Broadway Coffee and Tea Scene Changes

Through some odd – and presumably random – cosmic alignment, there’s a lot to report on opening and closing Coffee and Tea places along West Broadway.

Let’s get the unexciting and only negative news out of the way first:

• Api’s Tea Drops’ opening/existence was as unremarkable as their recent closure. Their spot (2219 West Broadway @ Yew) has since been taken by Enhance Dental Centre.

Much more exciting are the following openings and announced opening (after the leap):

• Bride to Be Bridal closed their 2680 West Broadway (@ Trafalgar) location a while ago, and their spot has now been taken by Time for Tea. Unlike Sweetspot.ca, I’m not sure if bubble tea ever was or ever can be hip and trendy, but they seem to think Time for Tea has what it takes to rise above the usually tacky bubble tea image. The decor definitely does; the room is very stylish and very inviting. And Time for Tea is owned and operated by the same sisters that own the awesome beads and accessory store Pretty Up! (1907 West 4th @ Cypress).
• Solaris Coffee just opened their doors at 1862 West Broadway (@ Burrard). This is great news for at least two reasons. First, it seems like this part of Broadway could use a comfortable, independent coffee place as an alternative to the Starbucks and Tim Hortons that are a couple of blocks further east. And second, the building they are in had been sitting empty for as long as I can remember, and has always looked like a right mess. Solaris did a great job of cleaning the place up, and it looks fresh, clean, and inviting, both inside and out. It’s too bad they don’t offer wireless (yet).
• Very exciting news the other day on Andrew Morrison’s Scout Magazine: new coffee store Dolcetto is now open at 2967 West Broadway (@ Bayswater). Part of the excitement comes from the fact that the place is Cru Restaurant’s “little brother”, but also because they serve 49th Parallel coffee. In fact, if you check out Andrew’s pictures, you may notice some remarkable similarities. Like the corner bench and coffee table set-up that looks like an exact copy of the set-up in 49th. Or the same beautiful baby blue china that they serve their coffee in. I’ll have to go check it out soon to see if the similarities extend to the delicious lattes as well.
• And the final – and in no way least exciting – news comes from an announcement poster on the store next to Mistral Bistro (West Broadway @ Trafalgar). According to the poster, Caffè Vergnano 1882 will be opening a coffee shop there soon. I may be advertising my complete coffee ignorance here, but I have never heard of this company before. But their website has certainly gotten me very excited. Sure, most upscale coffee places in Vancouver purport to be “Italian Style”, but not many can claim to have started in Piedmont back in 1882. And if the store is designed half as nice as some of the ones in the photogallery, this will be a beautiful addition to the hood.

 

Last modified: January 27, 2009