In just over a month it will be time to have your last cup of coffee at Matchstick's Chinatown location.
The Vancouver coffee roaster and indie cafe are getting the word out it will be exiting 213 E Georgia St after just under a decade via a typed sign posted on its front door.
Penned as a letter to the community, Matchstick Chinatown's manager Nic Campbell begins: "There is no easy way to say this," before delivering the closure news.
"It is no secret that the last few years have been difficult to navigate for any business but especially small, local businesses," Campbell writes. "The economic changes we have seen develop in the past few years - specifically rising inflation and real estate prices - have created an environment that is no longer sustainable for our cafe."
Campbell continues to express gratitude to the community and Matchstick's Chinatown guests over the past nine-plus years. "This truly is one of the most welcoming and hospitable communities in all of Vancouver," reads the letter, before going on to voice hope for the future of the neighbourhood and tho encourage coffee fans to come in again before Matchstick departs in a few weeks.
Open in spring 2014, the 80-seat cafe is home to a commercial kitchen and was the second of the coffee shop's locations.
In the ensuing years, Matchstick also opened cafes in Riley Park, Yaletown, and Davie Village, and grew its wholesale operations and roastery.
Matchstick's last day in Chinatown will be Dec. 15, 2023.
