Five years ago this week, Scout’s Michelle Sproule toured what would soon become East Van Roasters, the coffee roaster and bean-to-bar chocolate shop at 319 Carrall Street. Showing her around was EVR’s visionary manager, Shelley Bolton. She and her team were just putting the finishing touches on the space and getting the highly aromatic roasting/winnowing operation started…

Located on the ground floor of the historic Rainier Hotel building (also home to di Beppe, Nelson The Seagull), East Van Roasters was conceived as a social enterprise program by the PHS Community Services Society. Its goal has been to provide training and employment opportunities to women living on the Downtown Eastside, while also offering singularly delicious products. It is an awesome little piece of Vancouver!

We love making chocolate and having a direct connection to the farmers that grow and harvest the raw cacao that we use. Chocolate making is a multi-step, multi-location process that we jump into once the dried beans arrive at our shop. We sort the beans, roast and winnow (remove the shells), grind and conche (refine) small batches of chocolate which we temper and make into chocolate bars or confections.

The following gallery is made up of images taken when EVR’s construction was just getting started in late 2012.

East Van Roasters Cafe

Neighbourhood: Gastown

319 Carrall St.

604-629-7562

WEBSITE