BC Business
Restaurants, sports shops and co-working spaces find homes on our most-loved businesses of the year list
In a year of uncertainty, visiting local businesses felt as important as ever. In 2023, it was hard to go more than a week without seeing another beloved business trot out a sad, bleak Instagram post. Rising costs hit both customers and businesses alike, resulting in scores of shops big and small calling it quits.
As we celebrate (or run to) the end of the year, we’re once again taking a look at our favourite businesses to visit in the year 2023 and hoping like heck they make it through another one.
Noah’s Cafe 1096 Denman St., Vancouver
I have no idea how I stumbled upon this Japanese fusion bar/restaurant, but I thank the powers that be (likely Instagram) for the pull. I just remember seeing a 4.7-star Google rating and wondering why I’d never heard of it before.
It clicked as soon as I found the spot by English Bay: Noah’s Cafe is like a speakeasy, but not branded as one. A black door led me into a small, cozy bistro with bar tables, warm lighting and incredible food (mainly tapas). I went back for the squid and chips, brussels sprouts and uni cream pasta more than I’d like to admit, and to top it off, Noah’s service is unmatched—I’ve shared the best conversations and drinks with the bartenders, who are nothing short of creative geniuses. Highly recommend!
Coast to Coast Hockey Shop 1685 Kingsway Ave., Vancouver
We’ve all been through the roller coaster of emotions that occurs whenever a business you love announces it’s going to pack up shop and move somewhere else. It always feels like there’s a very small chance the move works out for you personally. So when Coast to Coast—the go-to haven for my roller and ball hockey obsession—announced late last year that it would be moving, my heart sank. Sure, its Mount Pleasant location had horrible parking, but it was fairly centrally located for someone who lives on the east side.
Lo and behold, in March, the store’s owners announced it would be moving to Kingsway, in between Victoria and Knight—also known as a seven-minute walk from my house. Just like that, they got rid of my carbon emissions! The store is a little smaller now, but that’s okay. It’s jam-packed with everything I need, and they make the best stick blades in town (and probably the country, seriously).
OneSpace 1187 Odlum Dr., Vancouver
I know it sounds like I’m just trying to hype up the Power of Print, but I really was inspired to check out OneSpace after reading about it in our very own Vancouver magazine (we’re BCBusiness‘s sister publication, FYI). I started off the year working remotely and juggling an increasingly active toddler, so to read about a co-working space that also offered childcare was to find the perfect solution to my time-management woes dropping right in my lap. I love it there. I can hear my daughter’s sprinting around upstairs in the kids’ atelier while I hammer away on emails downstairs in the light-filled hot desk area. She’s made little friends, and I have too, sharing pleasantries while grabbing coffee and free snacks in the kitchen between calls. And while I’m happy to be back in the magazine-crew office now and am going to have to let my membership there lapse, I’ll admit I am going to miss the OneSpace experience—and I think the kid will too. It’s definitely on her most-visited businesses list for 2023: what other place has both a pretend pizza kit and crafts on tap? Read Vanmag‘s full OneSpace profile here.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by PIZZA COMING SOON (@pizzacomingsoon)
A post shared by PIZZA COMING SOON (@pizzacomingsoon)
Pizza Coming Soon 179 E Pender St., Vancouver
Make no mistake… the reason I find myself at this inarguably cool Chinatown spot on a weekly basis is for an inarguably uncool reason: my improv comedy team needs somewhere to get a bite and drink after our show. (Just kidding, all my love to my yes-anding community.) Pizza Coming Soon is always buzzy but not impossible to get into, it’s got Saturday-night vibes without being unbearably loud (all my love to The American) and the food and drinks are great. You can’t go wrong with the jerk beef dumplings or ramen-powdered fries, and their latest beer collab with North Van’s Beere Brewing Company is a treat. (For the girlies who want a pink beer that actually tastes more like wine, get the rosé piquette sour).
No, there’s no pizza. That’s part of the joke. If it helps, you can call the restaurant by the name my dad always mistakenly uses: “Pizza Never Coming.”
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maxine’s Cafe & Bar (@maxines_cafebar)
A post shared by Maxine’s Cafe & Bar (@maxines_cafebar)
Maxine’s Cafe and Bar 1325 Burrard St., Vancouver
If I wasn’t squeaking in for happy hour on a Friday night at this ode-to-a-Paris café, well, my Friday night was poorer for it. Maxine’s is the neighbourhood joint I’ve long wished we had in the West End—a spot both relaxed and beautiful, with killer deals on said happy hour menu ($29 for a bottle of sparkling? In!) with warm and welcoming service from GM Alain Canuel and the rest of the team. I’m obsessed (obsessed) with the GF crispy chicken with housemade pickles and hot honey (I don’t miss the gluten, and you won’t either), the French-bistro cane chairs on the patio in the summer, the cozy booths in the back on a rainy night. See you next Friday?