New York Novelties

New York Novelties is another funky bit of the old Mount Pleasant neighbourhood that's disappeared recently. For many years I used to walk by this store at 2429 Main Street close to Broadway on my way uptown. It was one of those rare places in East Vancouver that didn't have bars in the windows. It was great to look at all the masks and wigs in the window display especially at dusk. Then around 2012 I realized I better start taking some photos of this place!

I'm glad I took some pictures when I did as a "For Lease" sign went up in the window in late 2014. By the spring of 2015 the store was empty and New York Novelties was gone. But it turns out they hadn't gone far as they'd only moved a few blocks away down East Broadway across from the Kingsgate Mall. The new location was probably cheaper rent wise but the window display wasn't nearly as wonderful.

The Main Street store next to the Lee Building is fairly old and got it's start as the People's Fruit Market back in the 1940's. During the 50's times had changed and the space became Finn's Ladies and Men's Wear with Hilker's Dry Goods right next door at 2425. Today the store is home to Our Community Bikes who were forced out of their old space further up Main Street in 2015. If you look outside the store today you can see the name Christie Grants in the tile work. This store must have been there in the 1960's and it looks like it took up both spaces.

Sadly it looks like New York Novelties is no more as they closed up their store on East Broadway at the end of May. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe the new location wasn't so good or they were done in by people shopping online? Whatever the case the way the city is changing it's better to take pictures now and ask questions later as it could all be gone tomorrow!

Reno's Restaurant

Reno's Restaurant at 151 East Broadway on the ground floor of the 1912 Lee Building was a classic piece of the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. It seemed like Reno's had been around for just ages. I'm sure it was already there when I first came to Vancouver in the late 1980's . The decor was a bit dated but when you charge $3.99 for breakfast that's served all day who's to complain. Reno's was a greasy spoon but it was the kind of place where everyone was welcome. If some cheap eats and a bit of people watching were up your alley then Reno's was the place to go. But in November of 2015 Reno's suddenly closed their doors. From what I understand their lease was not renewed so that was the end of another neighbourhood institution.

Being that the Lee Building at Main and Broadway dates from 1912 there were no doubt a few different eateries in the space before it became Reno's. After reading Keith McKellar's book Neon Eulogy I discovered that it had been part of the popular Aristocratic chain starting in 1953. Before that it was Hux Lunch during the 1940's and back in the 1920's it was Purity Lunch which dated as  far back as 1915 in the same location. Incidentally the last Aristocratic restaurant was at Granville and Broadway and closed down in the mid 1990's when the present Chapters bookstore was built.

In the spring of 2016 Fable Diner opened it's doors at 151 East Broadway. The space was totally renovated and it looks bright and modern now. The menu is of course totally up to date and caters to a hipper crowd. But there's even a Reno's Burger on the menu which is a nice touch. I'm sure Fable is doing well with the influx of tech companies coming into Mount Pleasant. It's probably an in demand place for lunch. But it's not quite the same walking along Broadway and not seeing the old Reno's neon sign in the window!

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!

B&K Grocery

B&K is another old school corner store in East Vancouver who's glory days have been over for a while now. Tucked away at East 34th Avenue and Nanaimo the building has been around for over a century. It's one of those little places I wasn't really aware of until I found a used copy of Michael Kluckner's book Vanishing Vancouver back in 2008. Today a look with Street View reveals the store was probably open up until around 2010. Since then it's been vacant.



There was some good news back in 2016 as a developer had bought the property with the intention of restoring the store and then adding some townhomes. The building would have got Heritage status and would be a neighbourhood cafe. This model has proven successful with other old corner stores around the city. You can read more about the plan in this article in the Georgia Straight. The City also approved the rezoning of the property last year. But when I was by recently I saw a "For Sale" sign up which seemed a bit odd. So it looks like the original developer has had second thoughts about the project. Here's an old photo from 2009 when the store was still open.

The building apparently dates from 1918 but a realtor's info lists it as being from 1912. Either way the place has been around a very long time and it would be great to see it open again. According to the article in the Georgia Straight it had been B&K Grocery since 1968 and was owned by the Mah family who lived upstairs. Hopefully a new buyer will step up and will move forward with the development including the restoration of the old store!

Looking through the front window of the store back in 2012

March 2021 - I just thought I better post an update as work began in early 2020 on the redevelopment of the store and property. I think a new owner took over as the store and lot had essentially been abandoned for many years. The project is now called Century House and it looks like the townhouses are nearing completion!

Folkart Interiors

When it comes to funky old storefronts Folkart Interiors at 3720 West 10th Avenue near Alma Street is clearly a winner. There aren't very many shops that still bring their wares out onto the sidewalk anymore. It's also nice to see a store without their windows filled with ugly security bars. When I first photographed the place back in 2015 the little strip of three storefronts was for sale. Now in 2017 it looks like nothing has changed too much but maybe rents might have gone up.

The building dates from 1925 and the store was originally home to West Point Hardware. The space next door at 3730 was a location for Piggly Wiggly Grocery which was the first self service grocery store chain in Vancouver. You can read more about Piggly Wiggly at Miss604's Blog. I found an old photo in the Vancouver Public Library historical photo collection showing West 10th Avenue back in 1939 (VPL 25001). The storefront that is now Folkart Interiors is behind the old cars. By this time Safeway had taken over the Piggly Wiggly next door. A look with Street View finds not too much has changed on this strip of West 10th for a good long time. Let's hope it stays that way!