Karv is awsome
Last Spring we wrote about Karv at West First Avenue and Yew Street getting an extension of their operating hours and a few neighbours were not very happy about it.
At the time the bar/restaurant received approval from the city to stay open until 1:00am on weekdays and 2:00am on Friday and Saturday after previously closing two hours earlier.
Karv Manager Johnny Carroll said the later hours were critical to any bar’s business. “These hours are the difference between closing your doors and turning a profit,” he said. “I’m not trying to keep anybody up, I’m trying to run a business.”
Looks like the later hours didn’t make turning a profit any easier. A number of Kitsilano.ca readers have reported that Karv is closed… for good.
With Rossini’s Jazz Bar down Yew Street closing this past summer, there are less and less options for those heading to Kitsilano’s entertainment alley this Fall.
Last modified: October 14, 2010
so is it closing or what? this article is pretty vague
This is a sad day. I’m a regular to that “entertainment alley,” and Karv was always a nice option. It was never busy, and never our first choice, but I had good times there.
Can’t say I’m sad. A pretty shabby place, and with the King’s Head, there’s only room for one shabby place along Yew St!
While we’re at it, the doomed site that is currently Piatzo seems to be having another minor reno. Has it changed again? Or is the always-empty restaurant making a final big push?
Too bad really, while Karv wasn’t anything extraordinary, they did a better job of managing that particular building than the previous tenants. However, we ended up not going there any longer because for us it was a place to meet friends and eat/drink and catch up- you know like talking to each other-but the music was always so loud, we could not hear each other, and asking to turn it down a notch was met with “sure” but no actual-you know turning it down. We finally decided that after a long stressful work day that a venue that would feed us and provide a relaxing ambience was a better choice. Having said that, I still wish they could have made it work as their idea was good for a neighborhood place, the execution required some TLC.
Dan: are you talking about that Greek place on 4th? We went there once, but encountered kind of cold ‘service’ and the bill at the end was about 30% higher than comparable Greek restaurants- all within a short walk of that place. So we never went back.
We asked for a particular seating (the place was empty) were told it was reserved and put us in my least favored spot, the middle of the floor (hate that spot). Sadly, the spot we requested was empty as was most of the restaurant for the entire two hours we were there. The rest of the service was sort of okay, but no indication that we were welcome, just a very basic and unfriendly service.
And she brought the bill without asking if we wanted coffee/dessert etc. Basically- get out cause you are messing up our empty restaurant.
If they wonder why they are always empty- Attitude and prices. We didn’t realize they were doing us a favor by lettings spend money there until we were halfway through our meal. And yes, we are normally very good tippers but this experience stretched my willingness to fork over the bigger tip.