Some more disheartening news for Main Street: Kafka’s flagship cafe, which has occupied its prime Mount Pleasant location since July of 2010, is closing its doors this month. They are the latest in a slew of Main Street business closures announced for April (also, Slickity Jim’s, The Boxcar and Pizza Farina).
Kafka’s has always stood out as distinctly independent: immune to trends, rocking their own aesthetic, hanging cool art on the walls, and serving good coffee. Not only have we logged many hours drinking coffee and tapping on our laptops at one of their tables, but the cafe was also somewhere we were proud to direct out-of-towners to visit for a ‘real’ taste of Vancouver. We’re sorry to hear that they will be closing doors before the month is out, but are happy knowing that they’ll at least be able to move most of their equipment and staff over to their new location at Smithe and Richards (set to open next month).
This from Kafka’s:
“With an unsustainable rent increase and the relentless disruptive construction on our front doorstep, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to close the original Kafka’s. It’s straight-up hard making a small independent business work in this climate.
Our first café was born out of a passion for quality coffee and a deep love for the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, and you welcomed us with open arms. We have been woven into the fabric of this vibrant community for 12 years; it is hard to believe we will soon no longer be serving the 2500 block of Main.
The good news is that our staff are staying on, and you can find them and our coffee at our Great Northern Way location (only a 15-minute walk or a 5-minute drive away), in Gastown and soon at our new Park shop.
We will post an exact closing date soon. In the meantime, we’d love it if you could come by and say hi.”
Thank you Aaron and everyone at Kafka’s, who worked together to create an inviting, interesting and engaging space for Vancouver over the past 12 years. Respect.
Please make some time to visit Mount Pleasant and pay homage to this coffee culture hub before it’s too late. UPDATE: Last day of service will be April 27th, 2022
Great… so another crap 24hr ‘convenience’ store with neon lights selling garbage can move in instead. This sucks big time.
unsustainable rent increase…Vancouver’s death knell
What used to be one of my favourite blocks of Main is dying. It’s long since time to consider maximum annual rent increases on commercial properties or other means to help support our small business community.
unsustainable commercial property tax increase…Vancouver’s death knell
I will miss you. Great cafe and gallery. We need more cafes like Kafka to feature our local artists. Thank you Kafka.
Thank you for holding out for as long as you did, the hard decision is often the right one, I know I’ll be there to support the new location as the folks at Kafkas are hands down the best at what they do and friendly to boot.