Amber: A Gastown Listening Lounge Built Around Sound

At 99 Powell Street, the Anchor Building has been sitting empty. Early 20th-century brick, large windows, and a long, narrow interior that runs all the way through to Alexander. When Thomas Eleizegui walked through it last year, he saw it immediately. “I fell in love with the space right away,” he says.

Eleizegui has two cafe’s under his belt (Isetta and Musette) both of which found their footing quickly (though, Musette has since closed). This project, called Amber, is something different. A listening lounge first, with food and drink built around that premise. Partners Anthony Crane and Juniper Tang are in on it with him. “This place is designed around the music,” Eleizegui says. “A lot of places forget about the sound. It becomes an afterthought. Here it is where we are starting.”

Entry off Powell Street leads into a bar, then stretches into a corridor with cork running the length of the west wall where banquette seating will eventually be built. Cork absorbs sound. That’s not an accident. Kitchen access sits opposite, with additional prep below, before the room opens into a lounge at the back with a second exit onto Alexander. Overhead, a series of suspended wooden panels move across the ceiling. They’re designed to break up how sound travels through the space, cutting echo before it builds. In a long, narrow room, that kind of accumulation kills conversation. The panels are intended to keep richness and fullness, without overpowering. Campos Studio designed the sound treatment throughout the room, with large decorative panels built specifically to manage acoustics. Much of that work was executed by John Burgess, who spent months building and installing the custom elements.

Brick reflects. Cork absorbs. The panels above redistribute. The material logic is there. The system was developed with Clint Moroz of Space Lab, and is built around vinyl playback. Programming will rotate by genre depending on the night. Each evening will centre on a specific genre — jazz, soul, bluegrass, electronic, rock and roll — rather than a mixed playlist. The reference point is the kissa model, where listening is part of the structure of the room rather than something happening in the background.

Listening bars are definitely a trend right now. Some of them are a facade – an attempt to stand out by adding a turntable and vinyl collection as decor. But some are genuinely focused on creating better sound, intentional programming, a pace that doesn’t rush you out the door. Whether that’s a real shift in how people want to spend an evening or just a trend working its way through the market is harder to say. There’s appetite for it. There’s also a ceiling. Eleizegui, Crane and Tang aren’t thinking about either. For them, the question is simpler: what actually happens when people are in the room. “We want the sound to feel rich and present,” Eleizegui, says. “But people should still be able to talk.”

The name connects to that. Amber, as a material, is believed to absorb and transform. The room is meant to work the same way, taking in sound and redistributing it so it shapes the experience without dominating it.

In the kitchen, Ryan Mills is building a menu that sits somewhere between a steakhouse and a neighbourhood bistro. He worked with Eleizegui at Isetta. The approach is Pacific Northwest ingredients, classic technique, built for sharing. Avocado and crab toast with Meyer lemon and Espelette at brunch. East Coast oysters with mignonette and seasonal granita or Sablefish with crab velouté and foraged mushrooms on the dinner side. There’s also a house burger, dry-aged beef with taleggio and huitlacoche aioli. The bar program will be led by Alper Fonte, working from classic cocktail structures with some movement into savoury profiles. Non-alcoholic options alongside beer and organic wines will be happening as well. Pablo Lotz will be coming on as Manager, bringing a background in hospitality and a focus on service to the room.

Adjacent to Amber, a separate 300-square-foot space is being developed as ‘Celeste’, a café operated by the same team. The tiny room includes a takeout window, and faces onto a large brick patio that looks toward Columbia Street. The offering is direct: coffee smoothies, and light snacks. The space will be run by baristas Dohon Chow and Winthrop Barranda. The name references the celeste colour associated with Bianchi bicycles, a detail that connects loosely to Eleizegui’s earlier projects. A larger, standalone Celeste location is planned for 510 Hastings Street later this year.

Construction has been underway at Amber and Celeste for a year. Things are getting close. Opening is anticipated in May 2026. Keep your eyes on their Instagram feed for updates here.