There are some cool things afoot in the light industrial zone near Woodland Park just east of Strathcona. Among the new tenants going in is Timbertrain, one of our favourite local roasters (they currently operate an excellent cafe in Gastown and roast their beans in a facility in Langley). They’ve secured the 1,800 sqft corner space on the alley at 551 McLean Drive. They are going to turn it into a roastery and 15-20 seat cafe called ‘Depot’ this winter. The move will centralize their operation (ie. get them out of Langley) and allow the public to witness Timbertrain’s roasting process first-hand. It might also unintentionally help to grow the area’s hitherto limited food and beverage clout beyond beer (there are several breweries close by) and pave the way for other companies looking to mix production and manufacturing with retail.

The bulk of the space – about 70 % – will be given over to production, events (cuppings, etc) and wholesaler education, which means the designers at Public Architects are being challenged to make the remaining 30% inviting and comfortable for walk-ins. I’ve heard tell of a wooden bleacher seating set-up, which sounds all kinds of awesome. Remember that Timbertrain is open to interesting design notions (their Gastown cafe is one of a kind), so it’s fair to have high expectations on the design front.  When I visited the Depot location last week it looked like a freshly minted art gallery with the sole piece being a boxed up Loring roasting machine imported from California. They take possession this month and hope to be eye-high in construction before Christmas. Opening day is being ballparked as early 2017. We’ll have more on this space soon, but in the meantime take a closer look inside…

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