Vernon Drive Grocery

Without a doubt the most photographed corner store in Vancouver must be Vernon Drive Grocery in Strathcona. Do a search on Flickr or an image search on Google and you'll find countless photos of the old store. And for good reason as it looks like not much has changed about the place in many decades! If you happen to stop by the store around sunset you could be transported back in time to Fred Herzog's Vancouver when corner stores and their colourful signage where everywhere. The place is pretty old as buildings on the property date from 1901. No doubt back in the day the store did well with Admiral Seymour Elementary School being right across the street. A City Directory search found the store had been home to numerous businesses over the years. In 1915 it was John Craig Confectionary, in 1936 it was BH Corkill Grocer, and in 1952 it was Tom and Gwen Confectionary and Grocer.



The signage on the store is also a great example of one of the last Privilege Signs in Vancouver. (another great example is Benny's Market on Union Street). These signs go way back and were supplied in this case by Coca-Cola with the shop's name flanked by red button Coke signs on the ends. In case you are wondering the Pepsi signs are non original and are hand painted. They are slightly too big scale wise and the one on the right covers up part of the word Grocery.

A closeup shot of some of the old metal letters from the store's rusting privilege sign. This sign type looks to be slightly different that the Coca-Cola Goldline program that was used in the United States. Nothing like seeing the old store in great light. I guess that's why it's a favourite for photographers in Vancouver!

Fast forward a few years since I first posted this back in 2017 and a few things have changed at Vernon Drive Grocery. In the summer of 2019 the old place got a facelift with a fresh coat of paint as the property had been put up for sale. I liked the fading colours and patina of the store's old signs but it was really starting to look a bit run down.

Now in 2020 it seems the store's days are numbered. At least in its current state. There was a piece done by Mike McCardell of CTV News on the Last Word the other night. Here's a link to watch it!

Storefronts on Victoria Drive

When it comes to parts of the city that have been holding out from gentrification Victoria Drive is the final frontier. The stretch of stores and businesses that run from 33rd down to 43rd Avenue is truly a big mix of asian influences. No trendy cafe's or foodie type eateries around here. There is a Starbucks near 41st and a Dairy Queen down at 34th but for the most part Victoria Drive is pretty unique compared to other streets in the city. Although many of the buildings are relatively new and undistinguished there are still a few old ones left that have been around for a very long time. One little strip that caught my eye is on the 5700 block on the East side of Victoria near 42nd Avenue.





























Today this little building is home to three different shops. They are the Flying Dragon Hair Salon, the Kim Phung Restaurant, and the Princess Beauty and Figure Salon. The building itself dates from 1950 although to me it looks much older. A search through the City Directory for 1955 lists the businesses as Howe's Men's Wear at 5762, the Victoria Coffee Bar at 5764, and Rosamund's Florist at 5766. The old sign above Kim Phung's dates from a much earlier time and with its distinctive shape no doubt housed a Coca Cola sign. I'm going to have to get back for a straight on shot of these colourful storefronts. But this part of Victoria Drive is very busy in the late afternoon when the light is nice and there are always cars parked out front. Maybe an early morning run is in order!

The Fox Cinema

Looking around Main Street today it's hard to believe the Fox has been gone for 4 years already. It was back in early 2013 that a "For Lease" sign went up at 2321 Main Street. The Fox was the city's last theatre to show XXX adult movies and had been doing so since 1983. In recent years I'm not sure how they made a go of it. In all the time I've been in the neighbourhood I really don't remember ever seeing many people frequenting the place. It was a pretty quiet looking on the outside but the exterior belied the unsavory activities taking place inside the theatre. This was brought to light before renovations began and photos of the interior were posted on the web and to social media. The interior was truly a bit of a biohazard as CSI type photos lit with blacklight clearly attest to!





























But after extensive renovations and lot's of hard work the theatre re-opened as the Fox Cabaret in the spring of 2014. Since then the area around Main and Broadway has changed quite a bit. With all the condos being built nearby the neighbourhood seems be going a bit more upscale. The closure of Reno's Restaurant in late 2015 also signalled a distinct shift in the hood. Also the arrival of Hootsuite software basing its operations close by is bringing about even more change. I'm not sure what all the new folks would have thought about the old Fox Cinema. But warts and all I kind of miss the old place as to me it was just part of the neighbourhood with its signed Ron Jeremy 8x10 photo in the window!

