Looking at the glittering condo towers, pleasure craft marinas, green spaces, and little ferries of False Creek, it’s easy to forget that it was once clogged with the trappings and machinery of industry – log booms, beehive burners, creosoted wharves, and smoke-belching factories. Vancouver is a city that developed around natural resources and industrial manufacturing. Working people, the places they worked, and the businesses that supported that industry are part of our overall heritage; and industrial coffee shops specifically play a vital part in Vancouver’s culinary, social, and industrial history.

Located in the city’s industrial neighbourhoods, these coffee shops (or diners) were small, inexpensive eateries offering a limited selection of short-order fare. Different from a regular greasy spoon diner, they operated primarily to serve local workers, providing them with quick and affordable hearty meals and, of course, plenty of coffee. The coffee shops would open early for pre-work breakfast, and remain operational throughout the working day, from Monday to Friday, and sometimes even Saturdays (but never on a Sunday).

Historically, these eateries were located close to the city’s waterfront industrial areas – the Fraser River, False Creek, and Burrard Inlet. Once plentiful, industrial coffee shops are now a dying breed. But some remain and should at least be acknowledged, if not celebrated.

Located on the northwest corner of Manitoba Street and West 4th Avenue, Laura’s Coffee Shop is one of the few industrial coffee shops left in the city. It is certainly the last one in this historically industrial part of Mount Pleasant. I have a special affinity for Laura’s, which is almost entirely due to its history and the fact that it is located in my favourite neighbourhood.

At the core of Laura’s Coffee Shop is a house that dates back to 1905. A retail store was added by owner Thomas D. Knowles in 1926. In 1927, Italian immigrants Domenico and Laura DeFilippo were running the store and living at the adjacent home, along with their son Samuel (Sam) and daughter Violet. Domenico operated the corner grocery store here for almost 10 years before his sudden death in 1936. Mrs. DeFilippo was at the helm of the corner store until her own subsequent death, in 1953. It was then that siblings Sam and Violet took over the family store. Since Sam was working on other endeavours, it primarily fell to Violet to take care of the day-to-day operations of the family business.

How did this corner grocery store become an industrial coffee shop? It all started with a sandwich…well actually, many sandwiches!

By the start of the 1960s, the area had shifted considerably from a residential neighbourhood adjacent to industrial False Creek, to a predominantly industrial/light industrial zone. With fewer residents, the customer base to support a corner store was reduced. In reaction to this change, and motivated by the popularity of the sandwiches which Violet served to the local workers, in 1964 Sam and Violet decided to convert the grocery store into a restaurant, naming it after their beloved mother, Laura. In 1977, Sam and Violet sold Laura’s Coffee Shop to Walter and Wai Ching Lee. They operated Laura’s Coffee Shop for over 20 years until their retirement in 1999. Last year, in 2023, Laura’s Coffee Shop celebrated its 60th anniversary of serving breakfast and lunch to local workers.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to connect with Peter Lee, son of Walter and Wai Ching, who gave me the inside scoop on what Laura’s was like in its heyday. Peter told me that his parents kept the same menu and look of the restaurant as the DeFilippos. His dad ran the front of house, while his grandmother stayed in the kitchen cooking, and his mother would float between the two. He said, “Between 11:30am and 1pm the place would always be packed with the local workers,” mainly from the laundry business next door (called Nelson’s Laundry at the time). According to Peter, “everyone smoked like chimneys back then,” and there’d often be a thick cloud of smoke hanging in the air of the restaurant. Growing up, Peter and his siblings, Karen and William, worked at Laura’s during the summertime, bussing tables, doing dishes, and serving guests.

Describing the interior, he told me that Laura’s used to have a long U-shaped counter with the traditional red button seats that spun around. The new owners, unfortunately, tore out the counter after his parents sold the business in 1999. Peter told me there used to be “an old fashioned Coca-Cola cooler for pop (in upright bottles back then), an Export ‘A’ clock hanging at the back, and of course the Pepsi Cola sign outside.” Today, only the faded Pepsi privilege sign, the booths, and wood paneling are left from the original interior.

The food served at Laura’s back then was typical diner fare and included bacon-and-egg and clubhouse sandwiches, hamburger steaks, liver and onions, and beef barley soup – everything homemade. According to Peter, their signature dishes were the Superburger (bacon/cheese/lettuce/tomato with fries) and fish and chips (which was only served on Fridays – a nod to the DeFilippo’s Italian heritage).

Of course, you can’t have a coffee shop without plenty of great coffee. The ground beans were from Neates Coffee, at that time operated by John Neate Sr. Peter remembers his son, John Jr., making weekly deliveries of ground coffee to Laura’s back in the 1980s. John Jr. (aka “JJ”) later established JJ Bean Coffee Roasters in 1996.

At the time of our meeting, Peter told me it was tough running the business during his parents’ time, but he believes that it’s even tougher now due to “much more competition and the change in local demographics.” I wholeheartedly agree. Five years on, things have only gotten harder for a place like Laura’s.

Since 2019, Laura’s Coffee Shop has been owned and operated by Fei and Emma. Several weeks ago, after finishing my early lunch of a very satisfying clubhouse sandwich (ham, bacon, lettuce, egg, and tomato) and fries, I chatted briefly with Fei as I paid my bill. She told me that normally at this time Laura’s would be busier, but since pay parking went into effect on the block last April things have noticeably slowed. I imagine that the September 2023 closure of the large Alsco Laundry facility next door and the construction of the massive AbCellera compound across the street hasn’t helped business either. Fei added that she doesn’t know how much longer she will be able to continue. This makes me sad.

I suppose this article could serve as an appeal to save one of the last historical industrial coffee shops in the city. Don’t let the opaque glass front door and closed blinds fool you! If the “Open” sign is on, then Laura’s is open. Regular hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30am – 5pm.

The service is friendly and I would describe the food as nostalgically decent grub. (Of note: In addition to traditional diner fare, Fei and Emma’s menu also includes several Asian dishes, like wonton soup, sweet & sour pork, chicken teriyaki, curry, and chow mein.) Although it may not be an everyday choice, now and then we all need a hearty dose of home-style “greasy spoon” comfort food. Why not have yours with a side of history?

Laura's

Neighbourhood: Mt. Pleasant

1945 Manitoba Street

Other industrial coffee shops/diners to try in Vancouver: