Nate Sabine and Drew Johnson of Victoria’s Bows & Arrows Coffee Roasters are opening a restaurant and cafe at 4194 Fraser Street. The 1,700 sqft location has been empty for a couple of years, and it has seen many suitors balk. It’s the original address of BKH Jerky (the spot where they used to make their addictive Singapore style jerky before moving a few blocks north); a fantastic location, to be sure, with plenty of glass/sun and potential for a deep customer base out of the gate.

If you’ve never heard of the brand before, Bows & Arrows makes damn fine coffee and supply such reputable joints around Vancouver as Au Comptoir, Revolver, Pourhouse, Small Victory, and the upcoming Federal Store. Based on bean quality alone, they’ll likely be a very welcome addition to the increasingly coffee-heavy Fraserhood (the next block includes a Bean Around The World and will soon welcome the 3rd location of Prado, while Matchstick is just a few blocks up at Kingsway).

They only took possession a month ago, and as you can see from the images, they’ve got a long way to go, inside and out (the 40 seat corner location will – cross your fingers – include a sunny patio running along its 26th Ave. side). As far as the concept is concerned, it’ll be a restaurant and cafe. Johnson likens the extent of Bows & Arrows’ menu to that of The Birds & The Beets in Gastown, which serves soups, salads, sandwiches, snacks, and breakfasts (with induction heat). He qualifies it as “drinking food”. Yes, Bows & Arrows will be fully licensed.

They hope to have it open and serving just coffee to start in early 2016. The restaurant side of things – complete with bar – will follow soon thereafter, presumably when patio weather returns.

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