The Templeton

The Templeton Restaurant at 1087 Granville Street is one of the last retro styled diners in downtown Vancouver. The building it's in dates from 1909 and the place has been an eatery for many decades under different names. It's just a tiny place with only 30 seats. The interior is 50's retro with a long counter with stools and all the booths have a small jukebox. When I was downtown in the fall of 2016 I noticed the storefront had a bit of a makeover and their old hanging style sign was gone. Since then it's been replaced by a nice little neon sign that's on the front of the building with a spiffy new awning as well.

This is a cropped version of an old photo from the Vancouver archives (CVA 772-702). It's a bit soft but you can see back in the late 80's the space was home to the Top Top Restaurant. Granville Street was much rougher around the edges back then. The street got a bit of a makeover before the arrival of the 2010 Winter Olympics as many of the old XXX stores moved out. But today there are still a few empty storefronts as the more trendy retail shops seem to be having a hard time keeping a foothold on Granville Street.

This is an old photo from 2011 which shows the Templeton's old sign. At that time they used to have a bit more neon in the window as well. After doing a little searching I found the restaurant had changed hands back in 2015. A search of the City Directories found it was home to Adelle's Cafe back in 1952. With the Smile Diner property on Pender Street facing redeveloped here's hoping the Templeton will be around for many more years to come.

Elizabeth's Bakery

Elizabeth's was a charming little store that was located at 1303 Commercial Drive. I took this picture in December of 2014 when I was first contemplating doing a Storefront project. But time passed and I took many photographs throughout 2015 and I kind of forgot about Elizabeth's. It wasn't until later that year that I returned to The Drive thinking I might get a better shot of the bakery without the bicycles in front. But to my shock and amazement I found Elizabeth's gone and the store was empty! I returned home disappointed but after doing some searching I found the bakery was still around and had moved just down the block to 1399 Commercial Drive. It just goes to show you that if you see something that looks interesting in Vancouver you better take a photo of it as it might not be there the next time you visit!





























I'm guessing the reason Elizabeth's moved is probably due to rising rents. The recent closure of Wonderbucks could be a sign of more changes on the way for The Drive. I photographed the space at 1303 again in 2016 and it had become a store called Karma which sold athletic wear. It didn't last very long and was gone by the fall. In 2017 the space is still empty so I'll be keeping an eye on who moves in next. Hopefully they'll be able to stay around for a while!

Rupert's Place

Rupert's Place was one of those plain no nonsense little commercial shops that was located in Lower Mount Pleasant. Although Rupert's didn't look like much it did have a bit of a story. If you looked through the front door you would have seen the place was pretty messy inside. Messy to the point that it looked as though someone had actually ransacked the place. I guess that's just how they rolled at Rupert's Place. A search on the name brought up a comment on Yelp that Rupert was not the name of the shop's owner but rather the name of his cat!





























In the last few years there's been a huge commercial real estate boom in the Lower Mount Pleasant area with a big influx of fashion and high tech businesses (Hootsuite) as well as many new developments. The area is bounded by Main Street on the East to Cambie on the West, and from 2nd Avenue on the North to Broadway on the South. It's now nicknamed Mount Pixel. With all the new interest in the area rents and leases are starting to skyrocket and many of the old traditional service and supply businesses are disappearing being soon replaced by the more upscale. Sometime in early 2016 Rupert's closed it's doors and the space has now been taken over by a new bakery.

Corner Stores on Main Street

In December of last year I was walking up Main Street doing a little Christmas shopping when I noticed that the little corner store at 28th Avenue called C.K. Mart was closed. Not only closed but completely emptied out as well. I always thought it was a bit of an odd little store as I used to pick up a lottery ticket there once in a while. I'm sure times are tough in the corner store business but having a Nester's Market just half a block away surely didn't help. But I'm also thinking that rising rents along Main Street probably had something to do with the store's demise.

A bit further North at Main and 22nd Avenue yet another little corner store closed earlier in 2016. Again it was another small shop that looked like it was just trying to make a go of it.

This store also had a large Coca Cola sign hanging out front. It never worked but hopefully it'll stay put as these really are a rarity now with only just a few remaining around the city. I follow a sign blog from the US and apparently these type of Coke signs were only made for the Canadian market.

Now all of a sudden in 2017 there's a whole rash of stores closing down or moving on Main Street in the heart of Mount Pleasant in the Broadway and Kingsway area. They include The Foundation restaurant, Hot Art Wet City Gallery, Adhesif Clothing, RX Comics, and Scout Boutique. You can read all about it here in VanMag. All the craziness of Vancouver's overheated real estate market is starting to have a serious trickle down effect on many small independent businesses. It could be the little corner stores on Main Street were just the canary in the coal mine.