Broadway Coffee and Tea Scene Changes

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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:

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

11 Responses to " Broadway Coffee and Tea Scene Changes "

  1. ariane c says:

    Actually, the Caffe Vergnano website does look special and luxurious. I suppose you are referring to West Broadway at Trafalgar (Mistral Bistro is located there, and not at Stephens) – anyway, am excited to see the shop open and will report back as well, on whether this place meets or exceeds expectations of Italian Style cafe.

  2. Erik V. says:

    Thanks Ariane. It’s indeed Trafalgar. I always mix those two up…

  3. WyWyWa says:

    It looks like there is one more to add – Caffe Artigiano is coming to the former Life is Good location at 3036 West Broadway according to a newly posted sign.

  4. Karen says:

    Caffè Artigiano in the neighbourhood! That would be awesome. They are also opening up a location next to the Tim Hortons and Wendy’s on Broadway.

    I tried a latte at Dolcetto, hoping it was as good as 49th. According to them, 49th is their distributor for the coffee. It was pretty good, but not the same. And the manager was either having a very very bad day or needs to learn some people skills. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume it is the former. Not sure I’ll go back though.

  5. Angelo says:

    WOW! Is Caffe Vergnano really coming in town? I tried their coffee in UK back in Christmas, and it was phenomenal! When do they opening?

  6. KittenWorld says:

    Dolcetto on Broadway has closed up sometime in the past week. 🙁
    Thomas Haas is up and running – anyone able to review it?
    (and while I’m at it, is there any way for non-official writers to post news such as this on this site?)

  7. Rob says:

    @KittenWorld We’re always looking for blog contributors – I’ll be in touch by email and set you up.