The story of Vancouver's Novella has been a bit of a thriller the past few months, as the Mount Pleasant café (by day) and wine bar (by night) has served as the temporary home to sibling Bar Susu following a fire at its nearby location.
With Bar Susu set to re-open at 209 E. 6th Ave, Novella itself is also going to make some changes. In fact, operators Boxset Collective are bringing the entire Novella concept to a close on April 7, according to a media release issued by the business.
Novella opened at 2650 Main St in late 2022, serving up an all-day menu of terrific coffee and drinks (powered by House of Funk coffee) and incredible food (like a crave-worthy fully stacked breakfast sandwich called The Turbo) in a chic modern space that instantly had a laid-back and lived-in cozy feel.
Soon after, Boxset fired up its wine bar concept, called Vignette, in the same space, giving day and night two connected but distinct identities.
Novella a temporary home for Bar Susu for several months
When Bar Susu was forced to close following a June 2023 fire, Vignette went on hiatus to accommodate its acclaimed sibling as a workaround. At the time, Boxset indicated they already were working on a fresh concept to succeed Vignette.
“With Novella, the decision to wind down is definitely bittersweet. We love our loyal guests, and it’s been great getting into coffee culture with them,” explained Cody Allmin, co-founder of Boxset Collective.
“We’re proud of what we’ve built, and we’re thrilled our partner House of Funk is continuing to make waves with their new coffee bars. We know a couple of our team members already have new projects lined up, and the others will be staying on to join our restaurant team. We thank them for being part of this memorable chapter.”
To Allmin's point, North Vancouver's House of Funk's Funk Coffee Bar has been up and running since late last year in Downtown Vancouver in an ample space at the Bentall Centre (it replaced North Point Brewing).
Owners already working on brand new concept for the Novella space
However, Boxset is still hanging onto 2650 Main St and already has plans for the former Novella/Vignette space once it comes to an end officially soon.
"This change allows us to fully dedicate resources to opening a brand new, soon-to-be-announced, program in the space," Allmin noted.
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