Update: Nov. 12, 2023 will be Kouign Cafe's last day.
"This one's gonna hurt," reads the text on the most recent image posted to the Kouign Cafe's Instagram page. "A lot," it follows, asking fans to please read the caption below.
"It’s taken me a very long time to post this and it truly breaks my heart to even do this," begins pastry chef and business owner Andrew Han.
"Kouign Café will be running its last service in early to mid-November."
Known for his whimsical and creative Asian-inspired pastries, Han opened Kouign Cafe (pronounced "kween") in August 2020 at 18 E Pender in Vancouver's Chinatown neighbourhood. "Chinatown is home to me," said Han in one of the many videos he shared with his followers online as the specialty bakeshop was under renovation and preparing to open.
Han did not share a reason for the impending closure of his business, stating in his announcement: "I don't want to get into the details here but I will say that I need your guys’ support in the following final weeks."
The pastry chef goes on to ask that people share the post and tag their friends to urge them to come visit the bakeshop in its final weeks. "I'm gonna need it," Han said, promising more information would be coming soon from the business operator. Just ahead of the recent Light Up Chinatown festival, Han shared on the Kouign Cafe Instagram that the event "may be the last" for the bakery.
Kouign Cafe's slogan is "Follow the White Rabbit," hinting a bit of the whimsical Wonderland-esque magic of Han's treats as well as his signature treat, the White Rabbit cookie, made with the beloved candy.
In addition to the White Rabbit cookie, Kouign Cafe has treats like the "Purple Rain" (gently warmed coconut vanilla brown butter bread pudding with shredded coconut, ube and coconut cream cheese icing, and 24K gold flakes), the vegan and gluten-free "Violet Pixie" (ube, banana, and coconut butter mochi), and "The Lunch Box" cookie (mildly spiced peanut butter cookie with Chinese sausage, pork floss, nori, and toasted white sesame seeds). Han also makes several versions of the cafe's namesake pastry, the kouign amman.
The cafe also has sandwiches, and specialty beverages, and also does bulk or catering orders.
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