Although Toronto is full of independent coffee shops, few get commemorated in a way they deserve, but one artist is seeking to change just that through a series of detailed, hand-drawn sketches. Adam Brown first moved to Toronto from St. John's, Newfoundland, to study industrial design at Humber College. While he spent most of his time sketching cars, buildings, boats, and machinery, he went on to pivot from his original plan of becoming a car designer to now pursuing acting. "I didn't want my sketching skills to lie dormant," Brown tells blogTO, explaining that his sketch series grew out of a desire to sharpen up his artistic skills and support the city's local coffee shops and businesses. Adam Brown has been sketching Toronto's coffee shops since 2023. "This project was simply a way to keep my sketching skills strong and also to give back, in my own little way, to this city that I love." Based in Etobicoke, Brown says his first sketch began spontaneously in 2023 when he was sitting inside KASPACE Café (Café Allwood) in Leslieville and began drawing the view outside the window. "I think little independent businesses like coffee shops and restaurants are what make living in a city like this so special, because I come from a smaller town where I don't have those options," he tells blogTO. "I'm very into urbanism and urbanist theory, so a third space like that, where people can congregate and communicate, I think, is very valuable and important in a city like this." Brown's next sketch came about more than a year later at the now-shuttered Uptown Brie just north of Yonge and Eglinton. Following this sketch, he completed another at a café in his hometown, and later, worked on a sketch of Jimmy's Coffee in Etobicoke. "Back story for that, I actually work as a barista, and I handed that sketch over with my resume. So I got an interview!" Now, Brown's process is straightforward: he'll spot a local coffee shop, take a picture of it on his phone, set it up on a table inside the shop, reference it while sketching in his sketchbook, and once it's complete, hand it over to the staff. Each piece takes between an hour and a half to two hours. "There are a couple [sketches] that feel more personal," Brown says, referring to St John's Pantry in Baby Point. After handing them the sketch, the staff "were just so appreciative," and gave Brown a bunch of free coffee coupons. Coffee & All That Jazz , just off Roncesvalles Avenue, is another memorable shop for him. "The owner is so sweet. When I gave her the drawing, she gave me a bunch of baked goods that were left over at the end of the day, and she was like, "I'm going to get this laminated!" Brown said. Another sketch at I DEAL Coffee & Wine lined up in the most unexpected way. "They were so delighted, and they told me it was the owner's birthday that weekend by chance, so I believe the baristas got it framed themselves and presented it to the owner," Brown tells blogTO. "Just pure serendipity there. If you go in there, you can see my drawing posted on the wall." While some coffee shops choose to tape their sketches up on the spot, others take time to frame them. The Sydney Grind in Etobicoke has Brown's sketch framed and hung in the window. Brown recently shared his sketches on Reddit , where the post amassed over 2,700 upvotes and a surge of suggestions for other coffee shops to capture next. "I had the idea, maybe down the line, if I have 100 of these, to make a coffee table book with a map of all the different shops," he explains. "I'm also doing this as a snapshot of what Toronto was like in 2023 through 2026." Brown says the sketch series has made him appreciate Toronto's coffee shop culture and the role local shops play in building community. "I hope that people recognize the importance of these places for the community around them, and engage with that and actually support local businesses over big chains," he tells blogTO. "It's the amount of people I know who just default to going to Tim's or Starbucks, and I'm like, 'No, I know for a fact that just down the road, there's a lovely little coffee shop that you will get so much out of.' So go support local, independent spots over big corporate chains." Brown is also open to commission work, including sketching businesses for promotion. Inquiries can be sent via direct message on his Instagram page .