A high-end specialty grocery store in Vancouver's West End has closed its doors.
Kev's Epicerie, at 961 Denman St, announced at the start of 2025 that it was going out of business and operators launched an inventory clear-out sale.
Now the sales are over and the business is listed by Google as "Permanently Closed." Kev's Epicerie business licence was not issued for 2025, according to City of Vancouver records.
"Epicerie" is a French term for grocery shop, and the business had strong European influence, thanks in part to its French in-house chef, Eric Arrouzé.
Kev's Epicerie opened in the spring of 2023 and was a companion project to the neighbouring Jungle Room. The two businesses wound up sharing the 961 Denman address.
The Kev's Epicerie space was the West End Liquor Store (955 Denman) until May 2019; in 2021, signs went up for both The Jungle Room and the gourmet market next door. The "Kev" had previously run Chinatown's Kevin & Kevin Juice - a juice bar by day and a cocktail bar by night. Kevin & Kevin Juice closed up its Gore Street ops in January 2023.
Kev's Epicerie was described as a "gourmet market that offers imported fine food" as well as prepared foods by Arrouzé, previously the Corporate Executive Chef for Kevin and Kevin Restaurant Group.
The menu included hot and cold sandwiches, soup, salads, and desserts, while the shelves were stocked with packaged gourmet foods, like jams, cheese, tinned fish, oils, and more.
🍽 Find more delicious Metro Vancouver food and drink video stories by following V.I.A's Forking Awesome on TikTok and Instagram, and signing up for our Forking Awesome newsletter 📬 delivered fresh to your inbox every Thursday.
