The days are numbered for the Paragon Tea Room and Las Tortas Mexican sandwich shop.
They're two of five Vancouver restaurants and cafés on a single Cambie Village block contenting with redevelopment.
Neighbours Baghven and Tokyo John have recently shut down, preceded by Slicy Pizza.
End date approaching
The five food stops between 3369 and 3353 Cambie St. are closing (or already have) due to an incoming development that'll see the combined commercial addresses turned into a mixed-use building with offices, a daycare, and new commercial space at the ground level.
It appears the development, which was announced back in 2020, is moving forward soon.
That means that the five independent restaurants have had to close and, if they can, relocate. It appears Slicy Pizza, the first to close in 2023, did not reopen anywhere.
Much more recently, sushi restaurant Tokyo John announced it was shutting its doors. A sign at its Cambie location announces its last day was Sept. 22, 2024, and they've moved to work with Good Sushi at 3916 Fraser St.
Baghven, a Uyghur restaurant, appears to have permanently closed, though it's unclear when. There have been no public announcements or administrative notices. However, Baghven's phone number is deactivated, and the interior appears to be in disarray. The last online reviews for the restaurant were posted in November.
More recently, casual Mexican spot Las Tortas opened up a second location and has been running two sandwich shops until the Cambie space has to shutter. That date is coming up on Feb. 28.
The search for a new room for tea
That leaves Paragon Tea Room. Co-owner Michelle Cheung tells V.I.A. they're still looking for a new location nearby. They've got offers out on spaces, but haven't signed anything yet.
"We've been around Cambie and Mount Pleasant, and we don't want to leave," Cheung says. "So our search has been around the same area."
The Richmond location is continuing (as will the online business) but in Vancouver, there's going to be a gap.
"It's not like we're closing on February 28 and going to open on March 1," she explains, noting that in the best-case scenario, she thinks they could re-open elsewhere at the end of the summer.
"It feels like all the landlords are waiting to be bought out"
Part of the issue is a lack of long-term homes for a business like hers, including in Cambie Village.
"There's a lot of old buildings [in Cambie Village] and it feels like all the landlords are waiting to be bought out or looking to redevelop themselves," she says.
This is now the second time Paragon has had to move its Vancouver location; a few years ago they were forced to leave a spot at Cambie Street and Second Avenue after the landlord sold the space. She notes tenants don't have much recourse in these situations.
In the meantime, Paragon is looking to be flexible. Cheung says they're looking to open up pop-ups inside stores if anyone will host them.
"We are also looking at a few temporary locations that we can set up in the meantime," she adds.
The response from the public to their moving announcement has been amazing, the tea shop owner attests.
"It was a heartfelt moment when we made that announcement," says Cheung. "People are sending us leads and ideas. It's very genuine."
"It gives us more of a reason to keep doing what we're doing and be resilient."
