Tiny coffeeshops help owners save on rent in high-cost Vancouver, Toronto

Customers who don’t work in the building that houses Kento Kitayama’s tiny cafe in Gastown better be prepared to settle for takeout. He can only take orders through a little window facing the sidewalk.
Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand, which opened late last month, has no seating and sparse furnishings. Kitayama could likely stand in the middle of the roughly 17-square-metre shop and reach out to touch the sink, refrigerator and shelving unit, counter, and espresso machine that mark the shop&