After the Vegan Cave Cafe shut down in Gastown in late 2024, it left a spot open for a small cafe in the neighbourhood.
And that's where Stephanie and Jeremiah Benskin saw an opportunity to grow Casa de Nata, their popular Portuguese custard tart (pastel de nata) business.
Local business with Portuguese heritage
Casa de Nata started in 2020 at the Hastings-Sunrise farmers' market when Stephanie made a "whole bunch" of tarts, recalls Jeremiah. They thought it would be more than enough for the day.
"We sold out within an hour," he tells V.I.A. "And then people wanted more, and so we kept on making them."
Since then, Casa de Nata has continued to grow and evolve; they've added more flavours of custard, they serve sandwiches, and they attend more events. Now the Benskins are set to open Casa de Nata's pastel de nata shop at 415 Abbott St.
However, they want to offer more than just sweet treats.
"Steph said, 'I want to bring more Portuguese food west of the Rockies,'" explains Jeremiah.
New café will showcase family recipes from Portugal
"We can expand the menu to showcase even more Portuguese flavours," says Stephanie. "We're planning traditional recipes blended with a modern touch."
The traditional recipes she speaks of originate in her family's kitchens in Portugal.
"She was the assistant to her grandmother," Jeremiah says, speaking on Stephanie's history around food. "So she was learning from the old-school Portuguese generation."
The family regularly visits Portugal when they can, where Stephanie has family who run cafes, and both have experience in restaurants.
While the basis for Casa de Nata's foods will be traditional, the food will be updated with the Benskins' own flair.
"I would describe [the menu] as the popular Portuguese dishes that people connect with," says Stephanie.
"We want to revitalize the image of Portugal and Portuguese food with a contemporary twist," Jeremiah adds.
He describes the operation as a mom-and-pop business; the couple has two young children (the eldest is in kindergarten). Stephanie will be the head chef while Jeremiah deals with operations and helps in the kitchen.
The family aspect will affect the hours as well.
"We're going to play it by ear. We have kids, and we don't want to be open all hours and never see the family," Jeremiah says. "We'll have to see how it goes."
What's on the menu?
While the new storefront will offer a variety of Portuguese foods, the focus will still be on the tarts.
"[Portuguese restaurants] are few and far between, and we're passionate about food," says Jeremiah. "We wanted to bring a bit more to Vancouver."
"The tarts are the star of the show, but at the same time we want to bring some more items in."
The menu will also include a variety of savoury foods, like bifana sandwiches (marinated pork with sweet onions), which Jeremiah describes as a "very hot and juicy sandwich."
"I really like the shrimp dish; it's my favourite. It's called Shrimp Mozambique," Stephanie says. "It's a traditional Portuguese dish."
Jeremiah is a fan of Bacalhau.
"It's a codfish dish that has salted cod with potatoes, chickpeas, eggs, and black olives," he explains. "It's, ah man, it's tasty."
Everything will be made from scratch, he adds, with some dishes (including the tarts) taking several days to allow for marination.
The Benskins are hopeful to open in February, but the grand opening may be pushed back to March. While the opening hours of Casa de Nata are still being sorted out, the owners say the café will regularly be open for lunch and likely in the early evening for dinner.
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