John's Jukes

John's Jukes at 2343 Main Street was one of those shops that gave the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood its funky vibe. They'd been in Mount Pleasant for 35 years and have a great business restoring juke boxes, pinball machines, and various arcade style machines. But back in early February big "For Lease" signs went up in the window foreshadowing more changes coming to the neighbourhood. Now in late May the shop has closed and moved to a new location in Burnaby. To me John's Jukes was one of those interesting stores that was always just there. Every day someone would dutifully bring out an old Wurlitzer juke box for display on Main Street.

I actually didn't have many exterior shots of the store. I was always more interested in capturing some of the colourful juke boxes in the front window that were lit up at night. This is an old shot from back in  2013.

And a look through the front door back in 2015

With skyrocketing real estate prices in Mount Pleasant I guess it's only inevitable more old school businesses will be leaving the area. Since the beginning of the year this will be the 8th shop to have either closed or moved out of the heart of Mount Pleasant. I'm sad to see John's Jukes go but glad they moved on to bigger and better things. Either way it won't be the same walking up Main Street without seeing the old Wurlitzer out front!

Kinetic Electronics

Kinetic Electronics is a quirky little storefront I've had my eye on for some time now. It's located between Glen Drive and Vernon Drive at 1139 East Hastings. It's also been notoriously difficult to photograph as there's always been a car parked out front whenever I've been by. It's taken a few years but I finally got my shot. At first glance the place really doesn't look like much. But it's one of those rare stores with a hidden house in the rear of the property. The house dates from 1905 and 1920 was a big improvement year so that could be when the storefront was built.

Although the front of the store looks a bit dishevelled and there are actually some old dot matrix printer boxes by the window reviews of the place are actually very good! So don't let the funky looks deceive you. The house at the back of the property has obviously seen better days and the front of the roof is now covered up with a tarp. This alley view was taken back in 2012.

This part of Hastings Street is very old but there's not too much left in the area today. But there are still a few old gems to be found. Vancouver also has quite a collection of sidewalk stamps. That is dates and names put into the concrete when the sidewalk was put in. Just down the block at the North East side of Hastings at Vernon is one the oldest ones in the city dating from 1906! You can read more about sidewalk stamps in this piece from Miss604.

Pender Grocery

Another favourite for photographers in Vancouver is Pender Grocery on West Pender Street near Homer. Pender Grocery is one of only two corner stores in all of downtown Vancouver. It's in an old building that dates from 1908. On the corner is Finch's Tea and Coffee House and just around the corner is Lady Madonna's Thrift Store as well as the Jimi Hendrix Shrine which is located downstairs. The upstairs of the building is home to a backpackers hostel. This photo was taken back in the summer of 2013.

I should say Pender Grocery was a corner store. When I was downtown earlier in the year I noticed the little storefront was looking a bit bedraggled and it was also looking very closed. So Pender Grocery is no more. But on the weekend I happened to come across a story in the Vancouver Sun and the old store is being renovated and will eventually reopen as a boutique grocery store.



In the process of renovating the new shopkeepers discovered an old sign on the wall. It was a very old ad for The Vancouver Daily World newspaper. The wall was actually an exterior wall that was part of the building next door. So the sign had been covered up since 1908. You can read all about it this great piece by John Mackie of the Vancouver Sun. The new Pender Grocery also happens to have an Instagram account so you can also view their photos as well. It will be great to see what the new store looks like when it reopens and hopefully I'll be able to get a shot of that old sign too!