Abhiroop Das
Created by Jacob Tierney, HBO Max’s ‘Heated Rivalry’ tells the story of two hockey prodigies, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who rule the ice as representatives of the Montreal Meteors and the Boston Raiders, respectively. However, while their rivalry as sportspersons reaches new heights with every game season, inside, the two slowly begin to develop romantic feelings for each other. This growing passion soon leads to a fiery relationship, kept secret from the rest of the world. However, as ambition begins to consume their professional lives from the inside out, both players are forced to choose between love and sports, in a battle that has no real winners or losers.
While the show primarily adapts Rachel Reid’s eponymous novel centered around Shane and Ilya, it also gives an extended look into the lives of other hockey players, with one of them being Scott Hunter. Episode 3, titled ‘Hunter’ takes a break from the lead characters’ romantic conflict, and instead focuses on Scott. When he ends up falling for a barista named Kip Grady, an as-of-yet unseen interiority to his character is revealed, with the cafe, named Straw+Berry, contextualizing their love story at every turn.
A Real Cafe in Hamilton Doubles as the Fictional Straw+Berry in Heated Rivalry
Straw+Berry is the name of a fictional cafe invented by writer Rachel Reid for the novel, ‘Game Changer,’ which serves as the first entry in her ‘Game Changer’ series, and a prequel to the book, ‘Heated Rivalry.’ While Jacob Tierney’s adaptation largely covers the latter novel, episode 3 of the show offers a glimpse into the life of Scott Hunter, the captain of both the US Hockey Team and the Montreal Meteors. To that end, the show preserves Kip Grady’s identity as a barista extraordinaire at Straw+Berry, who goes on to fall in love with Scott. Given that all of the characters penned by Reid are fictional in nature, it is likely that she did not have a real-life antecedent in mind when conceiving Straw+Berry. In both the source material and its television rendition, the establishment is depicted as an upbeat smoothie cafe in New York, which suggests that similar real-life locations might have played a role in shaping its identity on-screen.c
As a significant portion of ‘Heated Rivalry,’ including the bulk of episode 3, was filmed in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, in Canada, it is likely that a real-life cafe was transformed into Straw+Berry. Some keen-eyed fans based in and around the region have claimed that an actual cafe in Hamilton, named Relay Coffee Roasters, was used as a filming location. Located at 27 King William Street, Relay has been in operation for over a decade and is recognized for its commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. For the making of the series, it is likely that the crew took over the cafe and redesigned it into Straw+Berry, an establishment that specializes in smoothies. Possibly, Relay’s iconic exterior color scheme was also altered to match the aesthetics of its fictional counterpart, with actors perhaps drawing inspiration from the real-life work culture at the location to portray the role of baristas.
While Relay might have helped bring Straw+Berry to life on screen, it is unlikely that the cafe served as a direct source of inspiration for the invented setting. To begin with, Straw+Berry is narratively set in New York City, unlike its real-life filming location, which is based in the city of Hamilton. Furthermore, Straw+Berry’s specialization in smoothies, alongside the character of Kip Grady, both appear to be created from scratch by the writers. Still, it is possible that the general aesthetics and atmosphere of Relay, or similar smoothie cafes, might have been referenced by the creators in the development of Kip’s workplace. Shooting on-site also gave the series an added air of realism, allowing the actors to blend more naturally into their surroundings. With Scott and Kip interacting inside the cafe numerous times, Straw+Berry, and by extension Relay Coffee Roasters, has cemented itself as a part of the show’s visual storytelling canvas.
Read More: Is Heated Rivalry a True Story? Are Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov Based on Real Hockey Players?
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