Nile Coffee Club Opens First Physical Spot in Little Portugal
Black-owned coffee brand Nile Coffee Club launches its first brick-and-mortar location in the former space of Four Stars bar.
Nile Coffee Club, a Black-owned coffee brand that's built a following through online sales and pop-ups, just opened its first physical location in Little Portugal. The shop took over the space formerly occupied by Four Stars, a Portuguese bar that had been a neighborhood fixture for years.
Run by Sandrine Somé and Taher Elsheikh, Nile has been methodical about its growth—building community first through direct sales and events before committing to a brick-and-mortar location. That patience pays off. The brand has real supporters, not just casual interest.
The shop itself reflects the owners' ethos: intimate, intentional, unapologetically rooted in their vision. This isn't a generic third-wave coffee house chasing the aesthetic of every other cafe on Instagram. Nile is about specificity—sourcing, preparation, and the experience of being in the space.
Little Portugal has been transforming steadily over the past five years. The neighborhood still has its Portuguese soul—butcher shops, bakeries, older residents who've lived there for decades—but it's becoming a destination for younger Torontonians looking for authentic food and drink culture that isn't trying too hard. Nile fits that vibe: serious about quality, respectful of what came before, and building something new without erasing it. The fact that this is a Black-owned business claiming space in a Portuguese neighborhood matters too—it's a conversation about Toronto evolving without gentrifying.