Culligan and Frank O'Dea, it grew quickly through the 1980s into one of Canada's defining coffee chains, helping bring café culture to malls, office towers and main streets across the country, at a time when good coffee in Canada was still hard to find.
Today, Second Cup is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, and remains one of Canada's largest specialty coffee retailers, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025. Through five decades it has stayed focused on quality coffee, ethical sourcing and a welcoming café experience. Now part of the Foodtastic family of brands, it continues to operate coffeehouses and sell its signature coffees nationwide.
Sustainability runs through its sourcing: nearly every Second Cup coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified, its decaf is made using the chemical-free Swiss Water Process, and select light roasts such as Cuzco are Fairtrade and organic certified. The line-up ranges from café-classic roasts like the medium Paradiso and the bold, syrupy Espresso Forte to popular flavoured beans like Hazelnut Cream, Irish Cream and Caramelo.
At ECS Coffee, we carry a curated selection of Second Cup whole bean coffee in 2 lb bags. Explore the collection to bring the taste of a Canadian café icon home to your own grinder and brewer.
