When Vancouver-based Caffè Mira opened in Victoria Hill in late July, it was so well received that their stuffed croissants were sold out in the first few hours.
Mandy Li, who co-owns the brand with her husband, Isaac, said they were “shocked” by the enthusiasm — one which never waned.
"It’s been busy since day one," she said, which means people of New West haven’t stopped dropping by the café to get their fix of caffeine.
“I guess people around the Victoria Hill area were really expecting a coffee shop,” said Li. Seeing how people had taken to their café, the duo decided to extend the hours from eight hours to nine-and-a-half (7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
“We plan to increase [our hours] further,” said Li.
In the meantime, the café is amping up its fall menu, by offering flavours such as pumpkin spice and toasted marshmallow.
While coffee ranks as a top seller, what follows close is matcha tea — which, per Li, is made with high-grade matcha powder sourced directly from Japan.
The green-coloured Japanese tea is also available in rose flavour at this café. What’s also popular is their purple-coloured ube latte made with the jam of yam, made in-house, said Li.
The café has a selection of croissants, panini and sandwiches, with vegan and gluten-free options included.
“The ones that always sell out first are the almond croissants.”
Li and her husband started their first store five years ago at 3136 Main St in Vancouver as a place to just “chill.”
At that point, they both had full-time jobs — Li was, in fact, a marketing director for a hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Just before COVID hit, they launched their second location on 1225 Burrard St., followed by the New West location in the summer of 2022.
Now, the Vancouver-based couple divides the time between the three Caffè Miras (Mira is short for the names of Mandy, Issac and their two children Renee and Dylan) locations.
“We hadn’t planned it to become our career,” said Li. But now that it has, there would be more Caffè Miras around, she suggests. "Our next goal is to have another bigger café, maybe with a centralized kitchen."
Caffè Mira is located at 28 E Royal Ave.
